Literature Reviews

Reviewed research papers, articles, and publications relevant to digital accessibility.

• Observing Sara: A Case Study of a Blind Person's Interactions with Technology

  Kristen Shinohara, Josh Tenenberg (2007) — Proceedings of the 9th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '07)

  This paper from the University of Washington, Tacoma presents a rich, in-depth case study of Sara, a congenitally blind college student, observed and interviewed across multiple sessions as she interacts with a wide range of technologies in her home.…

  • blindness
  • assistive technology
  • case study
  • technology biographies
  • workarounds
  • screen readers
  • JAWS
  • braille
  • stigma
  • qualitative research
  • inclusive design
  • disability identity

• Designing Assistive Technology for Blind Users

  Kristen Shinohara (2006) — Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper reports on an observational and interview case study of a congenitally blind college student (pseudonym Sara) conducted in her home to develop design insights for improving interactions between blind users and everyday technological artifa…

  • blindness
  • assistive technology
  • human-centered design
  • ethnography
  • case study
  • workarounds
  • tactile feedback
  • auditory feedback

• Designing a Cognitive Aid for the Home: A Case-Study Approach

  Jessica Paradise, Elizabeth D. Mynatt, Cliff Williams, John Goldthwaite (2004) — Proceedings of the 6th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets 04)

  This paper describes the design of a computational pacing aid for a woman ("C") with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) who struggles with chronic tardiness during her morning routine at a residential program. The researchers from Georgia Tech and Dre…

  • cognitive accessibility
  • traumatic brain injury
  • cognitive aid
  • smart home
  • independent living
  • participatory design
  • case study
  • pacing
  • ambient display

• Using Handhelds to Help People with Motor Impairments

  Brad A. Myers, Jacob O. Wobbrock, Sunny Yang, Brian Yeung, Jeffrey Nichols, Robert Miller (2002) — Proceedings of the Fifth International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '02)

  This paper presents the Pebbles project from Carnegie Mellon University, which developed software allowing handheld computers (Palm PDAs) to substitute for a PC's mouse and keyboard for people with muscular dystrophy and similar neuromuscular disorde…

  • motor disability
  • muscular dystrophy
  • alternative input
  • assistive technology
  • handheld devices
  • text entry
  • on-screen keyboard
  • word prediction
  • case study
  • fine motor control

• Note-Taker: Enabling Students Who Are Legally Blind to Take Notes in Class

  David Hayden, Dirk Colbry, John A. Black Jr, Sethuraman Panchanathan (2008) — Proceedings of the 10th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '08)

  This full paper from Arizona State University presents the CUbiC Note-Taker in detail, including its motivation, design principles, and results from two extensive case studies totaling over 200 hours of in-class use. The paper opens with a compelling…

  • low vision
  • legal blindness
  • assistive technology
  • education
  • note-taking
  • inclusive education
  • classroom accessibility
  • computer vision
  • case study

• Stroke Therapy through Motion-Based Games: A Case Study

  Gazihan Alankus, Rachel Proffitt, Caitlin Kelleher, Jack Engsberg (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper presents a detailed six-week home-based case study of a 62-year-old woman (pseudonym Marie) who was seventeen years post-stroke, using custom motion-based video games for upper extremity rehabilitation. Marie had left hemiparesis affecting…

  • stroke rehabilitation
  • hemiparesis
  • gamification
  • motor disability
  • physical rehabilitation
  • motion sensing
  • home-based therapy
  • occupational therapy
  • case study

• An Exploratory Case Study to Support Young Children with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

  Sheng Miao, Ziying Tang, Jinjuan Heidi Feng, Amanda Jozkowski, Molly Lichtenwalner (2017) — Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This demonstration paper presents a case study exploring input solutions for very young children with Type I Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), the most severe form of a neurodegenerative disease that causes degeneration of spinal cord motor neurons, ske…

  • spinal muscular atrophy
  • motor disability
  • alternative input
  • sensors
  • young children
  • assistive technology
  • environmental control
  • case study

• Creating Accessible Local Government: The Process

  Vivienne Conway, Keith Fitzpatrick (2017) — Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This short paper documents the end-to-end process the City of Cockburn, a local government authority in Western Australia, followed to develop an accessible replacement website. The paper provides a practical 9-step roadmap: (1) embed accessibility i…

  • government accessibility
  • WCAG compliance
  • procurement
  • organizational accessibility
  • case study
  • Australia
  • accessibility audit
  • user testing
  • accessibility training
  • project management
  • web development
  • content management
  • policy
  • mobile accessibility