Literature Reviews

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

• Solo: Interactive Task Guidance

  Edmund LoPresti, Ned Kirsch, Richard Simpson, Debra Schreckenghost (2005) — Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper describes Solo, a cognitive orthosis being developed by AT Sciences, the University of Michigan, the University of Pittsburgh, and TRACLabs to help cognitively impaired clients and their caregivers manage daily activities. Solo builds on t…

  • cognitive assistive technology
  • traumatic brain injury
  • cognitive disability
  • task guidance
  • scheduling
  • independent living
  • telerehabilitation
  • cognitive prosthetic

• Semantic Knowledge in Word Completion

  Jianhua Li, Graeme Hirst (2005) — Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper proposes an integrated word-completion system that combines semantic knowledge with traditional n-gram statistical models to produce more contextually appropriate predictions for users with linguistic or physical disabilities. Standard wor…

  • word prediction
  • word completion
  • natural language processing
  • text entry
  • AAC
  • cognitive disability
  • physical disability
  • semantic analysis
  • language model
  • keystroke saving

• Computer-Based Cognitive Prosthetics: Assistive Technology for the Treatment of Cognitive Disabilities

  Elliot Cole, Parto Dehdashti (1998) — Proceedings of the Third International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '98)

  This paper presents over a decade of research and clinical work from the Institute for Cognitive Prosthetics on designing computer-based cognitive prosthetic (CBCP) systems for individuals with acquired cognitive disabilities from traumatic brain inj…

  • cognitive disability
  • cognitive prosthetic
  • traumatic brain injury
  • stroke recovery
  • brain injury rehabilitation
  • participatory design
  • assistive technology
  • executive function
  • cognitive rehabilitation

• A context aware handheld wayfinding system for individuals with cognitive impairments

  Yao-Jen Chang, Shih-Kai Tsai, Tsen-Yung Wang (2008) — Proceedings of the 10th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '08)

  This paper presents a context-aware wayfinding system designed to help individuals with cognitive impairments navigate indoor environments independently, with a focus on workplace and community travel. The system consists of three components: a handh…

  • cognitive disability
  • wayfinding
  • QR code
  • ubiquitous computing
  • navigation
  • supported employment
  • context awareness
  • independent living
  • distributed cognition

• CATPro: context-aware task prompting system with multiple modalities for individuals with cognitive impairments

  Wan Chih Chang (2008) — Proceedings of the 10th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '08)

  This short paper presents CATPro (Context-Aware Task Prompting), a system designed to help individuals with cognitive impairments perform daily living and workplace tasks more independently. The system targets people with a range of conditions includ…

  • cognitive disability
  • task prompting
  • context awareness
  • supported employment
  • ubiquitous computing
  • Bluetooth beacons
  • assistive technology
  • independent living
  • multimodal interaction

• Automatically Generating Tailored Accessible User Interfaces for Ubiquitous Services

  Julio Abascal, Amaia Aizpurua, Idoia Cearreta, Borja Gamecho, Nestor Garay-Vitoria, Raúl Miñón (2011) — Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This paper presents EGOKI, a system that automatically generates tailored accessible user interfaces for ubiquitous services based on individual user capabilities. In ubiquitous computing environments, people access services like information kiosks, …

  • adaptive interfaces
  • automatic interface generation
  • ubiquitous computing
  • ambient assisted living
  • user modeling
  • blindness
  • low vision
  • motor impairment
  • cognitive disability
  • ontology

• Investigating User Behavior for Authentication Methods: A Comparison between Individuals with Down Syndrome and Neurotypical Users

  Yao Ma, Jinjuan Feng, Libby Kumin, Jonathan Lazar (2013) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This groundbreaking study provides the first experimental research on how individuals with Down syndrome (DS) interact with web authentication mechanisms. The researchers conducted a six-week longitudinal study with 10 adults with DS (ages 18-39) and…

  • cognitive accessibility
  • Down syndrome
  • authentication
  • passwords
  • security
  • cognitive disability

• Automatic Task Assistance for People with Cognitive Disabilities in Brushing Teeth - A User Study with the TEBRA System

  Christian Peters, Thomas Hermann, Sven Wachsmuth, Jesse Hoey (2014) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents TEBRA (TEeth BRushing Assistance), an Assistive Technology for Cognition (ATC) system that supports people with moderate cognitive disabilities in brushing their teeth independently. The research addresses a fundamental challenge:…

  • cognitive disability
  • assistive technology
  • activities of daily living
  • dementia
  • intellectual disability
  • autism
  • behavior recognition
  • context awareness
  • task assistance

• Helping or Hindering: Inclusive Design of Automated Task Prompting for Workers with Cognitive Disabilities

  Gavin R. Philips, Morris Huang, Cathy Bodine (2024) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper addresses the significant employment barriers faced by people with cognitive disabilities (PwCDs) in the United States, where only 28.6% of the approximately 8.8 million working-age adults with cognitive disabilities are employed. Those wh…

  • cognitive disability
  • intellectual disability
  • vocational support
  • employment
  • assistive technology
  • augmented reality
  • prompting systems
  • inclusive design
  • warehouse

• Social Media Apps: A Paradigm for Examining Usability of Mobile Apps for Working-Age Adults with Mild-Moderate Cognitive Disabilities

  Morris Huang, Greg McGrew, Cathy Bodine (2025) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This empirical usability study examines how working-age adults (18-65) with mild-to-moderate cognitive disabilities interact with five mainstream social media apps: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Tumblr. The research addresses a signif…

  • cognitive disability
  • intellectual disability
  • traumatic brain injury
  • social media
  • mobile apps
  • usability testing
  • inclusive design
  • user interface design