Literature Reviews

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

• Conversational Agency in Augmentative and Alternative Communication

  Stephanie Valencia, Amy Pavel, Jared Santa Maria, Seunga (Gloria) Yu, Jeffrey P. Bigham, Henny Admoni (2020) — CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

  This paper introduces conversational agency as a new framework for studying how augmented communicators (ACs) — people who use AAC devices to speak — participate in and influence conversations. While prior AAC research has focused primarily on improv…

  • AAC
  • augmentative and alternative communication
  • cerebral palsy
  • conversational agency
  • communication partners
  • assistive technology
  • speech generating devices
  • turn-taking
  • accessibility

• One Does Not Simply 'Mm-hmm': Exploring Backchanneling in the AAC Micro-Culture

  Tobias M Weinberg, Claire O'Connor, Ricardo E. Gonzalez Penuela, Stephanie Valencia, Thijs Roumen (2025) — ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper explores how users of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) technology engage in backchanneling—the subtle verbal and non-verbal signals (like "uh-huh," nods, and facial expressions) that listeners use to show engagement, signal…

  • AAC
  • backchanneling
  • non-verbal communication
  • micro-culture
  • listener feedback
  • speech impairment
  • motor impairment
  • co-design
  • conversational agency
  • expressive communication