Literature Reviews

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

• Nothing to Hide: Aesthetic Customization of Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants in an Online Community

  Halley P. Profita, Abigale Stangl, Laura Matuszewska, Sigrunn Sky, Shaun K. Kane (2016) — Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This paper analyzes aesthetic customization practices within a Facebook community of over 4,800 members dedicated to decorating and personalizing hearing aids (HAs) and cochlear implants (CIs). Approximately 48 million people in the United States (20…

  • hearing aid
  • cochlear implant
  • DIY assistive technology
  • social accessibility
  • disability identity
  • online communities
  • self-expression
  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • disability culture

• Expressive Bodies Engaging with Embodied Disability Cultures for Collaborative Design Critiques

  Katta Spiel, Robin Angelini (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This experience report explores how embodied approaches — using physical bodies to express critique rather than relying solely on spoken or signed language — can produce richer, more direct feedback when designing technologies with disabled communiti…

  • disability culture
  • participatory design
  • crip methodologies
  • embodied critique
  • autism
  • Deaf culture
  • sign language
  • neurodivergence
  • research methods

• Assistive or Artistic Technologies? Exploring the Connections between Art, Disability and Wheelchair Use

  Giulia Barbareschi, Masa Inakage (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This paper explores the reciprocal influences between art, disability, and assistive technology use through semi-structured interviews with 17 artists who use wheelchairs for mobility. Participants spanned diverse artistic disciplines — dance (7), mu…

  • disability art
  • wheelchair accessibility
  • assistive technology
  • creativity
  • disability identity
  • embodiment
  • ableism
  • disability culture
  • artistic technology
  • inclusive design

• A11yFutures: Envisioning the Future of Accessibility Research

  Jennifer Mankoff, Kelly Avery Mack, Jason Wiese, Kirk Andrew Crawford, Foad Hamidi (2023) — Proceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2023)

  This workshop paper proposes a framework for understanding the evolution of accessibility research through three "waves" and argues that the field needs to broaden significantly into what the authors call "third wave accessibility." The first wave of…

  • accessibility research
  • disability studies
  • inclusive design
  • intersectionality
  • research methodology
  • disability culture
  • participatory design

• Exploring Disability Culture Through Accounts of Disabled Innovators of Accessibility Technology

  Aashaka Desai, Jennifer Mankoff, Richard E. Ladner (2025) — ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper explores how disability culture — the celebration of the positive aspects of disability experience including community, solidarity, and creativity — can inform the design and research of accessibility technologies. The authors first synthe…

  • disability culture
  • disabled innovators
  • crip technoscience
  • DIY assistive technology
  • social model of disability
  • disability justice
  • accessibility technology design
  • lived experience

• DREEM: Moving from Empathy to Enculturation in Disability Related Human-Centered Design

  Leya Breanna Baltaxe-Admony, Jared Duval, Kathryn E. Ringland (2024) — Proceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '24)

  This paper introduces DREEM (Disability-Related Empathy from Existing Media), a four-step method that replaces traditional empathy-building exercises in human-centred design with an enculturation approach grounded in disability culture. The authors a…

  • design methods
  • disability culture
  • empathy
  • human-centred design
  • ableism
  • enculturation
  • qualitative methods