Literature Reviews

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

• LyreFlute: Sensor-Based Musical Experience for COPD Rehabilitation

  Andreia Valente, Claudio Cotto, Mark Billinghurst, Kunal Gupta (2026) — Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '26)

  LyreFlute is a sensor-equipped musical instrument paired with a 3D rhythm game that reframes at-home COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) breathing exercises as a culturally grounded, narrative-driven experience. The authors motivate the work…

  • COPD
  • pulmonary rehabilitation
  • breathing exercises
  • biofeedback
  • serious game
  • gamification
  • tangible interaction
  • health informatics
  • adherence
  • embodied interaction

• Supporting Money Management among Adults with Down Syndrome: A Multi-Technology Probe Study

  Hailey L. Johnson, Heidi Spalitta, Callie Y. Kim, Bilge Mutlu (2026) — Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  Johnson, Spalitta, Kim, and Mutlu designed three cash-based budgeting technology probes for adults with Down syndrome (AwDS) and ran a comparative usage study with seven participants aged 19-39. The work is motivated by a gap between special-educatio…

  • Down syndrome
  • intellectual disability
  • assistive technology
  • financial accessibility
  • augmented reality
  • tangible interface
  • gamification
  • technology probe
  • autonomy
  • HCI
  • qualitative research

• AccessQuest: A Game-Based Approach to Digital Accessibility Education

  P D Parthasarathy, Swaroop Joshi (2026) — ACM Transactions on Computing Education

  Parthasarathy and Joshi present AccessQuest, a single-player, role-playing platformer that teaches five WCAG 2.1 Level A success criteria — text alternatives (1.1.1), captions for pre-recorded content (1.2.2), transcripts for audio-only content (1.2.…

  • accessibility education
  • game-based learning
  • serious games
  • WCAG
  • computing education
  • gamification
  • design-based research
  • role-playing game
  • higher education

• Accessibility Education for Software Engineers: Evaluating the Impact of Game-Based Learning

  P D Parthasarathy, Swaroop Joshi (2026) — ACM Transactions on Computing Education

  Parthasarathy and Joshi address a persistent industry problem: despite 25 years of WCAG, only 5.2% of top web homepages fully conform, and organizations consistently report that staff lack accessibility skills. Academic curricula are slowly integrati…

  • accessibility education
  • game-based learning
  • serious games
  • WCAG
  • software engineering
  • gamification
  • workplace training
  • design-based research

• Motivating Multi-Generational Crowd Workers in Social-Purpose Work

  Masatomo Kobayashi, Shoma Arita, Toshinari Itoko, Shin Saito, Hironobu Takagi (2015) — CSCW '15: Proceedings of the 18th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing

  This CSCW 2015 paper from IBM Research Tokyo and the University of Tokyo investigates how to sustain a volunteer community in 'social-purpose crowdsourcing' — crowd work with altruistic goals such as supporting libraries or producing materials for pe…

  • crowdsourcing
  • social-purpose crowdsourcing
  • motivation
  • gamification
  • GLAM
  • accessibility
  • assistive services
  • senior workforce
  • volunteer community
  • print disability
  • proofreading

• 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

• Kinerehab: A Kinect-based System for Physical Rehabilitation — A Pilot Study for Young Adults with Motor Disabilities

  Jun-Da Huang (2011) — Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This paper presents Kinerehab, a Kinect-based intelligent rehabilitation system designed to assist young adults with motor disabilities in performing physical therapy exercises. Developed in collaboration with physical therapists at the Kaohsiung Cou…

  • physical rehabilitation
  • motor disability
  • Kinect
  • motion sensing
  • cerebral palsy
  • assistive technology
  • gamification

• A Game to Target the Spelling of German Children with Dyslexia

  Maria Rauschenberger, Silke Fuechsel, Luz Rello, Clara Bayarri, Azuki Gòrriz (2015) — ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This demonstration paper presents the adaptation of Dyseggxia, a successful Spanish spelling game for children with dyslexia, to the German language. The original Spanish version was evaluated in an 8-week study with 48 children (ages 6-11) and showe…

  • dyslexia
  • serious games
  • spelling
  • German
  • children
  • learning disabilities
  • educational technology
  • error-based learning
  • gamification

• Sensory Substitution Training for Users Who Are Blind with Dynamic Stimuli, Games and Virtual Environments

  Shachar Maidenbaum (2015) — ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This paper explores whether gamification and dynamic training can address one of the major barriers to sensory substitution device (SSD) adoption: the long, arduous learning process. SSDs like EyeMusic convert visual information into sound, enabling …

  • sensory substitution
  • blindness
  • congenital blindness
  • visual rehabilitation
  • gamification
  • training
  • auditory interface
  • EyeMusic
  • virtual environments
  • game accessibility

• ARMStrokes: A Mobile App for Everyday Stroke Rehabilitation

  Jin Guo, Ted Smith, David Messing, Ziying Tang, Sonia Lawson, Jinjuan Heidi Feng (2015) — ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This paper presents ARMStrokes, an iPhone application that enables stroke survivors to perform upper extremity rehabilitation exercises anywhere and anytime using only built-in smartphone sensors. Stroke affects over 795,000 Americans annually and of…

  • stroke rehabilitation
  • mobile health
  • exergames
  • upper extremity
  • motor impairment
  • physical therapy
  • gamification
  • smartphone sensors
  • telerehabilitation
  • occupational therapy