Literature Reviews

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

• Tinged with Heartbreak: An Ethnographic Account of Navigating Autistic Loneliness and the Fragile Promise of AI Companionship

  Anna Hollis (2026) — Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  This CHI 2026 paper is a reflexive ethnographic case study (n=1) of 'Andrea', a middle-aged autistic businesswoman in the Western world, and her six-month relationship with Xander, a Replika AI companion she ultimately lost to a corrupting software u…

  • chatbot companions
  • autism
  • grief
  • technological instability
  • AI companionship
  • replika
  • large language models
  • loneliness
  • masking
  • autistic burnout
  • ethnography
  • disenfranchised grief
  • double empathy problem

• Technology to Reduce Social Isolation and Loneliness

  Ron Baecker, Kate Sellen, Sarah Crosskey, Veronique Boscart, Barbara Barbosa Neves (2014) — Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper reports on a multi-year iterative research programme (from 2009 onward) investigating how technology can reduce social isolation and loneliness among older adults in various settings. The researchers from the University of Toronto, OCAD Un…

  • aging
  • social isolation
  • loneliness
  • communication technology
  • long-term care
  • chronic pain
  • inclusive design
  • tangible interaction
  • older adults

• "I Want to Connect, But...": Exploring Socially Isolated Older Adults' Views on Social Engagement and Technology for Connecting

  Chia Hsin (Josette) Lee, Rachana Nataraj, Aqueasha Martin-Hammond (2025) — ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents a qualitative study examining how socially isolated older adults perceive social engagement and the role technology might play in supporting their connections. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 adults ag…

  • social isolation
  • older adults
  • aging
  • qualitative research
  • social technology
  • digital inclusion
  • loneliness
  • accessibility barriers