Literature Reviews

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

• Do-It-Yourself AAC: Co-Designing User-Programmable AI Communication Tools with People with Aphasia

  Jong Ho Lee, Stephanie Valencia (2026) — Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  Lee and Valencia explore how people with aphasia (PWA) can become designers of their own AI-powered augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tools rather than users of rigid, pre-built systems. The authors note that aphasia, a language disord…

  • aphasia
  • AAC
  • augmentative and alternative communication
  • end-user programming
  • generative AI
  • large language models
  • participatory design
  • co-design
  • visual programming
  • tangible interaction
  • cognitive accessibility
  • speech and language
  • stroke
  • assistive technology
  • personalization

• Helping Aphasic People Process Online Information

  Siobhan Devlin, Gary Unthank (2006) — Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This short paper from the University of Sunderland describes the HAPPI (Helping Aphasic People Process Information) project, a web-based text simplification system designed to help people with aphasia access online content such as news stories. Aphas…

  • aphasia
  • text simplification
  • cognitive accessibility
  • lexical simplification
  • natural language processing
  • stroke
  • reading comprehension
  • alexia

• Introducing Multimodal Paper-Digital Interfaces for Speech-Language Therapy

  Anne Marie Piper, Nadir Weibel, James D. Hollan (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper explores how multimodal digital pen and paper technology can support speech-language therapy for adults with aphasia and apraxia of speech following stroke or brain injury. The researchers conducted five months of field observations with 1…

  • aphasia
  • apraxia of speech
  • augmentative and alternative communication
  • speech-language therapy
  • older adults
  • multimodal interaction
  • digital pen
  • paper-digital interface
  • stroke
  • communication board

• Detecting Linguistic HCI Markers in an Online Aphasia Support Group

  Yoram M. Kalman, Kathleen Geraghty, Cynthia K. Thompson, Darren Gergle (2012) — Proceedings of the 14th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2012)

  This paper investigates whether the language deficits associated with aphasia — an acquired language disorder typically resulting from stroke or brain injury — can be detected in online written communication. The concept of "HCI markers" is introduce…

  • aphasia
  • computer-mediated communication
  • linguistic analysis
  • online support groups
  • user modeling
  • health monitoring
  • stroke

• What We Talk About: Designing a Context-Aware Communication Tool for People with Aphasia

  Shaun K. Kane, Barbara Linam-Church, Kyle Althoff, Denise McCall (2012) — Proceedings of the 14th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2012)

  This paper describes the design and development of TalkAbout, a context-aware augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) application for tablet devices that adapts its vocabulary to a user's current location and conversation partner. People wit…

  • aphasia
  • augmentative and alternative communication
  • context-aware computing
  • participatory design
  • stroke
  • mobile devices
  • adaptive interfaces

• Brain-Training Software for Stroke Survivors

  Lourdes Morales Villaverde, Sean-Ryan Smith, Sri Kurniawan (2013) — Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This poster paper investigates the feasibility of using commercially available web-based brain-training software as an affordable alternative to expensive specialized stroke rehabilitation software. The researchers observed and interviewed six stroke…

  • stroke
  • cognitive rehabilitation
  • brain training
  • cognitive impairment
  • usability
  • software design
  • assistive technology

• Iterative Design and Field Trial of an Aphasia-Friendly Email Tool

  Abdullah Al Mahmud, Jean-Bernard Martens (2015) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents Amail, an email client specifically designed for people with aphasia—an acquired communication disorder typically caused by stroke that affects language comprehension and expression. Unlike existing AAC (Augmentative and Alternati…

  • aphasia
  • augmentative and alternative communication
  • email
  • field study
  • cognitive accessibility
  • stroke
  • acquired disability
  • social communication

• Project Star Catcher: A Novel Immersive Virtual Reality Experience for Upper Limb Rehabilitation

  Aviv Elor, Mircea Teodorescu, Sri Kurniawan (2018) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents Project Star Catcher (PSC), an immersive virtual reality game designed for upper limb rehabilitation in individuals with hemiparesis—weakness or partial paralysis affecting one side of the body, commonly resulting from stroke. The…

  • virtual reality
  • rehabilitation
  • stroke
  • hemiparesis
  • constraint-induced therapy
  • serious games
  • HTC Vive
  • upper limb
  • motor impairment
  • physical therapy

• Comic Spin: A Comic Creation Tool Enabling Self-expression for People with Aphasia

  Carla Tamburro, Timothy Neate, Abi Roper, Stephanie Wilson (2022) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  Comic Spin is a tablet application (iOS and Android) designed to enable people with aphasia to create comic strips through a constrained creativity approach. Aphasia, typically caused by stroke, affects language abilities including reading, writing, …

  • aphasia
  • creativity support tools
  • constrained creativity
  • self-expression
  • stroke
  • language impairment
  • accessible design
  • mobile application

• Usability Testing - An Aphasia Perspective

  Abi Roper, Ian Davey, Stephanie Wilson, Timothy Neate, Jane Marshall, Brian Grellmann (2018) — Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2018)

  This experience report from City, University of London presents how classic usability testing methods were adapted to include people with aphasia, co-authored with Ian Davey, a person with aphasia who participated in the adapted testing. Aphasia is a…

  • aphasia
  • usability testing
  • cognitive accessibility
  • stroke
  • communication accessibility
  • participatory design
  • speech and language therapy
  • inclusive research