Glossary

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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy(also: ACT)

A form of cognitive behavioral therapy that encourages acceptance of unwanted thoughts and feelings rather than fighting or suppressing them, combined with commitment to actions aligned with personal values. For OCD, ACT teaches individuals to acknowledge obsessive thoughts…

Aided Language Stimulation(also: Aided Language Modeling, Aided Language Input, ALgS)

A communication intervention technique in which a conversation partner models language on an AAC device while speaking, pointing to symbols on the learner's communication system as they talk. This includes describing their own actions, narrating the learner's actions, providing…

Animal-Assisted Therapy(also: AAT, Pet Therapy)

A non-pharmacological therapeutic approach in which interaction with animals — typically dogs, cats, or horses — is used to support physical, cognitive, social, or emotional health goals. Evidence suggests AAT can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and improve mood and…

Applied Behavior Analysis(also: ABA, ABA Therapy)

A therapeutic approach based on behavioral psychology principles that aims to increase desired behaviors and decrease undesired ones through systematic reinforcement. ABA is widely used as an intervention for autistic children, particularly in the United States. While proponents…

Applied Behavioral Analysis(also: ABA, Behavioral Analysis, Behaviour Analysis)

Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) is a scientific approach to understanding and changing behavior through systematic observation, measurement, and evidence-based intervention. In accessibility and disability contexts, ABA principles — including positive reinforcement, prompting,…

Applied Behavioural Analysis(also: ABA, Applied Behavior Analysis)

A therapeutic approach based on behaviorist principles that uses reinforcement and conditioning to modify behaviour, widely used with autistic children. ABA has become increasingly controversial within the autistic community and among disability scholars. Critics argue that it…

Art Therapy(also: Creative Arts Therapy, Arts Therapy)

A form of psychotherapy that uses creative art-making as the primary mode of expression and communication. Art therapy is facilitated by trained therapists and can involve painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, and other visual arts activities. For older adults with dementia and…

Audio-Visual Entrainment(also: AVE, Brainwave Entrainment)

Audio-visual entrainment (AVE) is a therapeutic technique that uses rhythmic light and sound stimuli to influence brainwave activity, guiding the brain toward specific frequency states associated with relaxation, focus, or reduced anxiety. The technique has been demonstrated to…

Behavioral Intervention(also: Behavior Intervention, Applied Behavior Analysis, ABA)

A systematic approach to understanding and modifying behavior, most commonly applied to support children with autism, ADHD, and other neurodevelopmental conditions. Behavioral intervention uses evidence-based techniques including prompting, reinforcement, cueing, and feedback…

Binaural Beats

Binaural beats are an auditory phenomenon that occurs when two tones of slightly different frequencies are played simultaneously in separate ears through headphones, creating a perceived third tone whose frequency equals the difference between the two signals. For example, a 400…

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy(also: CBT)

A widely used, evidence-based form of psychotherapy that focuses on identifying and modifying dysfunctional thought patterns and behaviors. CBT is based on the premise that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected, and that changing negative thinking patterns can…

Cognitive Stimulation(also: Cognitive Stimulation Therapy, CST)

A structured programme of activities and discussions designed to engage and stimulate cognitive abilities — including memory, attention, language, and problem-solving — in people with mild to moderate dementia. Cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) is one of the few…

Cued Naming Therapy(also: Cued Naming, Cueing Hierarchy Therapy)

A structured aphasia therapy approach in which clinicians provide progressively stronger hints (cues) to help a person retrieve a target word. Cues may be phonological (providing the first sound or syllable), semantic (giving a related word or category), orthographic (showing…

Cymatics

The study of visible patterns and shapes created when sound vibrations pass through physical media such as water, sand, or metal plates. Cymatic patterns are deterministic — the same frequency produces the same pattern — creating a predictable visual representation of sound. In…

Deep Pressure Therapy(also: DPT, Deep Pressure Stimulation, Deep Touch Pressure)

A therapeutic approach that uses firm, distributed tactile pressure — such as from weighted blankets, compression garments, or inflatable vests — to reduce anxiety, stress, and physiological arousal. Deep pressure stimulation activates the parasympathetic nervous system,…

Digital Living Media(also: Living Media Interface, Biotic Design)

Systems that combine living organisms with electronic components as part of a digital interface. In accessibility contexts, digital living media have been explored as motivational tools for children with disabilities, where the growth of a living organism (such as a mushroom…

Doll Therapy

A nonpharmacological intervention used in dementia care in which a person is given a lifelike doll to hold, dress, and care for. For some people with advanced dementia, engaging with the doll can reduce agitation and distress, promote calm, and provide a sense of purpose and…

Early Intervention(also: EI, Early Childhood Intervention)

Early intervention refers to services and supports provided to infants and young children (typically from birth to age six) who have developmental delays, disabilities, or conditions that place them at risk for developmental difficulties. The aim is to reduce or compensate for…

Electrical Muscle Stimulation(also: EMS, Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation, NMES)

A technique that uses electrical impulses delivered through surface electrodes to elicit muscle contractions. EMS is used therapeutically for muscle re-education, spasticity management, and rehabilitation, and has been explored in HCI as an output modality — for example, guiding…

Exposure and Response Prevention(also: ERP, Exposure Therapy)

The gold-standard evidence-based treatment for OCD in which individuals gradually confront situations that trigger their obsessions (exposure) while refraining from performing their usual compulsive responses (response prevention). ERP follows a structured approach using a…

Expressive Writing(also: Pennebaker Paradigm)

A therapeutic writing practice, formalised by James Pennebaker in the 1980s, in which individuals write about emotionally significant or traumatic experiences for short, repeated sessions. Decades of empirical evidence link expressive writing to measurable benefits in physical…

Improvisational Music Therapy(also: IMT, Creative Music Therapy)

A therapeutic approach in which the therapist and client spontaneously create music together without predetermined structure or composed material. This form of music therapy allows non-verbal communication and emotional expression through musical interaction, making it…

Lee Silverman Voice Treatment(also: LSVT, LSVT LOUD)

An evidence-based speech therapy programme originally developed for individuals with Parkinson's disease that focuses on increasing vocal loudness as the primary mechanism for improving overall speech clarity. LSVT trains patients to "think loud" and speak with greater effort,…

Multi-Sensory Environment(also: MSE, Snoezelen, Multisensory Room)

A specially designed space that combines sensory stimuli — such as lighting, sound, textures, and aromas — to provide therapeutic, calming, or stimulating experiences for people with disabilities. Originally developed in the Netherlands under the name Snoezelen, multi-sensory…

Multiple Cue Responding(also: MCR)

The ability to observe and attend to multiple features of a stimulus simultaneously (such as colour, shape, and size) and use all of those features to make decisions. Multiple cue responding is a foundational cognitive skill that typically develops around age three or four and…

Multisensory Stimulation(also: MSS)

A therapeutic and design approach that intentionally coordinates multiple sensory modalities — visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and kinetic — to support affective well-being, cognitive engagement, and behavioral regulation. MSS has a long clinical history in dementia care…

Music Psychotherapy

A form of music therapy that uses musical activities — songwriting, improvisation, lyric analysis, receptive listening — to address emotional, psychological, and relational concerns rather than sensory or rehabilitative goals. Practitioners are typically licensed music…

Music Therapy

A clinical and evidence-based practice that uses music interventions to accomplish individualized therapeutic goals, including improving communication, social interaction, emotional expression, and motor skills. For people with disabilities, music therapy can be particularly…

Naming Practice(also: Confrontation Naming, Naming Therapy, Picture Naming)

A speech-language therapy technique in which individuals with aphasia are shown pictures of familiar objects and asked to produce the corresponding word. Naming practice is one of the most common and well-evidenced interventions for word finding difficulties (anomia) in people…

Non-Pharmacological Intervention(also: NPI, Non-Drug Intervention)

A non-pharmacological intervention (NPI) is any therapeutic approach delivered without medication, including art and music therapy, reminiscence work, cognitive stimulation, exercise programmes, animal-assisted therapy, environmental modifications, structured social activity,…

Physical Therapy(also: Physiotherapy, PT)

A healthcare profession focused on evaluating and treating physical impairments, functional limitations, and disabilities through movement, exercise, manual therapy, and assistive devices. Physical therapists work with people recovering from injuries, surgeries, strokes, and…

Pivotal Response Training(also: PRT, Pivotal Response Treatment)

A naturalistic, child-initiated behavioural intervention developed for children with autism that targets "pivotal" skills — foundational abilities whose improvement produces widespread positive changes across social, communication, and academic domains. Unlike highly structured…

Rehabilitation(also: Rehab, Therapeutic Rehabilitation)

A set of interventions designed to restore or optimize functioning and reduce disability in individuals with health conditions. Rehabilitation may address physical, cognitive, sensory, or communication abilities through exercises, therapies, assistive devices, and environmental…

Reminiscence(also: Reminiscence Therapy)

The process of recalling and reflecting on past personal experiences, often used therapeutically to promote mental well-being in older adults. Reminiscence therapy involves structured activities that trigger memories through sensory cues, familiar locations, music, or…

SUDS(also: Subjective Units of Distress Scale, Subjective Units of Disturbance Scale)

A self-report scale, typically ranging from 0 to 100 or 0 to 10, used to measure the intensity of subjective distress or anxiety experienced by an individual in a given moment. SUDS ratings are widely used in exposure therapy for OCD and anxiety disorders to track anxiety levels…

Serious Games(also: Applied Games, Games for Health, Therapeutic Games)

Games designed with a primary purpose beyond entertainment, such as education, training, therapy, or rehabilitation. In accessibility contexts, serious games are increasingly used for vision therapy, cognitive rehabilitation, motor skill development, and social skills training…

Serious Games for Health(also: SG4H, Health Games, Therapeutic Games)

Serious Games for Health (SG4H) are video games designed primarily for clinical, rehabilitative, or health-education outcomes rather than entertainment, while still using game mechanics, narrative, and reward systems to motivate engagement. They are used in physical therapy,…

Social Motor Synchrony(also: Interpersonal Synchrony, Motor Synchrony)

The spontaneous or intentional coordination of body movements between two or more people during social interaction, such as matching rhythms, mirroring gestures, or moving in temporal alignment. Social Motor Synchrony is considered an important indicator of social engagement and…

Social Skills Intervention(also: Social Skills Training, SST, Social Skills Therapy)

Structured approaches to teaching social interaction skills to individuals who experience difficulties in social situations, commonly used with people with Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, or social anxiety. Interventions may include direct instruction, modeling, role-playing,…

Speech and Language Therapy(also: SLT, Speech-Language Pathology, SLP)

A healthcare discipline focused on assessing and treating communication difficulties including speech, language, voice, fluency, and swallowing disorders. Speech and language therapists work with people who stammer, those with dysarthria, aphasia, and other conditions affecting…

Speech-Language Therapy(also: Speech Therapy, SLT, Speech-Language Pathology)

A clinical practice focused on assessing and treating communication disorders including speech, language, voice, fluency, and swallowing difficulties. Speech-language therapists (or speech-language pathologists) work with people who have aphasia, dysarthria, stuttering, voice…

Supportive Empathy

A therapeutic conversational stance in which a listener responds to another person's feelings with affirmation, validation, and gentle encouragement rather than problem-solving or interpretation. In music-therapy practice supportive empathy is often paired with a 'holding'…

Therapeutic Play(also: Play Therapy, Therapeutic Gaming)

The use of play activities, games, toys, or interactive technology as a medium for achieving therapeutic or rehabilitative goals in children. Unlike recreational play, therapeutic play is structured or guided by a therapist to target specific objectives such as exercising…

Thought Diffusion(also: Cognitive Defusion, Defusion)

A technique from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in which a person creates psychological distance from an intrusive thought by recognizing and naming it as simply a thought, rather than treating it as a fact or a command to act. For example, instead of reacting to the thought…

Trigger Hierarchy(also: Exposure Hierarchy, Fear Hierarchy, Fear Ladder)

A ranked list of situations, objects, or thoughts that trigger OCD anxiety, ordered from least to most distressing as measured by subjective distress ratings (SUDS). Trigger hierarchies are a foundational tool in Exposure and Response Prevention therapy, guiding the gradual…

Vision Therapy(also: Visual Training, Orthoptics, Eye Training)

A program of visual activities and exercises prescribed to improve visual skills and processing, often used to treat conditions like amblyopia, strabismus, and convergence insufficiency. Vision therapy can include in-office sessions and at-home exercises, and increasingly…

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