Glossary

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Money Management(also: Personal Finance Management)

The everyday practices of tracking income and spending, budgeting, paying bills, saving, and making purchasing decisions. For people with cognitive or developmental disabilities, money management is often a shared activity with family, support workers, or fiduciaries, and the…

Olmstead Decision(also: Olmstead v. L.C.)

A landmark 1999 United States Supreme Court ruling that held requiring disabled people to live in institutional settings when they could live in the community constitutes unlawful discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The decision mandated that states provide…

Over-Assistance(also: Over-Helping, Excessive Assistance)

The tendency of caregivers, family members, or support providers to complete tasks for a person with a disability rather than allowing them to perform the tasks independently, even when the person is capable. Over-assistance often stems from time pressure, concern about safety,…

Pacing Aid(also: Pacing System, Time Management Aid)

An assistive technology that helps individuals with cognitive impairments manage the timing and sequence of activities in daily routines. Pacing aids provide cues — visual, auditory, or tactile — to indicate whether the user is on schedule, ahead, or behind, without requiring…

Personal Care Assistant(also: PCA, Personal Care Attendant, Personal Support Worker)

A person who provides hands-on assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) to people with disabilities or older adults who need support with tasks such as bathing, dressing, toileting, grooming, eating, and transferring. PCAs may be formally employed through agencies or…

Prompting System(also: Prompting Device, Task Prompting Technology)

An assistive technology that provides stepwise guidance through text, images, audio, or video instructions to help individuals complete multi-step tasks such as cooking, personal hygiene, or workplace activities. Prompting systems are widely used to support people with cognitive…

Reminder System(also: Prompting System, Cognitive Prosthetic)

An assistive technology that provides timely cues, alerts, or step-by-step prompts to support task completion for people with memory or executive function difficulties. Reminder systems can range from simple timer-based alerts to sophisticated context-aware systems that track…

Robotic Arm(also: Robot Arm, Assistive Robotic Arm, Manipulator Arm)

A programmable mechanical device with jointed segments that can grasp, move, and manipulate objects, controlled through various input methods. In assistive technology contexts, robotic arms are used to extend the physical capabilities of people with motor impairments, enabling…

Routinisation(also: Routinization, Age-Related Routinisation)

The tendency of older adults to increasingly organise their daily activities into fixed, predictable routines as they age. As cognitive resources decline, older adults optimise their remaining capacity by performing activities in the same order, at the same times, and in the…

Self-Management(also: Self-Management Intervention, Self-Management Strategy)

Self-management is a behavioral intervention approach in which individuals learn to independently monitor, evaluate, and modify their own behavior to achieve specific goals. In disability contexts, self-management strategies are widely used to help individuals with autism and…

Sighted Assistance(also: Visual Interpreting, Remote Sighted Assistance)

Sighted assistance refers to services that connect blind or low-vision individuals with sighted people who can provide visual information on demand, typically through a live video call from a smartphone or smart glasses. Services like Be My Eyes (volunteer-based) and Aira…

Smart Home(also: Home Automation, Connected Home)

A residence equipped with networked devices and systems that can be monitored and controlled remotely or automatically, including lighting, heating, security, and entertainment systems. Smart home technology has significant accessibility potential — enabling people with motor…

Smart Home Accessibility(also: Accessible Smart Home, Smart Home Automation)

The design and implementation of connected home technologies — such as voice-controlled lighting, automated door locks, smart thermostats, and appliance controls — in ways that are usable by people with disabilities. Smart home accessibility enables greater independence by…

Supported Decision-Making(also: SDM)

A legal and practical alternative to guardianship in which a person with a cognitive or developmental disability retains decision-making authority over their own life while receiving support from trusted people — family, friends, advocates — who help them understand options,…

Transinstitutionalization

The transition of disabled people from one type of institutional setting to another rather than to genuine community-based living. For example, the movement of disabled individuals from clinical institutions such as psychiatric hospitals to criminal institutional settings such…

Transition Period(also: School-to-Adult Transition, Transition Services)

In disability services, the transition period refers to the years during which a young person with a disability moves from school-based supports into adult life. In the United States, school systems are legally required to provide full-time services to students with disabilities…

Transportation Accessibility(also: Accessible Transportation, Mobility Accessibility)

The design and provision of transportation systems, services, and infrastructure that are usable by people with disabilities. Transportation accessibility encompasses physical access to vehicles and transit stops, accessible information systems (route planning, real-time…

Travel Chain(also: Mobility Chain, Journey Chain)

A travel chain is the complete sequence of connected stages that make up a journey from origin to destination, including planning, leaving the starting point, walking to transport, using public transport, navigating outdoor environments, entering buildings, and finding specific…

Travel Training(also: Mobility Training, Independent Travel Training)

Structured instruction that teaches people with disabilities how to travel independently and safely using public transportation or walking routes. Travel training typically involves repeated practice of specific routes, learning to recognize landmarks, understanding timetables,…

Virtual Tour(also: 3D Virtual Tour, Digital Walkthrough)

A digital replica of a physical environment, typically captured using 360-degree cameras and depth sensors, that allows users to remotely explore and navigate through a space in a semi-immersive experience. In accessibility contexts, virtual tours offer people with mobility…

Well-being Monitoring(also: Health Monitoring, Remote Health Monitoring, Ambient Assisted Living)

The use of sensors, devices, and software systems to track and report on an individual's health and daily living indicators — such as mobility, sleep patterns, eating and drinking habits, personal hygiene, and medical conditions — typically within their home environment.…