Glossary

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A* Path Planning(also: A-star algorithm, A* search)

A classic graph-search algorithm (Hart, Nilsson, and Raphael, 1968) that finds the shortest or lowest-cost path between two points by combining the cost already travelled with a heuristic estimate of the remaining distance. In assistive indoor navigation for blind travellers, A*…

AAC

Abbreviation for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. AAC encompasses all forms of communication other than oral speech that are used to express thoughts, needs, wants, and ideas. This includes both unaided systems (such as gestures, sign language, and facial expressions)…

AAC Abandonment(also: AAC Device Abandonment, AT Abandonment)

The widespread phenomenon of users discontinuing their use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices, particularly common among people with aphasia. Abandonment is driven by multiple factors including poor personalization and difficulty customizing devices to…

AAC Corpus(also: AAC Text Corpus, Augmentative Communication Corpus)

A collection of text produced by or representative of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device users, used for training and evaluating language models and word prediction systems. AAC corpora are notoriously difficult to assemble because AAC users produce text…

AAC Device(also: AAC System, Communication Device)

A dedicated hardware device or software application designed to support augmentative and alternative communication for people who cannot rely on natural speech. AAC devices range from low-tech options (communication boards, picture cards) to high-tech systems (speech-generating…

AAC Symbol Set(also: Symbol Set, Communication Symbol Set, Pictographic Symbol Set)

A standardised collection of pictographic images used in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to represent words, phrases, or concepts. Each symbol in a set is mapped to specific vocabulary, allowing people who cannot use spoken language to construct messages by…

ABA Reversal Method(also: ABA Design, Reversal Design)

The ABA reversal method is a single-subject experimental design in which one participant is observed across three phases: a baseline (A), an intervention (B), and a return to baseline (A). By comparing performance across the A-B-A sequence, the design isolates the effect of the…

ABC Model(also: Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence, ABC Analysis, ABC Framework)

A behavioural-science framework, rooted in B. F. Skinner's operant conditioning, that analyses any observed behaviour as a three-part sequence: Antecedent (the situation, trigger, or context immediately before the behaviour), Behaviour (what the person actually did), and…

ABC Notation(also: ABC Text, ABC Music Notation)

A shorthand ASCII text format for representing music notation using plain characters that can be read directly by screen readers. In ABC notation, pitch is represented by letters (A-G for different octaves), rhythm by numbers and fractions, and musical elements like key…

ABET(also: Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology)

A non-profit, non-governmental body that accredits US post-secondary programmes in applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology. ABET’s Computing Accreditation Commission and Engineering Accreditation Commission set the programme outcomes that…

ACCMD(also: ACCessibility MetaData, IMS ACCessibility MetaData)

A metadata specification developed by the IMS Global Learning Consortium for describing the accessibility characteristics of learning resources. ACCMD provides a structured way to document whether a resource contains auditory, visual, textual, or tactile information, and to…

ACM Code of Ethics(also: ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct)

A statement of professional ethics maintained by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) that sets out the moral and professional responsibilities of computing practitioners. Significantly revised in 2018, the Code explicitly addresses accessibility and inclusion, stating…

ACT Rules(also: Accessibility Conformance Testing Rules, ACT-R)

A set of standardized, machine-readable test rules developed by the W3C that provide specific, objective criteria for evaluating whether web content meets accessibility requirements like WCAG success criteria. ACT Rules aim to reduce inconsistency between different automated…

AChecker(also: IDI Web Accessibility Checker)

An open-source web accessibility evaluation tool that checks HTML content against accessibility standards including WCAG 2.0. AChecker identifies three types of issues: known problems (definite violations detectable by rule), likely problems (probable violations requiring human…

AD Guidelines(also: Audio Description Guidelines, AD Standards)

Established rules and best practices that govern the creation of audio descriptions for video and live performances. AD guidelines cover aspects such as what to describe (actions, characters, settings, on-screen text), language style (present tense, third person, objective),…

AD Personalization(also: Audio Description Customization, Personalized Audio Description)

The practice of tailoring audio descriptions to individual user preferences rather than providing a one-size-fits-all narration. Personalization can include varying the level of detail (concise vs. comprehensive), focus (character-driven vs. environment-driven), interpretation…

AD Timing(also: Audio Description Timing, AD Placement)

The process of determining when audio descriptions should be inserted into video content. Effective AD timing requires identifying natural pauses in dialogue and significant audio where descriptions can be placed without overlapping important sound. Automated AD timing systems…

ADA(also: Americans with Disabilities Act)

A landmark United States civil rights law enacted in 1990 that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including employment, education, transportation, and access to public and private places open to the general public. The ADA…

ADA Compliance(also: Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance)

Adherence to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a 1990 US civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, telecommunications, and government services. ADA compliance…

ADA Title II(also: Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act)

The section of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that prohibits discrimination based on disability by public entities, including all state and local governments and their departments, agencies, and instrumentalities. Title II requires that people with disabilities have…

ADA Transition Plan(also: ADA Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan, Accessibility Transition Plan)

A document required under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that outlines how a public entity will make its programs, services, activities, and facilities accessible to people with disabilities. The plan must include an inventory of accessibility barriers, a…

ADHD(also: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, ADD)

A neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent patterns of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that affect executive function, including working memory, task initiation, sustained attention, and self-regulation. ADHD affects an estimated 3-6% of adults…

ADHD(also: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder)

A neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent patterns of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that interfere with functioning and development. ADHD affects working memory, executive function, and the ability to sustain attention on tasks. For digital…

ADHD Rating Scale(also: ADHD-RS, ADHD-RS-IV)

A standardised assessment tool based on DSM diagnostic criteria for evaluating the frequency and severity of ADHD symptoms in children and adolescents. Completed by parents or teachers, it measures inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptom clusters. In digital health and…

ADHD Subtype(also: ADHD Presentation, ADHD Type)

A classification of ADHD based on the predominant symptom pattern experienced by an individual. The three recognized subtypes are: predominantly inattentive (difficulty sustaining attention, following through on tasks, and organizing activities), predominantly…

ADHD Tax(also: Disability Tax, Crip Tax)

The additional financial, emotional, and intellectual costs that people with ADHD and other neurodivergent conditions must pay to navigate systems designed for neurotypical functioning. Examples include purchasing productivity apps, planners, and wearable devices to compensate…

ADKAR(also: ADKAR Model, ADKAR Change Management Model)

A goal-oriented change management model developed by Prosci that identifies five sequential outcomes an individual must achieve for organizational change to succeed: Awareness of the need for change, Desire to support and participate in it, Knowledge of how to change, Ability to…

AHEAD(also: Association on Higher Education And Disability)

The Association on Higher Education And Disability, a professional organization that provides resources, guidelines, and program standards for disability services offices in postsecondary education. AHEAD develops standards that outline minimum essential services disability…

AI Accountability(also: Algorithmic Accountability, AI Governance)

The principle that developers, deployers, and operators of AI systems should be held responsible for the outcomes those systems produce, including negative effects on marginalized populations such as people with disabilities. AI accountability encompasses transparency about how…

AI Auditing(also: Algorithmic Auditing, AI Audit)

The systematic evaluation of an AI system's outputs, behaviour, or training data to identify harms such as bias, stereotype reproduction, or accessibility failures. Audits may be conducted by industry professionals, external researchers, regulators, or end users, and are…

AI Bias(also: Algorithmic Bias, Machine Learning Bias)

Systematic and unfair discrimination in AI system outputs that arises from biased training data, flawed model design, or unrepresentative assumptions embedded in the development process. In accessibility contexts, AI bias can manifest as systems that reinforce stereotypes about…

AI Chatbot Accessibility(also: Accessible AI, LLM Accessibility)

The design and evaluation of AI-powered chatbots and large language model applications to ensure they are usable by and beneficial to people with disabilities. This encompasses both the technical accessibility of chatbot interfaces (screen reader compatibility, keyboard…

AI Code Assistant(also: AI coding assistant, AI programming assistant)

A developer tool powered by large language models that provides code completion, natural-language explanations, refactoring, bug fixes, and conversational programming support inside an IDE or editor. Modern AI code assistants (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Cline) often include…

AI Code Generation(also: Code Generation Model, AI Coding Assistant, LLM Code Generation)

The use of large language models and machine learning to automatically generate, suggest, or complete source code based on natural language prompts or existing code context. Tools like GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, and Amazon CodeWhisperer are integrated into developer workflows as…

AI Coding Assistant(also: AI Pair Programmer, Code Copilot)

An artificial intelligence tool integrated into code editors that assists developers by generating code suggestions, completing code snippets, and answering programming questions using large language models trained on code repositories. In accessibility contexts, AI coding…

AI Companion(also: Chatbot Companion, AI Companionship)

An AI companion is an artificial-intelligence system - typically a text, voice or avatar-based chatbot built on a large language model - explicitly designed to offer users a sense of social presence, intimacy or relational support, marketed as a friend, confidant, mentor or…

AI Confidence(also: Model Confidence, Prediction Confidence)

A measure of how certain an AI model is about a particular output or prediction. In the context of image descriptions for BLV users, AI confidence can be communicated through various means: internal probability scores (often unavailable for black-box commercial models), natural…

AI Content Describer(also: NVDA AI Content Describer)

AI Content Describer is an add-on for the NVDA screen reader that uses multimodal AI models to generate descriptions of on-screen visual content — images, controls, icons, charts, and arbitrary screen regions — on demand. It gives NVDA users a JAWS-Picture-Smart-equivalent…

AI Dubbing(also: AI Voice Generation, Neural TTS Dubbing)

The use of artificial intelligence text-to-speech systems to generate spoken narration and character dialogue for media production. In accessible webtoon and comic production, AI dubbing offers a cost-effective alternative to professional voice actors, enabling scalable…

AI Fairness(also: Algorithmic Fairness, Fair AI)

The principle that AI systems should not create or reinforce unfair bias against particular groups. Standard AI fairness frameworks primarily address race and gender but are increasingly recognized as inadequate for disability, because disability is often invisible,…

AI Ghostwriter Effect(also: Ghostwriter Effect)

A phenomenon, first named by Draxler and colleagues, in which people who use AI writing assistants do not perceive themselves as authors or owners of the resulting text yet still publicly self-declare authorship. The effect persists even when personalization makes outputs…

AI Hallucination(also: Model Hallucination, Confabulation)

The phenomenon where an AI model generates confident, plausible-sounding responses that are factually incorrect, fabricated, or not grounded in the actual input data. In accessibility contexts, AI hallucinations pose a serious safety concern — for example, a multimodal AI…

AI Hiring Interview(also: Automated Video Interview, AVI, Asynchronous Video Interview)

An asynchronous job-interview process in which candidates record video responses to pre-recorded or text-based questions on a platform that uses artificial intelligence to analyse facial expressions, vocal cues, word choice, and behavioural signals to score suitability.…

AI Homogenization(also: AI-Driven Homogenization, Generative AI Homogenization Effect)

The tendency for generative AI systems to produce outputs that converge toward similar patterns, reducing the diversity and uniqueness of results across different users and contexts. In accessibility and assistive technology, AI homogenization is particularly concerning because…

AI Incident Database(also: AIID, AI Incident Tracker)

A publicly accessible repository that documents reported incidents where AI-driven systems have caused harm or produced negative outcomes for individuals, communities, or society. Major databases include AIAAIC (AI, Algorithmic, and Automation Incidents and Controversies), the…

AI Mental Model(also: Mental Model of AI, User Mental Model of AI)

A user's conceptual representation of how an artificial intelligence system works, including beliefs about its information sources, processing methods, capabilities, and limitations. Mental models of AI are often incomplete, oversimplified, or erroneous, which can lead to…

AI Over-Reliance(also: Automation Bias (AI), Over-Reliance on AI)

The tendency of users to accept AI system outputs — recommendations, classifications, or content — without sufficient critical evaluation, even when those outputs are wrong or biased. Over-reliance is a well-documented AI safety concern and is especially consequential in…

AI Overreliance(also: Automation Bias, Over-Trust in AI)

The tendency for users to trust AI systems more than is warranted by their actual accuracy, accepting AI-generated outputs without sufficient critical evaluation. In accessibility contexts, AI overreliance is a significant safety concern because blind and low vision users of…

AI Proxy(also: AI Proxying)

A design pattern in which an AI system acts on a user's behalf within a social, communicative, or interpretive setting — for example, generating a facial expression, voice, or written reply that represents the user to others — rather than merely assisting the user with a…

AI Recourse(also: Algorithmic Recourse, AI Appeal Mechanism)

The ability of individuals negatively affected by AI-driven decisions to challenge, appeal, or seek correction of those decisions. For people with disabilities, AI recourse is particularly critical because AI systems frequently make consequential decisions about welfare…