Glossary

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Camera Aiming(also: Camera Pointing, Camera Guidance)

The challenge blind users face in correctly positioning and aiming a camera to capture the intended visual content. Since blind users cannot see the camera viewfinder, they may inadvertently capture too much, too little, or entirely unintended content, contributing to privacy…

Camera Framing(also: Photo Framing, Object Framing)

The act of positioning a camera so that the intended subject is properly captured within the image frame — not cropped, not too small, and centered enough for clear identification. Camera framing presents a significant accessibility challenge for blind and low-vision users who…

Camera Guidance(also: Camera Aiming Assistance, Framing Assistance)

Non-visual feedback systems that help blind users position a camera to capture usable images of documents, objects, or scenes. Guidance may include spoken directional instructions (e.g., "move up", "move left"), audio tones indicating proximity to a target, or vibration…

Camera Mouse(also: Head-Controlled Mouse Pointer, Head Tracking Mouse)

A computer-vision-based mouse-replacement system that tracks a user's head motion through a standard webcam to control the mouse pointer on screen. Developed at Boston University by Margrit Betke and James Gips, Camera Mouse is freely available and enables people with severe…

Camera Phone(also: Smartphone Camera, Mobile Camera)

A camera phone is a mobile phone equipped with a built-in image sensor, which in an accessibility context serves as the input device for a wide class of vision-based assistive applications. Modern smartphone cameras enable live scene description (Seeing AI, Be My AI), object…

Camera-based assistive technology(also: Camera-based AT, Vision-based AT, VBAT)

Assistive technologies that use cameras (typically smartphone cameras or smart glasses) combined with computer vision and AI to provide visual information to blind and low-vision users. Applications include object recognition, text reading (OCR), scene description, face…

Camouflaging(also: Masking, Social Camouflage, Autistic Masking)

Camouflaging, also known as masking, is the conscious or unconscious suppression of autistic traits and adoption of neurotypical behaviors in order to fit into social situations. This can include forcing eye contact, suppressing stimming, rehearsing social scripts, and imitating…

Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire(also: CAT-Q)

A 25-item self-report questionnaire developed by Hull, Mandy, Lai, Baron-Cohen and colleagues (2019) for adults to self-assess autistic masking (camouflaging) behaviours. Items are rated on a 7-point Likert scale (e.g., "In social situations, I feel like I am pretending to be…

Candlewick Knot(also: Candlewick Stitch)

An embroidery stitch that creates raised, textured bumps or knots on the fabric surface. Candlewick knots produce one of the roughest and most tactilely distinctive textures available in machine embroidery, making them particularly valuable for tactile graphics where strong…

Cane Simulation(also: Virtual Cane, White Cane Simulation)

A virtual reality application that simulates the experience of using a white cane (long cane) for navigation, allowing blind users to explore virtual environments through haptic feedback. In a cane simulation, the user's finger or hand position is mapped to a virtual cane that…

Cane Technique(also: White Cane Technique, Long Cane Technique)

The set of physical methods a blind or low-vision person uses to manipulate a long white cane while traveling. Common techniques include the two-point touch (side-to-side sweeping, touching ground at each step), constant-contact (sliding the cane tip along the ground in an arc),…

Canonical MathML(also: Canonical Mathematical Markup Language)

A restricted, normalised subset of MathML in which mathematical structures are represented in a deterministic, unambiguous way. While standard Presentation MathML allows the same mathematical expression to be encoded in multiple equivalent ways, Canonical MathML enforces a…

Canonical Syllable(also: Canonical Babbling, Well-Formed Syllable)

A canonical syllable is a well-formed syllable in infant babbling that consists of a consonant-like closure (closant) produced by an oral cavity constriction followed by a vowel-like opening (vocant). Canonical syllables typically appear between 5 and 10 months of age in the…

Capabilities approach(also: Capability approach, Human capabilities framework)

A philosophical framework developed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum that evaluates well-being and justice based on what people are actually able to do and be, rather than on the resources they possess. In disability and accessibility contexts, the capabilities approach…

Capability Sensitive Design

A design approach, proposed by Ilse Oosterlaken, that takes human diversity morally seriously and evaluates technologies by how they actually expand or constrain the real opportunities (capabilities) available to individual users. Capability Sensitive Design extends the…

Capability model(also: User capability profile)

A structured representation of an individual user's abilities across relevant dimensions such as sight, hearing, mobility, and cognition. In accessibility and adaptive interface design, capability models are used to characterize what interaction modalities and design spaces are…

Capacitive Touch(also: Capacitive Sensing, Capacitive Touch Sensing)

A touch detection technology that works by measuring changes in electrical capacitance when a conductive object, such as a human finger, comes near or contacts an electrode surface. The finger and electrode form a capacitor whose capacitance changes upon contact, and this change…

Capacitive Touchscreen(also: Capacitive Touch Display, Cap Touch)

A capacitive touchscreen is a type of display that detects touch input by sensing changes in the electrical field caused by the conductivity of a human finger or conductive stylus. Unlike resistive touchscreens that require physical pressure, capacitive screens respond to the…

Capacitive marker(also: Capacitive fiducial, Conductive marker)

A conductive structure embedded in a physical object that registers as a touch point on a capacitive touchscreen, enabling the device to detect the object's position and orientation without cameras or external sensors. In accessible tactile graphics, capacitive markers printed…

Capacity Building(also: Research Capacity Building, Capability Development)

The process of developing and strengthening the skills, resources, and infrastructure that enable individuals, communities, and organizations to carry out research, develop technologies, and advocate for their needs effectively. In accessibility, capacity building involves…

Caption(also: Image Caption, Figure Caption)

In the context of image accessibility, a caption is text that describes or provides context for an image. Unlike alt text, which is typically hidden and read only by screen readers, captions are often visible to all users and may appear below or alongside an image. Captions can…

Caption Accuracy(also: Captioning Accuracy, Transcription Accuracy)

A measure of how correctly captions represent the spoken content, typically expressed as the percentage of words that match the ground truth transcript. Caption accuracy is critical for deaf and hard of hearing users who depend on captions for comprehension, particularly in…

Caption Crawler(also: Reverse Image Search Alt Text)

A technique and tool that retrieves existing alternative text for web images by performing reverse image searches to find the same image on other websites where it has already been described. Rather than generating new descriptions, Caption Crawler reuses human-written alt text…

Caption Customization(also: Caption Personalization, Adaptive Captioning)

The ability for viewers to adjust caption properties to match their individual preferences and needs. Caption customization can encompass visual attributes like font size, color, and positioning, as well as content-level attributes like level of detail, expressiveness, and sound…

Caption Delay(also: Caption Latency, Synchronization Delay)

The time lag between spoken audio and the appearance of the corresponding caption on screen. In live captioning, typical delays are around 5–6 seconds due to the time needed for captioners to hear, process, and produce text plus transmission overhead. In fast-paced sports, such…

Caption Density

The amount of caption text displayed on screen relative to the available display time and screen space. High caption density—common in fast-paced scenes with many sound events—can overwhelm viewers by requiring rapid reading while also attending to visual content. Caption…

Caption Flow(also: Captioning Flow, Text Flow)

The smoothness and regularity with which caption text appears and updates on screen during real-time captioning. Good caption flow means text arrives at a consistent pace without jarring delays, sudden bursts, or choppy delivery. Research shows that caption flow significantly…

Caption Highlighting(also: Text Highlighting in Captions, Keyword Highlighting in Captions)

The visual emphasis of important words within video captions to help viewers quickly identify key concepts and reduce the cognitive load of reading dynamic text. Research with Deaf and Hard of Hearing users has found that underlining 5-15% of the most important words in captions…

Caption Occlusion(also: Caption Blocking, Subtitle Occlusion)

The phenomenon where captions or subtitles visually block or cover other important information displayed on a video screen. Caption occlusion is a significant accessibility concern for Deaf and Hard of Hearing viewers, who depend on captions for dialogue access but may…

Caption Placement(also: Caption Positioning, Subtitle Placement)

The decision of where captions or subtitles are positioned on a video screen, which significantly affects the viewing experience of Deaf and Hard of Hearing users. Poor caption placement can occlude important visual information such as speakers' faces, onscreen graphics, or news…

Caption Quality(also: Subtitle Quality)

The overall fitness of a set of captions or subtitles for their intended accessibility purpose. Quality is multi-dimensional: it includes text accuracy (whether spoken words are correctly transcribed, commonly measured by Word Error Rate or the NER model), synchronicity with the…

Caption Readability

The ease with which viewers can read and process caption text on screen, influenced by factors including font size, display duration, caption density, reading speed requirements, and competition with on-screen visual content. Caption readability is a core accessibility concern…

Caption quality metric(also: ACE metric, Caption evaluation metric)

A measure designed to predict how understandable automatically generated captions are for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing users, as an alternative to standard Word Error Rate which correlates poorly with actual DHH comprehension. The Automatic Caption Evaluation (ACE) metric combines…

Captioned Telephone(also: CapTel, Captioned Phone)

A telecommunications device that displays real-time captions of what the other party is saying during a phone call, enabling people who are hard of hearing to read the conversation while also listening. Captions are generated by a trained communications assistant who re-voices…

Captioning(also: Captions, Closed captions, Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing)

The conversion of spoken dialogue, sound effects, and other auditory information into synchronised text displayed alongside audiovisual content. Captioning makes audio content accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing and also benefits people in noisy environments,…

Captioning(also: Captions, Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, SDH)

The process of displaying synchronized text on screen that represents spoken dialogue, sound effects, and other audio information in video content. Unlike subtitles, captions are specifically designed for deaf and hard of hearing viewers and include non-speech sounds like [door…

Captioning Key(also: DCMP Captioning Key)

A set of guidelines and best practices for creating high-quality captions, most notably published by the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP). The Captioning Key covers standards for caption accuracy, consistency, placement, and the representation of non-speech sounds.…

Captions(also: Subtitles, Text Captions)

Text displayed on screen that represents the audio content of a video, including spoken dialogue and important sound effects. Captions are essential for deaf and hard of hearing viewers but also benefit people with ADHD (providing a second modality for processing information),…

Card Sorting(also: Card Sort)

A user research and information architecture method in which participants organise items (written on cards or displayed digitally) into groups that make sense to them, and may also label those groups. In open card sorting, participants create their own group categories; in…

Care Ecosystem(also: Assistive Technology Ecosystem, AT Ecosystem)

A network of interconnected stakeholders—including clinicians, makers, recipients, caregivers, and organizations—who collectively support the provision, customization, and maintenance of assistive technology. Care ecosystems recognize that successful AT use depends not just on…

Care Partner(also: Care Dyad, Caregiving Relationship)

A term encompassing both the person providing care (caregiver) and the person receiving care (care receiver), emphasizing the collaborative and reciprocal nature of care relationships rather than a one-directional helper-recipient dynamic. The care partner framework recognizes…

Care Staff(also: Care Worker, Direct Care Worker, Personal Care Aide)

Individuals who provide day-to-day personal care and support to residents in care facilities, including assistance with eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, and mobility. Care staff are distinct from medical professionals such as nurses and doctors; they typically receive basic…

Care Technology(also: Care robots, Robots for care, Assistive care technology)

Technology designed to support caregiving activities in institutional or home settings, including robotic systems, monitoring devices, and digital tools that assist care workers and care recipients. Care technology encompasses a broad range of applications from documentation…

Care Web(also: Care Web in Practice)

A care web is a relational network of overlapping, often reciprocal support that sustains a disabled person's participation in everyday life, described by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha in 'Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice'. Rather than locating support in a single paid…

Career Development Learning(also: CDL, Career Readiness Education)

Educational activities and resources that develop students' capabilities for transitioning from higher education to employment, including self-awareness, opportunity awareness, decision-making, and transition skills. For students with disabilities, accessible career development…

Caregiver(also: Carer, Care partner, Support person)

A person who provides ongoing assistance to someone with a disability, chronic condition, or age-related need, encompassing both formal caregivers (paid professionals) and informal caregivers (family members, friends, partners). In accessibility and assistive technology,…

Caregiver(also: Family Caregiver, Informal Caregiver, Carer)

A person who provides unpaid assistance with daily activities, emotional support, and care coordination for a family member, friend, or neighbor who has a disability, chronic illness, or age-related needs. Caregivers face significant physical, emotional, financial, and time…

Caregiver Burden(also: Carer Burden, Caregiver Stress)

Caregiver burden refers to the physical, emotional, social, and financial strain experienced by individuals who provide ongoing care to a family member or partner with a disability, chronic illness, or age-related condition such as dementia. Caregivers often experience…

Caregiver Burnout(also: carer burnout, caregiver exhaustion)

A state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that occurs when a caregiver does not get the support or respite they need, often resulting from the sustained demands of caring for a person with a chronic or progressive condition such as Alzheimer's disease. Symptoms…

Caregiver Interdependence(also: Care Dependency, Caregiver Reliance)

The mutual reliance between a disabled person and their caregivers, encompassing physical assistance, emotional support, and technological mediation. In accessibility contexts, caregiver interdependence highlights that many disabled people rely on caregivers not just for…