Disability studies as a source of critical inquiry for the field of assistive technology
Abstract
Disability studies and assistive technology are two related fields that have long shared common goals - understanding the experience of disability and identifying and addressing relevant issues. Despite these common goals, there are some important differences in what professionals in these fields consider problems, perhaps related to the lack of connection between the fields. To help bridge this gap, we review some of the key literature in disability studies. We present case studies of two research projects in assistive technology and discuss how the field of disability studies influenced that work, led us to identify new or different problems relevant to the field of assistive technology, and helped us to think in new ways about the research process and its impact on the experiences of individuals who live with disability. We also discuss how the field of disability studies has influenced our teaching and highlight some of the key publications and publication venues from which our community may want to draw more deeply in the future.
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This positionality functioned as a methodological asset, enabling rapport with participants and sensitivity to subtle accessibility challenges that sighted researchers might overlook.
“This positionality functioned as a methodological asset, enabling rapport with participants and sensitivity to subtle accessibility challenges that sighted researchers might overlook [49, 65].”
From "I Don't Trust Any Professional Research Tool": A Re-Imagination of Knowledge Production Workflows by, with, and for Blind and Low-Vision Researchers (2026) · cites this paper as [49]
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“This positionality functioned as a methodological asset, enabling rapport with participants and sensitivity to subtle accessibility challenges that sighted researchers might overlook [49, 65].”
- Authors
- Mankoff, J., Hayes, G. R., & Kasnitz, D.
- Affiliations
- Carnegie Mellon University (US)
- University of California, Irvine (US)
- Devvaco Consulting & Society for Disability Studies, Eureka, CA, USA
- Venue
- Proceedings of the 12th international ACM SIGACCESS conference on Computers and accessibility
- Publisher
- ACM
- Published
- 2010-10-25
- Pages
- 3-10
- OpenAlex
- W2010764013
- Cited by
- 406
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 55 · 2025: 56 · 2024: 50 · 2023: 50 · 2022: 54 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 7.55
- Type
- conference paper
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS) (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Disability Rights and Representation
- Social Sciences › Human Factors and Ergonomics › Digital Accessibility for Disabilities
- Keywords
- disability studies, assistive technology, interdisciplinary research, lived experience of disability, research challenges, publication venues
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