Articles
Much of my professional writing is published elsewhere; see the publications page for examples. Articles published on this site are more in my own voice and show my views more directly. I think they are interesting contributions to the global digital accessibility discussion. Articles posted here:
Aphantasia from an accessibility perspective
I discovered a few years ago that I have aphantasia, a condition where I can’t form mental images, something I initially thought was normal. This affects my daily life, making it hard to interpret icons, follow maps, or understand visual instructions, and I struggle with visual memory and tasks like drawing. Despite these challenges, I don't see aphantasia as a disorder but as a natural variation in how people think. I’ve found ways to work around it, like using text labels for icons, relying on GPS for navigation, and seeking extra information for visual tasks. As research continues, I believe that expanding accommodations for people with aphantasia could greatly improve accessibility.
Scaffolding ASL learning with SignWriting
A year ago, I started learning American Sign Language (ASL) to engage more with the Deaf community, but I quickly encountered challenges, especially with learning vocabulary. Unlike spoken languages, ASL is visual, and due to my aphantasia, I struggled to memorize signs. I found it hard to visually process and retain the complex movements and positions involved in signing. Searching for a solution, I discovered SignWriting, a writing system that breaks down signs into their visual components. This system became a crucial scaffold for me, allowing me to organize and remember signs more effectively by writing them down in a structured way. By using SignWriting alongside video resources, I created a personal vocabulary list and was finally able to better recognize and recall signs. While learning SignWriting was an extra effort, it helped me improve my ASL comprehension, and although I’m still catching up in my courses, this tool has made a big difference in my learning experience.
Model to explore emerging accessibility needs
My career has focused on understanding the needs of people with disabilities to develop accessibility accommodations, which often led me to question, "What is a disability?" While traditional models suggest disability is a personal limitation, the social model shifts this to the intersection between individuals and their environment. I believe this intersection is key to identifying accessibility needs, especially for groups often overlooked. By viewing human characteristics on a continuum, where variability can intersect with environmental factors in disabling ways, we can better predict future accessibility challenges—especially as new technologies evolve. My proposed model, inspired by the normal curve of human variability, can help map these intersections and expand our understanding of accessibility. Though it is a simplification and has limitations, this approach can highlight areas where accessibility needs may emerge, and help us anticipate accommodations before barriers are fully realized.
Using cap height and distance to calculate font size
How to determine the font size to achieve a given view angle at a given viewing distance.