A glossary of terms relevant to disability, accessibility and technology

A switch-based method of controlling a computer. Activations of a switch will, in order, bring up a control panel that upon subsequent switch activations, allow a user to focus in on a desired control or keystroke. Custom scanning layouts can be created for a variety of purposes and programs and may also be used in a communication device.

Hardware and/or software that increases the size of characters and text on a computer screen.

Software used to echo text on a computer screen to audio output, often used by people who are blind, with visual impairments, or with learning disabilities.

Refers to the clarity or sharpness of an image. For computer monitors, this term indicates the number of dots on the screen used to create text and graphics. Higher resolution means more dots, indicating increased sharpness and potentially smaller text.

An employee telling their employer or potential employer, as part of an affirmative action initiative or goals set as part of a disability inclusion initiative, that they have or ever had a disability.

A disability that affects touch, sight and/or hearing.

Difficulties in organizing information from the senses, such as over- or under-responding to sights, sounds, smells, touch, and sensory input related to balance and movement; often co-occurs with ADHD or autism.

Any computer that stores information that is available to other users, often over the internet.

Manual communication commonly used by deaf. The gestures or symbols in sign language are organized in a linguistic way. Each individual gesture is called a sign. Each sign has three distinct parts; the handshape, the position of the hands, and the movement of the hands. Deaf people from different countries speak different sign languages.

Disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in difficulties listening, thinking, speaking, reading, writing, spelling, or doing mathematical calculations. Frequent limitations include hyperactivity, distractibility, emotional instability, visual and/or auditory perception difficulties and/or motor limitations, depending on the type(s) of learning disability.