Understanding Computer Accommodations for Reading Disabilities

1
Understanding Computer Accommodations for Reading
Disabilities

• Katherine Deibel
• Computer Science Engineering
• University of Washington
• Seattle, Washington, USA

2
Where I Fit

• My work is
• not CS Education Research
• multidisciplinary education, computer science,
  disability studies, etc.
• My career goals
• Finish my CS PhD
• Become a research professor in an education
  department

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The General Idea

• College students with reading disabilities
• Most common form of disability in college
• Least likely group to seek out support
• Accessible Technology
• Potential for self-help and self-advocacy
• Current technology only Text-To-Speech
• Known to have serious adoption issues

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Reading Disabilities The Statistics

• Affect 7 15 of the population
• Most common form of disability at U.S. Colleges
  Universities

Specific Learning Disability 55 Mobility /
Orthopedic 12 Speech / Language 1 Blind /
Visual 5 Hearing 6 Mental / Emotional 10 Health
6 Other 5
Reading Difficulty
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Computer Accommodations

• Text-To-Speech / Highlighting
• ReadPlease
• Bookwise / Kurzweil 3000
• Watch Me! Read
• Adoption Issues
• Elkinds Adults with Dyslexia study (1996)
• Informal interviews
• Accessible Technology Experts
• Students with Disabilities

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History of the Research Question
TOO BROAD

• How can computers best support users with reading
  disabilities?
• How is current technology (especially AT) used or
  not used by this population?
• What factors influence adoption of AT?
• What forms of support are desired by this
  population?

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Finding the Answers

• Survey of Technology Use
• Participatory Design Studies
• Future Workshop Method (Kensing Madsen)
• Low-Fidelity Prototyping
• Other options
• One-on-one interviews
• A day in the life observation study

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Finding the Answers (Part 1)

• Survey of Accessible Technology Use
• Administer to university students with specific
  learning disabilities
• Focus primarily on AT but will include Classroom
  Technology (E-mail, Discussion Boards, etc.)
• Attempt to identify environmental and social
  factors related to adoption

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Finding the Answers (Part 2)

• Participatory Design of Reading Technology
• Work a small number of university students with
  reading disabilities
• Determine what does and does not work with
  current technologies
• Will use the Future Workshops approach (Kensing
  Madsen)
• Brainstorm and develop new computer-based
  accommodations

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What about PDT?

• Considering it as a side project
• Example of a self-advocating accessible
  technology
• Software wizard to help the user determine if and
  what color is the most beneficial
• Demonstrates my educational research skills
• Current hot topic in reading research
• Recent results suggest tighter role of typography
• Is it CS factor?

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PDT The Details

• Visual stress affects 15-25 of people with
  dyslexia
• Wilkins Rate of Reading Test is used to detect
  improvements due to overlays
• Simple oral reading exercise
• Idea Implement using Speech Recognition
• Various typographic parameters
• Background color (mimics colour overlays)
• Font face
• Font size and line spacing

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My Hopes for the DC

• Advice on the next steps
• Faculty in Computer Science tell me to switch to
  Education now
• Faculty in Education, Disability Studies,
  Cognitive Studies, etc. tell me to finish my PhD
  in Computer Science
• Advisor Search
• I have options still to explore
• How can I best frame my work as CS/HCI?

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And two panel plugs
Accessibility and Computer Science
Education Thursday, 1030 am 340 AB
Cooperative Learning Beyond Pair Programming and
Team Projects Saturday, 830 am Grand Ballroom J