“I just thought it was me”: How Smartphones Fail Users with Mild-to-Moderate Dexterity Differences
Abstract
Accessibility solutions often focus on the experiences of people with more severe disabilities, such as those who are unable to perform certain tasks unassisted. However, disability exists on a spectrum, and people with moderate disabilities may be overlooked when studying or sampling for differences. As a result, these individuals and their needs are excluded from relevant research. In this study, we interviewed 12 adults with mild-to-moderate dexterity impairments about their experiences using smartphones and other mobile devices. While our participants frequently experienced accessibility challenges, they struggled to know where to find help, in part because of discomfort with traditional labels of disability and accessibility. We found four key themes: (1) There were large gaps in available and usable accessibility tools for this population, (2) Users were unlikely to seek out accessibility features due to complex disability identity, (3) Contextual concerns impacted mobile device use, and (4) Users relied on self-created adaptations and modifications to improve usability. We suggest that individuals with mild-to-moderate dexterity challenges are a unique cohort that would benefit from further consideration from the accessibility community and accessibility features that support their needs.
Cite this
Jerry Robinson, Erin Buehler, Shaun K. Kane (2023). “I just thought it was me”: How Smartphones Fail Users with Mild-to-Moderate Dexterity Differences. International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS). https://doi.org/10.1145/3597638.3608396
@article{jerry2023i,
title = {“I just thought it was me”: How Smartphones Fail Users with Mild-to-Moderate Dexterity Differences},
author = {Robinson, Jerry and Buehler, Erin and Kane, Shaun K.},
year = {2023},
journal = {International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)},
doi = {10.1145/3597638.3608396}
}Citations in this library
Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 9 citations exist upstream.