Erin Buehler

The natural language capabilities demonstrated by large language models (LLMs) highlight an opportunity for new writing support tools that address the varied needs of people with dyslexia. We present LaMPost, a prototype email editor that draws upon our understanding of these needs to motivate AI-powered writing features, such as outlining main ideas, generating a subject line, suggesting changes, and rewriting a selection. We evaluated LaMPost with 19 adults with dyslexia, identifying promising routes for further exploration (such as the popular “rewrite” and “subject line” features), while also finding that the current generation of LLMs may not yet meet the accuracy and quality thresholds to be useful for writers with dyslexia. In addition, knowledge of the AI did not alter participants’ perception of the system nor their feelings of autonomy, expression, and self-efficacy when writing emails. Our findings provide insight into the benefits and drawbacks of LLMs as writing support for adults with dyslexia, and they offer a foundation to build upon in future research.

Given the necessity of mobile phones to participate in everyday life and past research indicating the inaccessibility of mobile phones for people with dementia, there is a need to design more accessible mobile interactions to ensure their full inclusion in society. We conducted a two-week diary study with three people with mild dementia to investigate their experiences with and perceptions of user interface (UI) shortcuts and control panes. Findings from this study demonstrate the potential of UI shortcuts and control panes to address specific mobile phone accessibility challenges people with mild dementia experience. This work provides a technical contribution in the form of control panes for mobile phones, as well as design considerations to improve the viability of mobile phone shortcuts and controls panes as future assistive technology for individuals with diverse cognitive abilities.

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.