In recent decades, great technological strides have been made toward enabling people who are blind to live independent, successful lives. However, there has been relatively little progress towards understanding the social, collaborative needs of this population, particularly in the domestic setting. We conducted semi-structured interviews in the homes of 10 pairs of close companions in which one partner was blind and one was not. We found that partners engaged in collaborative accessibility by taking active roles in co-creating an accessible environment. Due to their different visual abilities, however, partners sometimes encountered difficulties managing divergent needs and engaging in shared experiences. We describe outstanding challenges to creating accessible shared home spaces and outline new research and technology opportunities for supporting collaborative accessibility in the home.

1. Collaborative
Accessibility
whatHow blind and sighted companions
co-create accessible home spaces
what
Stacy Branham & Shaun Kane

2. sighted people are assistive technologies
blind people choose sighted assistance
http://products.geappliances.com/MarketingObjectRetrieval/Dispatcher?RequestType=Image&Name=R11947.jpg

3. prior work
most assistive technologies focus on the individual
VoiceOver KNFB Reader Trekker GPS
http://imgs.notitarde.com/Imgs/2014/09/28dc18b3-6e11-45d1-973f-358598bc001d_W_00960.jpg https://www.apple.com/accessibility/ios/voiceover/images/rotor.jpg http://www.forestparkreview.com/ArchiveImages/6860b.jpg

4. prior work
most assistive technologies focus on the individual
VoiceOver KNFB Reader Trekker GPS
http://imgs.notitarde.com/Imgs/2014/09/28dc18b3-6e11-45d1-973f-358598bc001d_W_00960.jpg https://www.apple.com/accessibility/ios/voiceover/images/rotor.jpg http://www.forestparkreview.com/ArchiveImages/6860b.jpg
“
(Wobbrock et al., 2011)
All accessible computing
approaches share a common
goal of improving independence…”

5. mobile AT in the wild
(Kane, Jayant, Wobbrock, Ladner; 2009)
stigma and AT adoption
(Shinohara & Wobbrock; 2011)
collaboration on navigation tasks
(Williams, Galbraith, Kane, Hurst; 2014)
prior work
some are beginning to explore social context

6. how do people who are blind create
accessible spaces in social settings?
http://www.toledoblade.com/image/2015/01/17/800x_b1_cCM_z_cTL/FEA-blind18-Amy-Rhoads.jpg

7. .5
418
8
16 4
28
341
8
bear &
sissy
rebecca
& mitch
robin
& ben
parsa
& ava
kay
& phil
jasmine
& dhanvi
lisa &
james
guido &
jean marie
ian &
brynn
butterfly
& henri
participants
67 63
22 26
31 37
36 32
49 51
29 26 32 63
58 48
60 56
70 63

8. data & analysis
20+ hours
audio
+
200+ pictures
20 videos
we conducted a qualitative thematic analysis on
interview audio recordings, photos, and videos
themes

9. collaborative accessibility
when surrounding family members, friends,
strangers, etc. support or hinder accessibility
67 63
41
bear
& sissy
22 26
3
rebecca
& mitch
http://dojbfbukd6hul.cloudfront.net/category/gallery/caddy-diff-01-s2.jpg

10. collaborative accessibility
when surrounding family members, friends,
strangers, etc. support or hinder accessibility
67 63
41
bear
& sissy
22 26
3
rebecca
& mitch
http://dojbfbukd6hul.cloudfront.net/category/gallery/caddy-diff-01-s2.jpg
Accessibility is not embedded in the
device. It is produced collaboratively.

11. patterns of collaboration
Preparation
Intervention

12. pattern: preparation
“[Being blind], you can't just do things on the
spur of the moment. Stay organized and plan.”

13. http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2011/11/4/1/19-DH2012_Kitchen-Spices_4x3.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.1280.960.jpeg
take out the spices
36 32
8
parsa
& ava
“I ask her in the morning 'I need this, this, this, and this. Please
put them near the stove’ because I want to be fast enough.”

14. pattern: preparation
“[Being blind], you can't just do things on the
spur of the moment. Stay organized and plan.”

15. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x-bCM4EbP2Y/U_0WNJK3d4I/AAAAAAAAA-k/1cbeLi1TSTY/s1600/Shirt10.png
folding shirts and socks
“We had to come up with this system for t-shirts. I fold
[casual shirts] a different way so he can tell them apart.”
60 56
28
guido &
jean marie

16. pattern: preparation
“[Being blind], you can't just do things on the
spur of the moment. Stay organized and plan.”

17. guided tour of the microwave
49 51
16
kay
& phil

18. “It is very irritating to have to interrupt someone to
ask them to help me perform one step of the whole.”
pattern: intervention

19. online banking
“[For mobile deposit], she logs in, then selects mobile
deposit. And, I do the rest and give her the phone back.”
29 26
.5
jasmine
& dhanvi

20. “It is very irritating to have to interrupt someone to
ask them to help me perform one step of the whole.”
pattern: intervention

21. http://hostseason.com/good-idea-for-your-floor-plans-for-a-house/floor-plans-for-a-square-house/#image-1
reading floor plans with “HusbandOver”
“[There should be a] technology for spouses that
will help them learn to cope with frustration.”
31 37
8
robin
& ben

22. “It is very irritating to have to interrupt someone to
ask them to help me perform one step of the whole.”
pattern: intervention

23. filling out forms
32 63
8
butterfly
& henri
“[PDF]’s are my number one frustration”

24. preparation vs. intervention
“natural” collaboration
can be planned for
supports learning
tasks “I can do”
“stuck,” “frustrated”
unpredictable, “emergency”
does not support learning
tasks “I can’t do”

25. preparation vs. intervention
“natural” collaboration
can be planned for
supports learning
tasks “I can do”
“stuck,” “frustrated”
unpredictable, “emergency”
does not support learning
tasks “I can’t do”
“In some cases, the social solution––as opposed to a technical
solution––is not only as adequate, it can sometimes be better.
It can be more enjoyable to do something socially.”
36 32
8
parsa
& ava

26. takeaways
accessibility is collaborative
preparation now enables independence later
intervention is needed but causes frustration
design for social and mixed-ability contexts

27. future work
independencein

28. future work
independenceinter

29. thanks
Shaun Kane
University of Colorado Boulder
shaun.kane@colorado.edu
@shaunkane
superhuman.cs.colorado.edu
Stacy Branham
University of Maryland Baltimore County
sbranham@umbc.edu
@branhammertime
stacybranham.com
NSF (IIS-1353312)our participants

30. findings
oven mittsorganization
http://www.styleathome.com/img/photos/biz/Style%20at%20Home/organized-bath-shower-caddy.jpg
assistive tech in the home was quite low-tech