Subtitled Media Adaptations for People with Aphasia: Ongoing Accessibility Barriers and Emerging Design Practices

TL;DR

This paper explores the limitations of current subtitle accessibility for people with aphasia and advocates for personalized, inclusive media design practices to better accommodate their unique needs.

Contribution

It introduces a framework for developing personalized media solutions for aphasia, emphasizing inclusive prototyping tools and methods for equitable system design.

Findings

Current subtitle practices are insufficient for aphasia users.

Personalized media adaptations can improve understanding and accessibility.

Prototyping tools facilitate inclusive design processes.

Abstract

The consumption of subtitles via TVs, laptops and smartphones has the potential to marginalize people based on their complex accessibility needs. The current one-size-fits-all approach to this accessibility aid is no longer fit for purpose and work is required to look at how it can be adapted to be personalised for individual users based on individual context, content, and consumption habits. People with Aphasia, for example, encounter significant challenges in understanding subtitle texts. We see our work as a call to action for more inclusive practices, focusing on how the thoughts and opinions of people with aphasia can be included in media research. Our work investigates how to develop future media solutions for people with aphasia to create a more inclusive media viewing environment. We believe the key to this is appropriate prototyping tools and methods to allow equitable inclusion in the system design process.