Breaking the exclusionary boundary between user experience and access: steps toward making UX inclusive of users with disabilities

Abstract

This research paper points out that we as Designers have failed to come up with a model of UX that would proximate a satisfying user experience for users with disabilities. It underscores the gaps in designer knowledge about disabled bodies. The research paper also draws the attention of the designer community to the limited understanding we presently possess of the disabled people's notions of, and expectations from, satisfying user experiences. It proposes a multi-step process for shifting the focus of design activity from a "medical model of accessibility design" that retrofits normative designs to the needs of users with disabilities to developing an "accessible user experience model (AUX)" of design that counts these users as design collaborators, possessors of special knowledge about disabled bodies, and untapped sources of innovative designs that might offer additional design features for all users.