Virtual Worlds and The Disabled
From: IEEE Spectrum Tech Alert - 04/02/2009

The conceptual technologist Kel Smith has just written an excellent overview
of how the disabled community is interacting online, concentrating on the
communities and accommodations within Second Life. It's heartening to see
some serious game work that isn’t about military simulations. 

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By: Harry Teasley

An old friend of mine, Kel Smith, has just written an excellent overview of
how the disabled community is interacting online, concentrating on the
communities and accomodations within Second Life. Very educational for me,
and heartening to see some "serious game" work that isn't about military
simulation.... 

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The Use of Virtual Worlds Among People with Disabilities
From: CSUN 2009
By: Kel Smith

Abstract: With their emphasis on 3D graphics and complex interface controls,
it would appear that gaming interfaces and virtual worlds have little to
offer people with disabilities. On the contrary, virtual worlds serve as a
form of augmented reality where users transcend physiological or cognitive
challenges to great social and therapeutic benefit. A number of intriguing
developments exist within the accessibility sector, particularly for users of
Linden Lab's Second Life framework: haptic input devices for the blind,
virtual regions developed according to Universal Design principles,
communities dedicated to people with cognitive disorders, the use of the
avatar as counselor, applications in higher education, and customizable
personae that either transcend or represent a disabled person's selfidentity. 

Links:
Presentation
http://anikto.com/csun09/CSUN_031809_slidenotes.pdf

Paper
http://anikto.com/csun09/kelSmith_virtual_worlds_disabilities_032809.pdf

Author contact
kel.smith@anikto.com