Lights, Camera, Access: A Closeup on Audiovisual Media Accessibility and Aphasia

The presence of audiovisual media is a mainstay in the lives of many, increasingly so with technological progress. Accessing video and audio content, however, can be challenging for people with diverse needs. Existing research has explored a wide range of accessibility challenges and worked with disabled communities to design technologies that help bridge the access gap. Despite this work, our understanding of the challenges faced by communities with complex communication needs (CCNs) remains poor. To address this shortcoming, we present the first study that investigates the viewing experience of people with the communication impairment aphasia through an online survey (N=41) and two focus group sessions (N=10), with the aim of understanding their specific access challenges. We find that aphasia significantly impact viewing experience and present a taxonomy of access barriers and facilitators, with suggestions for future research.