Access in the Shadow of Ableism: An Autoethnography of a Blind Student's Higher Education Experience in China
A blind student's firsthand account reveals how universities marginalize or pressure students to conform to sighted norms.
Researchers Weijun Zhang and Xinru Tang published an autoethnography analyzing Zhang's experience as a blind student at two Chinese universities. The study found both specialized and mainstream institutions created tensions by either marginalizing students or imposing sighted norms, constrained by limited resources and ableist cultures. The authors argue for re-conceptualizing accessibility as an ongoing practice within these systemic structures, challenging the HCI community's current approaches to access.
Why It Matters
For AI builders, this highlights critical flaws in 'accessibility' tech that doesn't address deeper systemic bias, guiding more impactful assistive tools.