AURC Fall 2025 Newsletter: Program Updates

Written By Ben Lippincott

This Autumn season brings in new research opportunities with the Accessibility User Research Collective. We are thrilled to continue working with you all on research for assistive technology, usability, and accessibility to help make products accessible for all!

The Accessibility User Research Collective is a national network of people with diverse backgrounds, stories, and needs for accessible products and services.

Thank you for contributing to our mission and being a valued member of the AURC community!

News For You 

Call for Vocal Point Listeners and Volunteers: Did you know Vocal Point–Voices for All offers a 24/7 audio service available to listeners across the U.S., featuring national content with a focus on local Georgia news and stories? This free service keeps people with print-related disabilities (blindness, low vision, dyslexia, etc.) connected and informed. Through engaging programs filled with news, stories, and entertainment, Vocal Point makes accessibility simple, meaningful, and always available.

For AURC members in the Atlanta area, Vocal Point is also seeking volunteers to help bring these stories to life by reading publications for their audio services. It’s a great way to give back and make a difference in your community.

At Vocal Point, your voice matters, your story matters, and together, we make accessibility heard. Visit Vocal Point to learn more, listen live, or get involved today!

 Share Your Feedback and Help Us Grow: We want to hear from you! Our team is looking for feedback from the people we serve, and we’ve made it easy to share your thoughts. By filling out the form linked below, you can tell us what you enjoy about our work, how our team has made a difference, and how we can serve you better. What you share may be used for marketing and advertising purposes. Your input will help us highlight the impact of our work, show others what’s possible, and continue creating a more accessible world. Click the link to share your feedback: AURC Feedback .

 “Sensory Friendly” Haircuts: Henry “Tribes” Amoloja, a Dallas barber with 10 years of experience, first started cutting hair in college in Minnesota when he couldn’t find a local barber. After graduating, he went straight to barber school and became licensed. Today, he specializes in sensory-safe haircuts for neurodivergent children. Inspired by buying his wife a weighted blanket, Henry designed weighted barber capes to help clients feel calm. Through Facebook groups and Sensory Safe Solutions, he now provides about 60 sensory-safe cuts a month. Each session requires patience, compassion, and adaptability. Families complete a 20-question form before booking, helping Henry prepare for each child’s needs. His work shows how care and creativity can make the barber’s chair a truly inclusive space. Listen to Henry talk about his experience here: This barber is learning to cut everyone's hair

 SlideModel Accessibility Checklist: Creating presentations that everyone can follow shouldn’t be complicated. SlideModel highlights practical ways to make PowerPoint slides more accessible, helping presenters reach audiences of all abilities. Simple choices like using high-contrast colors, large sans-serif fonts, and descriptive alt text for images can make a huge difference for people using screen readers or with visual impairments. SlideModel also emphasizes ensuring a logical reading order for slides, avoiding flashing or distracting animations, and taking advantage of PowerPoint’s built-in accessibility checker before presenting. By considering these details, presenters can create slides that are not only professional but also welcoming and easy for everyone to engage with - proving that inclusion is possible, even in a simple slide deck. Read more about accessibility in PowerPoint here: Accessibility in PowerPoint: Making EAA Compliant Slides

Fall 2025 Disability-related Calendar

October

  • ADHD Awareness Month – U.S

  • Down Syndrome Awareness Month – U.S

  • Dyslexia Awareness Month – U.S

  • Learning Disability Awareness Month – U.S

  • National Disability Employment Awareness Month – U.S

  • 10/5: American Veterans Disabled for Life Awareness Day – U.S

  • 10/6: World Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day – Global

  • 10/10: World Mental Health Day – Global

  • 10/15: Blind Americans Safety Day/White Cane Safety Day – U.S

  • 10/20-10/31: Disability Mentoring Days – U.S

  • 10/29: World Stroke Day - Global

November

  • Alzheimer’s Awareness Month – U.S

  • Epilepsy Awareness Month – U.S

  • 11/13: World Usability Day – Global

  • 11/24-11/30: European Week for the Employment of People with Disabilities – Europe

December

  • 12/3: International Persons with Disabilities Day – Global

  • 12/10: Human Rights Day - Global

Member Spotlight

Meet Eren, a dedicated professional and community connector passionate about bridging understanding between neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals. Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Eren shares that his experience includes a slower processing speed, challenges interpreting nonverbal cues, and a need for clear, logical explanations of abstract concepts. With the support of a job coach and therapist, Eren continues to grow in navigating workplace expectations and serving others effectively.

In his professional role, Eren organizes data to help employers identify patterns and trends that drive meaningful projects. Beyond work, he is deeply involved in networking and hosting social events that bring people from diverse backgrounds together. Eren also enjoys public speaking and mentoring others as he builds confidence in his own presentations — embodying inclusion and understanding in every space he enters.

For more information about Eren and the work he does, please visit his LinkedIn and YouTube profiles here: Eren Denburg Niederhoffer | LinkedIn | ASAN Atlanta autselfadvocacyATL - YouTube

AURC Program Updates 

Current Projects  

Landscape Mode vs. Portrait Mode: The AURC recently completed Phase 1 of a study exploring accessibility differences between landscape and portrait modes in restaurant apps. This was our largest survey of the year, with participation from 157 AURC members! Insights from this phase will help a major quick service restaurant understand which functional limitations drive user preferences for landscape mode and how those preferences impact overall user experience. Phase 2 is now underway and will include in-depth interviews with 12 survey participants to learn more about the experiences behind their orientation preferences.

TV Caption Settings: 4 participants with hearing impairments and 4 neurodivergent participants will take part in in-person interviews to assess the accessibility of TV closed captioning features. Their feedback will help evaluate how well the TV’s captions align with four functional criteria for closed captioning: Proximity, Discoverability, Preview-ability, and Consistency and Persistence.

Mobile Arm Support Device: Occupational Therapists at Shepherd Center have been invited to participate in a study gathering feedback on a new mobile arm support device for people with limited arm strength. Insights from their participation will help refine the prototype to reduce caregiver burden and enhance user independence, particularly during extended use.

Smart Wheelchair Seat Cushions: Outpatients and former patients at Shepherd Center with varying levels of spinal cord injury will soon participate in user testing sessions for a new smart wheelchair seat cushion. These sessions will include pressure mappings to assess how the cushion distributes weight and relieves pressure over time. The findings will help guide improvements in the product’s design and functionality, with the goal of enhancing comfort, safety, and long-term usability for wheelchair users.

Additional Accessibility Resources

We are happy to share resources to help you learn more about accessibility resources and services. 

Spread the word about the AURC! Share this newsletter and tell friends to visit us and join the collective: https://accessibilityuserresearchcollective.org/  

 The AURC Team

Ben Lippincott
Next

AURC Summer 2025 Newsletter: Program Updates