In October 2025, I attended the International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, better known as ASSETS. As a PhD student with low vision that also conducts research related to low vision assistive technology, I was glad that ASSETS offered a hybrid option and student discount so that I could follow along with all of the exciting paper sessions and poster sessions, especially since traveling to Denver was not possible or practical for me. Attending conferences and academic events like ASSETS always makes me feel more energized about my own research and excited about what others are doing in the field, and one of my professors suggested that I write a post about my experience attending the online conference and how I used different assistive technologies to access information. Here is a recap of my first-ever ASSETS conference as a virtual attendee with low vision, and my experiences using assistive technology at an assistive technology/accessibility conference.
Registering for ASSETS and setting up technology workflows
Since I plan to submit a paper to ASSETS in the future (but did not submit one for 2025), I registered to attend the three-day ASSETS conference so I could observe how others talk about their research, with a specific interest in learning from/observing other researchers with visual impairments. I registered as an ACM student member for the virtual conference, which would involve watching conference sessions on Zoom and accessing posters/interacting with other participants on an official conference Discord server. All sessions were recorded and shared on the Discord server as well.
To ensure that I could access all of the conference materials in real time, I set up the following technology workflows in advance:
Configuring Discord accessibility settings for low vision
I prefer to use Discord on my iPad because I can position the screen underneath the bifocal in my glasses and it supports large print (Dynamic Text). I would type messages using the Magic Keyboard connected to my iPad as well.
Examples of Discord accessibility settings for low vision I used for the conference include:
- Appearance: Dark
- Accessibility: Adjust contrast and saturation, reduced motion, turn off auto-play for GIFs and stickers
- Chat: Display images when posted as links or when uploaded to Discord, display images with image descriptions, show embeds and preview website links, show emoji reactions
- Web browser: External browser
I did not use Discord on my computer for ASSETS, but I would have used either screen magnification or text-to-speech to read messages if that was the case.
Zoom settings for low vision access
I frequently use Zoom for my classes, so I did not have to familiarize myself with the Zoom layout or keyboard shortcuts in advance. However, I was worried about accidentally unmuting myself or turning on my video when joining, so I configured Meetings & webinars to make sure that I joined with my camera off and audio muted, and also turned on the chime notification that indicates when I mute or unmute myself.
Another setting that I turned on in Accessibility is to automatically dim video when flashing images are detected, which came in handy during a demonstration that involved flickering effects. I also turned off GIF animations to minimize the risk of surprise flashing lights.
Accessing conference papers
ACM recently transitioned to an open access model, and all accepted papers were available through the ACM Digital Library in PDF and HTML formats. I would read the papers using a web browser and a simplified reading display such as Immersive Reader so I could access information in large print.
Related links
- Choosing Between Light Mode and Dark Mode For Low Vision
- Smartphone Accessibility Settings For Photosensitivity
- How To Make iPad Accessible for Low Vision
- Choosing An iPad Keyboard For Low Vision
- A to Z of Assistive Technology for Reading Digital Text
- How I Use Microsoft Immersive Reader With Low Vision
Keeping track of the conference track as a virtual attendee
When attending virtual conferences (especially those in different time zones), I often add placeholders for conference sessions to my Outlook calendar, and set reminders and alarms so that I know when different sessions are going to start. ASSETS is a multi-track conference, and it helped me to review the schedule in advance and preview the different sessions/papers that were being presented. I added the Zoom links for the sessions I planned to the Outlook event location, which is connected to Zoom for easy access. I also copied a list of the links into the Notes app on my iPad in case I couldn’t access the calendar/Discord or changed my mind and wanted to attend a different session.
I tried to read at least one or two papers for each session in advance, especially if they were on topics that I might want to ask a question about (though this did not always happen). It helped that I could go back and listen to recordings from other sessions in case I had to miss an interesting presentation.
Related links
Accessing paper sessions with low vision
Each paper session consisted of a series of 15-minute presentations, where the presenter would share slides and provide an overview of their research and findings. Each presenter shared a copy of their slides in advance on Discord or would share them in a full screen view on Zoom. I alternated between following along with the presenter’s slides on my own device and watching the slides on Zoom, depending on how much text was on the slides and whether or not I had read the paper in advance. One display setting that I used frequently when following along with slides on Zoom was Invert Colors/Classic Invert, which changed the white slide backgrounds to black and helped with decreasing visual fatigue and discomfort from staring at a bright screen.
When/if virtual attendees had a question for the presenter, they could either type in the Zoom chat bot or type on Discord to have the presenter answer their question. I also sent emails directly to presenters if I needed more time to phrase a question or if it was more detailed.
Related links
- How To Use Invert Colors With Low Vision
- How I Access PowerPoints with Microsoft Sway
- Ten Ways To Reduce Eye Strain From Screens With Technology
- How To Make Things On The Board Easier To See
Accessing poster sessions with low vision
As someone who has trouble reading small print, I was so glad that ASSETS had made text-based versions of posters available as these were much easier for me to enlarge and meant that I could use display customizations like increased spacing or different fonts to help with reading. If I wanted to view the original layout of a poster, I would save the image to my device and zoom in to read different areas of text. Alternatively, I would long-press on text content in the Photos app on my iPad to copy it to the clipboard or listen to it read out loud.
Another option I considered was using the image recognition tool with Seeing AI, which would have been useful if a text-based version of the poster was not available. If I was attending the poster session in person, I likely would have relied on magnifiers or asked other people to read what was on the poster, as I often struggle with reading dense blocks of text. Alternatively, I might have just skipped the poster session in favor of reading the papers in the conference proceedings online (which I linked below).
Out of all of the posters at the conference, there was only one poster that I could read in its original layout without having to zoom in frequently or reference the text-based version— I later found out the poster had been created by one of my friends who also has low vision! I expected that I would have to use assistive technology or other accessibility settings to read the vast majority of the posters, and I was glad I had planned strategies for accessing them in advance.
Related links
- Proceedings of the 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility | ACM Conferences
- How To Create Accessible Classroom Posters For Students With Visual Impairments
- Adapting Accessible Trifold Posters For Low Vision
- Recognizing Images With Seeing AI
Networking with other attendees
Both in-person and virtual attendees were encouraged to share an introduction on Discord that provided an overview of their current position and research interests, as well as something interesting they are working on. In my experience, a lot of the networking conversations did not take place on Discord; attendees would send emails or follow others on social media if they were interested in connecting after the conference— a lot of people have been reaching out to me from BlueSky. I sent and received several emails from others who had shared research interests, and have continued to receive messages after the conference has ended.
When reaching out to people via email, I use a subject line like “Connecting from ASSETS” and share a brief introduction at the beginning of the message with my name, university, and a 1-2 sentence summary of my research interests. From there, I ask questions about the other person’s research or express an interest in meeting with them on Zoom to learn more about what they are doing. So far, everyone has responded enthusiastically, and it helps to have these meetings/conversations spaced out over several days as well.
Related links
Some of my favorite presentations at ASSETS
Through my website, I have been able to meet accessibility and assistive technology researchers from all over the world and to learn about their projects. I was thrilled to see so many of the projects I had heard about over the course over the last year or two come to life at ASSETS, and to hear from others that were excited about these topics as well! While it would be easy to say that my favorite presentations at ASSETS are the ones that featured presenters I already knew or projects I was familiar with, here is a list of interesting papers that I found especially impactful (and was not involved with), along with links to read the original text:
- Smart Glasses for CVI: Co-Designing Extended Reality Solutions to Support Environmental Perception by People with Cerebral Visual Impairment: I experience visual impairment as the result of both an eye condition and a brain condition, so the collaborative approach to designing glasses that can address different components of CVI vision behaviors was cool to listen to.
- Exploring Blind and Low-Vision Youth’s Digital Access Needs in School: Toward Accessible Instructional Technologies: A lot of blind and low vision youth learn about assistive technology either through exploring technology on their own or through other outside resources, as they may not have access to allied professionals that are familiar with assistive technology.
- Modeling Accessibility: Characterizing What We Mean by “Accessible”: The concept of consequence calculus and the decision-making process for how individuals with disabilities determine what tools or strategies they use for a particular task was super interesting to me, especially as an assistive technology specialist who talks a lot about having a “toolbox” with different ways to access information.
- Exploring Disability Culture Through Accounts of Disabled Innovators of Accessibility Technology: This paper has interviews with individuals who use assistive technology and also create it. Some examples of blind/low vision specific participants include Ed Summers (SAS Graphics Accelerator), T.V. Raman (Emacspeak), and Michael Curran (NVDA).
- Temp access: Reflecting on multimodal GAI as an accessibility technology for temporary disability: An experience report from a researcher who developed their own accessibility workflows for managing a temporary disability that impacted computer use, and takeaways from that experience.
Since all of these papers are open-access, they can be read free of charge without an account at the links below!
Related links
- Smart Glasses for CVI: Co-Designing Extended Reality Solutions to Support Environmental Perception by People with Cerebral Visual Impairment
- Exploring Blind and Low-Vision Youth’s Digital Access Needs in School: Toward Accessible Instructional Technologies
- Modeling Accessibility: Characterizing What We Mean by “Accessible”
- Exploring Disability Culture Through Accounts of Disabled Innovators of Accessibility Technology
- Temp access: Reflecting on multimodal GAI as an accessibility technology for temporary disability
More resources on attending ASSETS with low vision virtually
- I noticed that I was moving around a lot while listening to sessions, so I would either watch Zoom presentations on my iPad, computer, or mirror my screen to a smart TV with Google Cast. Learn more about how I watch video lectures at How I Take Notes During Video Lectures With Low Vision
- My professors were fine with me missing part of my (also online) classes to attend ASSETS, and I would attend class between ASSETS sessions or meet with the professor separately after class. I definitely could have watched the recordings later, but I really wanted to watch people I knew present live. Learn more about how I plan how I will attend conferences at How I Manage Conference FOMO With Chronic Illness
- I am already working with another researcher on an ASSETS submission for the next conference! If you are interested in connecting, sharing more about your research, or a potential collaboration, send me a message using my Contact page.
Published November 4, 2025. Updated November 2025