The Invisible Labor of Access in Academic Writing Practices: A Case Analysis with Dyslexic Adults

Emily Q. Wang; Anne Marie Piper

doi:10.1145/3512967

The Invisible Labor of Access in Academic Writing Practices: A Case Analysis with Dyslexic Adults

Emily Q. Wang, Anne Marie Piper

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Writing is the currency of academia. Although technology-mediated writing has been studied extensively in CSCW, we know little about how writing practices unfold with disabled people, such as dyslexic writers whose neurodivergence shapes how they process language. Our qualitative analysis reveals how dyslexic professionals simultaneously identify how editing tools break down on academic language; develop workarounds that re-appropriate other tools as language sources; cultivate ad-hoc collaborations to compensate for technology's limitations; and navigate culturally ingrained ableist expectations for writing. We discuss how dyslexic writers' experiences with shouldering invisible work to participate in academic writing processes indicates that current tools and services do not support their needs. We then draw on our findings to inform design opportunities to make writing processes more accessible through changes to writing tools, institutional services, and peer review practices.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	120
Journal	Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
Volume	6
Issue number	CSCW1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3512967
State	Published - Apr 7 2022
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

academic writing
accessibility
collaboration
dyslexia
writing tools

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
Human-Computer Interaction
Computer Networks and Communications

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10.1145/3512967

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title = "The Invisible Labor of Access in Academic Writing Practices: A Case Analysis with Dyslexic Adults",

abstract = "Writing is the currency of academia. Although technology-mediated writing has been studied extensively in CSCW, we know little about how writing practices unfold with disabled people, such as dyslexic writers whose neurodivergence shapes how they process language. Our qualitative analysis reveals how dyslexic professionals simultaneously identify how editing tools break down on academic language; develop workarounds that re-appropriate other tools as language sources; cultivate ad-hoc collaborations to compensate for technology's limitations; and navigate culturally ingrained ableist expectations for writing. We discuss how dyslexic writers' experiences with shouldering invisible work to participate in academic writing processes indicates that current tools and services do not support their needs. We then draw on our findings to inform design opportunities to make writing processes more accessible through changes to writing tools, institutional services, and peer review practices.",

keywords = "academic writing, accessibility, collaboration, dyslexia, writing tools",

author = "Wang, {Emily Q.} and Piper, {Anne Marie}",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by NSF grant IIS-1901456, a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, and a Graduate Research Grant at Northwestern University. We thank all participants for sharing their stories and perspectives. We thank AccessibleNU at Northwestern University for connecting us with the local community of dyslexic university students. We thank Ashley Marie Walker, Aron S. Marie, William J. Hoover, and members of the Inclusive Technology Lab for their feedback on multiple iterations of the paper, as well as the reviewers and associate chair. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 ACM.",

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doi = "10.1145/3512967",

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N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by NSF grant IIS-1901456, a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, and a Graduate Research Grant at Northwestern University. We thank all participants for sharing their stories and perspectives. We thank AccessibleNU at Northwestern University for connecting us with the local community of dyslexic university students. We thank Ashley Marie Walker, Aron S. Marie, William J. Hoover, and members of the Inclusive Technology Lab for their feedback on multiple iterations of the paper, as well as the reviewers and associate chair. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 ACM.

PY - 2022/4/7

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N2 - Writing is the currency of academia. Although technology-mediated writing has been studied extensively in CSCW, we know little about how writing practices unfold with disabled people, such as dyslexic writers whose neurodivergence shapes how they process language. Our qualitative analysis reveals how dyslexic professionals simultaneously identify how editing tools break down on academic language; develop workarounds that re-appropriate other tools as language sources; cultivate ad-hoc collaborations to compensate for technology's limitations; and navigate culturally ingrained ableist expectations for writing. We discuss how dyslexic writers' experiences with shouldering invisible work to participate in academic writing processes indicates that current tools and services do not support their needs. We then draw on our findings to inform design opportunities to make writing processes more accessible through changes to writing tools, institutional services, and peer review practices.

AB - Writing is the currency of academia. Although technology-mediated writing has been studied extensively in CSCW, we know little about how writing practices unfold with disabled people, such as dyslexic writers whose neurodivergence shapes how they process language. Our qualitative analysis reveals how dyslexic professionals simultaneously identify how editing tools break down on academic language; develop workarounds that re-appropriate other tools as language sources; cultivate ad-hoc collaborations to compensate for technology's limitations; and navigate culturally ingrained ableist expectations for writing. We discuss how dyslexic writers' experiences with shouldering invisible work to participate in academic writing processes indicates that current tools and services do not support their needs. We then draw on our findings to inform design opportunities to make writing processes more accessible through changes to writing tools, institutional services, and peer review practices.

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The Invisible Labor of Access in Academic Writing Practices: A Case Analysis with Dyslexic Adults

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