Enhancing the Accessibility and Comprehension of Online Informational Text: An ASL Sentence Structure Approach

Abstract

Deaf individuals with limited English proficiency often face barriers accessing online text due to linguistic differences between English and American Sign Language (ASL). This study investigates whether presenting health information using ASL sentence structure can enhance comprehension, usability, and user experience. In a controlled between-subjects experiment, ten deaf adults were randomly assigned to view university health information either in traditional English or in ASL-structured text. Quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed that participants in the ASL group achieved substantially higher comprehension (M = 81%) than those in the English group (M = 29%), completed tasks faster (9.4 min vs. 29.2 min), and made fewer errors (0.2 vs. 1.8). User satisfaction was also higher in the ASL group (80% vs. 0%). Thematic analysis identified four recurring benefits, visualization, support, comprehension, and accessibility. These demonstrate that aligning written content with ASL grammar improves both understanding and engagement. These findings extend Text Simplification (TS) research by showing that linguistic adaptation grounded in ASL structure can bridge comprehension gaps, supporting more inclusive and equitable digital communication for the Deaf community.

Keywords: Textual information content, American Sign Language, Limited Literacy, Deaf, comprehension, acessibility

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1006842