Category: Assistive Technology

• What are the main challenges in applying mainstream mobile technologies to meet the needs of people who have autism or other cognitive disabilities?

“Chapter 15” in the book Assistive Technology introduces a GPS system that applies the mainstream mobile technologies. However, although it is designed to make disables lives easier, it may not be accessible enough for disables to use like other technologies. According to “Chapter 15” in the book Assistive Technology, people with cognitive disabilities lack some essential skills to build a connection to the external world. They include but not limited to “perception, attention” (378). Sometimes, applying technology and using technology requires a certain level of cognitive skills. For instance, to apply GPS mainstream mobile technologies, users may need to understand the different functions, may need to perceive the outcome of the technology (what will happen, what information will be sent out), may need to memorize the instruction of using the technology, may need to orient themselves to get familiar with when and where to use the technology, etc. Therefore, one of the main challenges is to eliminate the obstacles for people who have autism or other cognitive disabilities to normally INTERACT with mainstream mobile technologies as other users. This requires the careful design in considering every lack of skill that cognitive disables have.

This could be another challenge since it requires more advanced technological development and funding to reach the goal. Developers may not have enough incentives to do so if it does not increase their income significantly.

• List three benefits of making mainstream mobile technologies accessible for people with autism or other cognitive disabilities.
  • Increase the safety level in the complex society that is not friendly to them.
  • Be accessible to the services/resources that they are unable to get.
  • Enable them to live indecently in society without others’ care.

• How can technologies help to overcome stigma and discrimination for people with autism or other cognitive disabilities?

I believe the stigma and discrimination come from the significant additional human and material resources that are applied to serve for the disables. Most of the time, accessible facilities and services require large space, “unnecessary” funding, and normal humans to operate. This results in the stereotype that disables are troublemakers in society. Applying technologies may enable disables to independently overcome the obstacles by taking full advantage of their own skills without requesting much others’ help. Therefore, they get the chance to live and behave in society like other normal humans. They could live equally in society to enjoy social lives without discriminations.

Main Challenges:

I think the first main challenge in applying mainstream mobile technologies to meet the needs of people who have autism or other cognitive disabilities is how to teach them to use those technologies. The people who have cognitive disabilities usually have trouble communicating and learning. Since it takes some time for people with no disabilities to learn how to use, the people who have cognitive disabilities are more difficult to learn. The second challenge is how to know their real needs through conversation. In other words, because of the difficulties of communicating with them, such as they will be distracted, we may not get their real needs and design products for them.

Three benefits of making mainstream mobile technologies accessible for people with autism or other cognitive disabilities:

By using mainstream mobile technologies:

1. We can help them live independently.
2. We can help them communicate and interact with society.
3. We can help them pay attention to something, preventing them from being distracted.

Technologies help overcome stigma and discrimination for people with autism or other cognitive disabilities:

1. By using AT products, we can help them live like us. That is the fundamental way to solve the stigma and discrimination because the stereotype indeed comes from disabilities. We need to try our best to utilize technologies to help them live.
2. By using social media and media platforms, we can convey the idea “they are equal to us; there is no difference among us” to the public. We need propaganda to eliminate discrimination.

DSS Service-Learning Course: Assistive Technology
CEL-SHU 101C / Fall 2019

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