- What are the main challenges in applying mainstream mobile technologies to meet the needs of people who have autism or other cognitive disabilities?
I feel one of the main challenges for people with cognitive disabilities to use mobile technologies is that the language is not easy and concise enough for them to understand. For example, in the Settings of the iPhone, there are many words that are hard to understand, such as Cellular. Even my grandparents who don’t have cognitive disabilities didn’t know the meaning originally. Now that people without cognitive disabilities found it difficult to understand how to set their phones properly, these words will definitely confuse people with cognitive disabilities. Another challenge, especially for people who have autism, is the technologies that require communication with other people. For example, when ordering Eleme or buying stuff on Taobao, the delivery guy often calls you. This will get people who have autism into trouble since they have difficulty in communication.
2. List three benefits of making mainstream mobile technologies accessible for people with autism or other cognitive disabilities.
- By making mainstream mobile technologies accessible for people with autism or other cognitive disabilities, this also means making mobile technologies easier to understand for people without cognitive disabilities. Therefore, this not only benefits people with cognitive disabilities but also benefits everyone.
- People with cognitive disabilities can live more independently if they are able to use mobile technologies including Taobao, Eleme, etc.
- People with autism may be able to overcome the difficulty in communication if they can use social media to communicate with other people first since talking online will be easier for them than talking face to face.
3. How can technologies help to overcome stigma and discrimination for people with autism or other cognitive disabilities?
If people with autism or other cognitive disabilities are able to use mobile technologies, they can bridge the gap between them and those who don’t have cognitive disabilities since mobile technologies play a large part in normal people’s life. Many stigmas and discriminations exist because people with cognitive disabilities are different from normal people. By eliminating the differences in using mobile technologies, the discriminations may also be reduced.