A study of the challenges related to DIY Assistive Technology in the context of children with disabilities

Jonathan Hook, Sanne Verbaan, Abigail Durrant, Patrick Olivier, Peter Wright

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

    75 Citations (Scopus)
    30 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    The term Do It Yourself Assistive Technology (DIY-AT) refers to the creation and adaptation of AT by nonprofessionals, including people with disabilities and their families, friends and caregivers. Previous research has argued that the development of technologies and services that enable people to make their own DIY-AT will lead to the rapid and low cost development of assistive devices that are tailored to meet the complex needs of individual people with disabilities. We present the results of a qualitative study that explored challenges related to the process of making DIY-AT for children with disabilities. A series of eleven semi-structured interviews with a broad range of stakeholders involved in the current use, provision and adaptation of AT for children with disabilities revealed a number of challenges relating to the prevalence and scope of ongoing DIY-AT practice, barriers to participation, and the challenges faced by makers and users of DIY-AT.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationDIS 2014 - Proceedings of the 2014 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Designing Interactive Systems
    PublisherACM
    Pages597-606
    Number of pages10
    ISBN (Print)9781450329026
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 21 Jun 2014
    Event2014 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Designing Interactive Systems, DIS 2014 - Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Duration: 21 Jun 201425 Jun 2014

    Conference

    Conference2014 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Designing Interactive Systems, DIS 2014
    Country/TerritoryCanada
    CityVancouver, BC
    Period21/06/1425/06/14

    Keywords

    • Accessibility
    • Assistive Technology
    • Children
    • Disability
    • DIY
    • Do It Yourself
    • Interviews
    • Rapid prototyping

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'A study of the challenges related to DIY Assistive Technology in the context of children with disabilities'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this