Assistive Technologies Cognitively Disabled Class 6 Agenda 3 00 3 25 Presentation by Aaron 3 25 3 30 Announcements 3 30 3 50 Assistive technologies for the cognitively disabled Announcements Thanks to Melissa Dawe for her help Quiz grading will be done by Friday Reading for Week 4 out by Friday 1 Where are we Medical Records HER PHR Information Systems Standards Emergency Response Assistive Technology Ubiquitous Performance Support Systems Topics in Medical Informatics Stationary Synthesis Paper Data Analysis Prototyping Interviewing Ethics IRB Interdisc Research Ethnograp hy Techniques for MI Research Final Project What is an assistive technology Assistive Technologies Holes in Research The rate of abandonment of assistive technology is high 35 Weaknesses of existing research Studies of AT abandonment usually group together all disabilities physical learning cognitive etc and thus may give a misleading impression on abandonment of devices for cognitive disabilities Research generally takes a binary adoption vs abandonment approach ignoring usage contexts perceptions of effectiveness Studies don t include regular technology re purposed as AT 2 Methods used for evaluating ATs Methods used for evaluating ATs Semi structured interviews with teachers and parents of young people with cognitive disabilities diverse network of caregivers Interviews conducted in the classroom or in the home Interviews lasted 45 90 minutes family interviews were generally longer more in depth What would you ask What questions would you ask elders with dementia about ATs What questions would you ask young people caregivers with cognitive disabilities about ATs 3 What would you ask Linsey is 25 years old Linsey Can Linsey has Difficulty Connect socially with people on the phone Learning phone numbers using cell phone menus Make lots of friends Understanding social cues to get off the phone not call people too much Remember to charge her phone Understanding why it s dead when it hasn t been charged Re start phone application by pressing an icon Restarting phone application by navigating PocketPC Menus Remember her daily schedule Telling time Hold a job 2 ride the bus independently Reading consistently recognizing numbers Is there an ideal user with a cognitive disability Is there an ideal user with a cognitive disability Type of Disability Down Syndrome 5 Age 12 15 5 Gender Male 12 Autism 4 15 18 6 Other Unidentified 12 19 21 9 22 24 2 Female 9 4 Types of ATs available Examples Aug Comm Device Picture Symbols Word prediction spelling e g AlphaSmart 21 Prompt Scheduling Picture Schedules timers watches 10 Reading Screen reading software 9 Educational Software Games software on line 8 Alternative Input Keyboard e g IntelliKeys switch 6 Communication Writing Math Calculator 10 3 Reading Writing Write Out Loud 3 Remote Communication Cell phone 3 Entertainment Talker used as a toy 1 Medical Monitoring LifeLine System 1 Navigating Web Email Voyager Suite by AbleLink 3 AT Adoption Process AT Adoption Process Multiple stages Rogers identifies awareness persuasion decisionmaking incorporation Multiple individuals involved AT specialists or speech therapists often identify potential technology Teachers often involved in trial period and decision making stage Parents expected to incorporate the device into the student s life or maintain it after the student left the school system AT Specialists Recommend Teachers Trial Study Families Incorporate 5 Things to keep in mind with AT adoption Things to keep in mind with AT adoption Different goals among stakeholders Parents want school to identify provide cutting edge technology Teachers deal with limited resource pool Portability Families cited lack of portability as reason for abandonment Bulky cumbersome devices aren t appropriate in mobile settings Easy to Learn but Expandable Low learning curve high ceiling Many users with cognitive disabilities can master technology Simplicity also important in support documentation Simple to Update and Replace Break downs are inevitable Highly customized software should support simple re configuration Things to keep in mind with AT adoption Increased Independence and Safety Technology used as a lifeline to caregivers Technology as a proxy caregiver supporting prompting Appropriate Social Interaction Sometimes technology video games can reduce social interaction Parents hope technology can guide more appropriate social behavior 6 Design implications of AT acceptance information Design implications of AT acceptance information Usability of technology lifecycle Usability design evaluation should include configuration use upgrade and replacement Out of the box usefulness yet highly customizable Don t require extensive configuration before showing value Functionality can increase in complexity over time Support incremental customizations Paper Prototyping Target Population 7 Main Screen Paper Prototyping Facilitator Memo Player Reality Testing Benefits or drawbacks Most of the early problems were platformrelated not software application related Accidentally press the power button Accidentally pop out storage card Accidentally initiating a call when backlight is dark These are often between task breakdowns would be hard to discover except through realistic use We can compensate for platform level breakdowns by adding capabilities in the software e g large icon for Linsey to re launch applications if system restarts Looking forward Week 3 Assistive Technologies Quiz Friday September 12 Week 4 Qualitative Field Methods September 17 NO CLASS Field Exercises Week 5 Exercise Informatics and Final Projects Discussion 8