Amy Hurst
ABSTRACT
Assistive Technologies empower individuals to accomplish tasks they might not be able to do otherwise. Unfortunately, a large percentage of Assistive Technology devices that are purchased (35% or more) end up unused or abandoned [7,10], leaving many people with Assistive Technology that is inappropriate for their needs. Low acceptance rates of Assistive Technology occur for many reasons, but common factors include 1) lack of considering user opinion in selection, 2) ease in obtaining devices, 3) poor device performance, and 4) changes in user needs and priorities [7]. We are working to help more people gain access to the Assistive Technology they need by empowering non-engineers to "Do-It-Yourself" (DIY) and create, modify, or build. This paper illustrates that it is possible to custom-build Assistive Technology, and argues why empowering users to make their own Assistive Technology can improve the adoption process (and subsequently adoption rates). We discuss DIY experiences and impressions from individuals who have either built Assistive Technology before, or rely on it. We found that increased control over design elements, passion, and cost motivated individuals to make their own Assistive Technology instead of buying it. We discuss how a new generation of rapid prototyping tools and online communities can empower more individuals. We synthesize our findings into design recommendations to help promote future DIY-AT success.
- Assistive Tech Act of 1998, Section 3, http://www.section508.gov/508Awareness/html/at1998.html, accessed: 5/3/2011Google Scholar
- Dawe, M. 2006. Desperately seeking simplicity: how young adults with cognitive disabilities and their families adopt assistive technologies. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human Factors in computing systems (CHI '06), ACM. 1143--1152. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Hod Lipson, M. K. 2010. Factory @ Home: The Emerging Economy of Personal Manufacturing. Report Commissioned by the Whitehouse Office of Science & Technology Policy.Google Scholar
- Kuznetsov, S. and Paulos, E. 2010. Rise of the expert amateur: DIY projects, communities, and cultures. In Proceedings of the Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (NordiCHI '10), ACM. 295--304. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Lupton, E. 2006. DIY: Design it yourself. Princeton Architectural Press.Google Scholar
- Obrist, M. 2008. DIY HCI: Do-It-Yourself Human-Computer Interaction. VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Phillips, B. and Zhao, H. 1993. Predictors of assistive technology abandonment. In Assistive Technology. Taylor & Francis. 5(1): 36--45.Google Scholar
- Riemer-Reiss, M. L. and Wacker, R. R. 2000. Factors associated with assistive technology discontinuance among individuals with disabilities. In Journal of Rehabilitation. National Rehabilitation Association. 66(3):44--50.Google Scholar
- Rogers, E. M. 1995. Diffusion of Innovations. Free Press.Google Scholar
- Scherer, M. J. 1996. Outcomes of assistive technology use on quality of life. In Disability & Rehabilitation. Informa Healthcare. 18(9): 439--448.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Torrey, C., Churchill, E. F., and McDonald, D. W. 2009. Learning how: the search for craft knowledge on the Internet. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human Factors in computing systems (CHI '09), ACM. 1371--1380. Google ScholarDigital Library
- US Census Bureau Newsroom: Facts for Features & Special Editions: Facts for Features: 20th Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act: July 26, http://www.census.gov/, accessed: 5/3/2011Google Scholar
- Von Hippel, E. 2005. Democratizing innovation. The MIT Press.Google Scholar
- Werner, D. 1988. Disabled village children. Hesperian Foundation Palo Alto, CA.Google Scholar
- Willkomm, T. 2005. Make a Difference Today! Assistive Technology Solutions in Minutes. ATECH Services.Google Scholar
Index Terms
- Empowering individuals with do-it-yourself assistive technology
Recommendations
Making "making" accessible
IDC '13: Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Interaction Design and ChildrenAssistive technologies empower individuals to accomplish tasks they might not be able to do otherwise. Unfortunately, a large percentage of assistive devices that are purchased (35% or more) end up unused or abandoned [8], leaving many people with ...
Hacking, Switching, Combining: Understanding and Supporting DIY Assistive Technology Design by Blind People
CHI '23: Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing SystemsExisting assistive technologies (AT) often fail to support the unique needs of blind and visually impaired (BVI) people. Thus, BVI people have become domain experts in customizing and ‘hacking’ AT, creatively suiting their needs. We aim to understand ...
The Impact of Assistive Technology on Communication Quality Between Deaf and Hearing Individuals
CSCW '17: Proceedings of the 2017 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social ComputingDeaf individuals often experience communication difficulties in face-to-face interactions with hearing people. In order to support deaf individuals in such situations, an active stream of assistive technology (AT) research focuses on real-time ...
Comments