Advancements in personal fabrication technologies (e.g. 3D printing) resulted in a rising interest in 'do-it-yourself assistive technology' (DIY AT). Clinical knowledge is considered fundamental for DIY AT design, but research into making DIY AT by clinicians is limited. In this paper, we explore occupational therapists' attitudes towards 3D printing both before and after gaining hands-on experience with 3D modelling software. In addition, as clinicians indicate to prefer collaborations with experienced designers, we organized a codesign study with occupational therapists and professional designers to conceptualize a feasible collaborative DIY-AT design process. The results of our studies show an overall enthusiasm of occupational therapists towards 3D printing, but the perceived impact of 3D printing on their job performance decreased after gaining hands-on experience. Collaborating with designers seems a viable way forward. We propose a model for a collaborative design process, highlighting different phases and the roles that occupational therapists and designers play.
We describe the iterative co-design process and evaluation of an early autism screening tool (EAST). EAST is an intermediary interactive tablet based app that assists in the early-detection of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by screening preschoolers in Pakistan through play-based activities in a home, school or clinical setting. Medical professionals, parents of autistic children and teachers were surveyed through focus groups to understand the reasons that contribute to the increasing number of missed early detections, and late- or misdiagnoses. We also evaluate the acceptability, usability and validity of our tool. We tested EAST with both typically developed and autistic children on how they relate to people, imitation, motor skills, visual and intellectual response. They were scored via time taken, the number of wrong attempts, or incorrect answers and audiovisual feedback. This paper contributes towards a digital autism screening tool that delivers insights into the child's behaviour and enables collaboration among parents, teachers and medical professionals.
When trying to understand people's perspectives, qualitative researchers in HCI often use methods which assume participants can easily communicate verbally. There are few dedicated resources in HCI which provide an overview of qualitative methods to effectively gather the perspectives of people who cannot easily communicate verbally; specifically, people who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). As a result, AAC users might be excluded from studies using methods such as interviews or focus groups, even if they fit the researcher's target population. To address this problem, I review literature from both HCI and therapeutic AAC research fields to discuss methods used with AAC users. In addition, I present relevant case examples from my own qualitative research and propose a framework to guide HCI researchers on choosing appropriate methods when involving AAC users as central research participants. I also identify design opportunities for HCI researchers to innovate on the tools and methods used for qualitative research with AAC users. This paper provides an easily accessible overview of qualitative methods HCI researchers can use with AAC users as participants.
More than a billion people in the world live with some form of visual impairment, and a wide variety of technologies are now routinely used by them in the course of 'getting on' in everyday life. However, little is known about the ways in which assistive and non-assistive technologies are brought to bear on material practices. We present findings from a four-month ethnographic study facilitated by a local branch of a UK charity that supports people with visual impairments. Our study explores mainstream and assistive technology use within their everyday lives. We identify three main sites for technology use: social relations and communication practices, textual reading practices, and mobility practices. Via an ethnographic approach we contribute to understanding how people accomplish such practices, and in doing so, uncover the practical competencies that enable people with visual impairments to conduct their everyday activities. Thus we investigate how disability can be thought of in terms of competencies, arguing that understanding of competencies can enrich the design of technologies that fit the needs of people with visual impairments.
Addressing the needs of visually impaired people is of continued interest in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) research. Yet, one of the major challenges facing researchers in this field continues to be how to design adequate quantitative empirical evaluation for these users in HCI. In this paper, we analyse a corpus of 178 papers on technologies designed for people with visual impairments, published since 1988, and including at least one quantitative empirical evaluation (243 evaluations in total). To inform future research in this area, we provide an overview, historic trends and a unified terminology to design and report quantitative empirical evaluations. We identify open issues and propose a set of guidelines to address them. Our analysis aims to facilitate and stimulate future research on this topic.