Assistive technologies for children with cognitive and/or motor disabilities: interviews as a means to diagnose the training needs of informal caregivers

Almeida, Ivone; Ribeiro, Jaime; Moreira, António Carrizo

doi:10.1080/17483107.2019.1680750

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…People with extensive motor disabilities or combinations of motor disabilities and blindness may have serious problems in independently accessing various forms of functional daily occupation [1][2][3][4][5]. The problems may be even more severe when people present with intellectual disability in addition to motor and visual impairments [6][7][8][9][10][11][12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The possibility of setting up effective programs to help people with disabilities improve their situation and gain some level of independence is increasingly viewed as closely connected to the use of assistive technology solutions [3,[23][24][25][26][27]. For example, a variety of such solutions have been developed to support programs aimed at helping (1) people with blindness manage Braille reading and orientation and mobility [23,24] and (2) people with pervasive motor disabilities manage leisure and communication via eye gazing [26,27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Low-Cost Technology-Aided Programs for Supporting People With Motor, Visual, and Intellectual Disabilities in Functional Forms of Occupation and Communication: Proof-of-Concept Study

Lancioni¹,

Singh²,

O’Reilly³

et al. 2023

JMIR Rehabil Assist Technol

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Background People with motor, visual, and intellectual disabilities may have serious problems in independently accessing various forms of functional daily occupation and communication. Objective The study was aimed at developing and assessing new, low-cost technology-aided programs to help people with motor or visual-motor and intellectual disabilities independently engage in functional forms of occupation and communication with distant partners. Methods Two programs were set up using a smartphone interfaced with a 2-switch device and a tablet interfaced with 2 pressure sensors, respectively. Single-subject research designs were used to assess (1) the first program with 2 participants who were blind, had moderate hand control, and were interested in communicating with distant partners through voice messages; and (2) the second program with 2 participants who possessed functional vision, had no or poor hand control, and were interested in communicating with their partners through video calls. Both programs also supported 2 forms of occupational engagement, that is, choosing and accessing preferred leisure events consisting of songs and music videos, and listening to brief stories about relevant daily topics and answering questions related to those stories. Results During the baseline phase (when only a conventional smartphone or tablet was available), 2 participants managed sporadic access to leisure or leisure and communication events. The other 2 participants did not show any independent leisure or communication engagement. During the intervention (when the technology-aided programs were used), all participants managed to independently engage in multiple leisure and communication events throughout the sessions and to listen to stories and answer story-related questions. Conclusions The findings, which need to be interpreted with caution given the nature of the study and the small number of participants, seem to suggest that the new programs may be viable tools for helping people with motor or visual-motor and intellectual disabilities independently access leisure, communication, and other forms of functional engagement.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low-Cost Technology-Aided Programs for Supporting People With Motor, Visual, and Intellectual Disabilities in Functional Forms of Occupation and Communication: Proof-of-Concept Study

Lancioni¹,

Singh²,

O’Reilly³

et al. 2023

JMIR Rehabil Assist Technol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The interaction between caregiver and child was a subject of analysis both in these observation sessions and in interviews with caregivers that were previously conducted by Almeida et al (2019a). All respondents mentioned the home as being their main interaction context with the children, mostly during daily life activities and for homework tasks at the end of the day (Almeida et al 2019a). Therefore, these observation sessions were carried out at home and aimed at analysing the caregiver's interaction with the child during the tasks mediated by the AT device.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bearing in mind that participant observation may raise data validity issues, it is advisable to have gained previous access to the observation context to interact with participants and gain their trust. In this case, the caregivers had previously been interviewed by the researcher regarding their perception of the child's ability to use the AT device and their own training needs (Almeida et al 2019a); thus, they promptly accepted the need to carry out these observation sessions in the home.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-Tech Augmentative and Alternative Communication Devices: Observing Children’s Need for Help and Interaction with Caregivers

2023

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There are many children with disabilities who need specialised devices to communicate and to be understood, which poses an added challenge for their caregivers. This study aims to diagnose the training needs of informal caregivers concerning high-tech devices for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), to enhance the use of these devices in the home setting. The aim is to study children’s performance and their interaction with caregivers, to improve practices and contribute to reducing technology abandonment at home. Participant observation sessions were carried out in three home settings to describe the interaction between children and their caregivers, as well as to assess the former’s need for assistance in using the Grid3 software when combined with eye-gaze-controlled technology. The findings seem to demonstrate the importance of interactions between caregivers and children for carrying out tasks and improving performance. Therefore, it can be inferred that positive reinforcement is important to foster children’s motivation to overcome difficulties in using such devices, along with corrective feedback. The data suggest the need to promote technology-mediated communicative interaction in all life contexts. It is also possible to infer that the lack of regular device use at home compromises skills development. These findings have contributed to the planning and implementation of parental training intervention regarding using assistive technology for augmentative and alternative communication.

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“…The most extensively examined assistive technologies helping disabled customers involve sensory systems, mobility and cognition (Darcy et al , 2016). Given that these assistive technologies reduce social exclusion, they are better seen as rights than privileges (Almeida et al , 2021). However, at the moment, most technologies fail to consider the needs of physically impaired customers, particularly those with visual impairments, which leaves an important research gap that needs to be addressed (Sáez et al , 2019).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

AI and supportive technology experiences of customers with visual impairments in hotel, restaurant, and travel contexts

Liu

Wang

et al. 2023

IJCHM

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to critically reflect on visually impaired customers’ technology assistance needs and the perceptions of existing technologies’ performance in the contexts of hospitality and tourism. Design/methodology/approach Following a qualitative approach, this study used in-depth semistructured interviews with 19 participants with visual impairments. Findings Positive and negative sides of technology-assisted experiences in the hotel, restaurant, and travel domains were summarized, and room for improvement was discussed to enhance the quality of life and travel experience of visually impaired customers. Practical implications Findings from this study offer actionable implications and future directions to technicians and managers to make hospitality and travel experiences more inclusive. Originality/value This timely reflection addresses a critical situation by offering original ideas and calling for more discussion of under-represented groups with visual impairments.

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Assistive technologies for children with cognitive and/or motor disabilities: interviews as a means to diagnose the training needs of informal caregivers

Cited by 8 publications

References 23 publications

Low-Cost Technology-Aided Programs for Supporting People With Motor, Visual, and Intellectual Disabilities in Functional Forms of Occupation and Communication: Proof-of-Concept Study

Low-Cost Technology-Aided Programs for Supporting People With Motor, Visual, and Intellectual Disabilities in Functional Forms of Occupation and Communication: Proof-of-Concept Study

High-Tech Augmentative and Alternative Communication Devices: Observing Children’s Need for Help and Interaction with Caregivers

AI and supportive technology experiences of customers with visual impairments in hotel, restaurant, and travel contexts

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