VICAID: Development and evaluation of a palmtop‐based job aid for workers with severe developmental disabilities

Abstract

The development of technologies to assist people with severe and profound developmental disabilities to engage in constructive activity without constant support from carers may assist such persons to participate fully in vocational and other occupational activities. We describe the development, evaluation and use of VICAID, a system based on a radically simplified palmtop computer. The VICAID system enables a person with a developmental disability to access pictorial instructions designed to help him or her in the accurate completion of tasks. It also provides reminders to access the instructions, and/or alerts a job coach or supervisor should the worker's interaction with the system suggest that they are having difficulty with a task. Evaluative studies show that (1) the system is more effective than alternative supports (pictorial instructions presented in booklets) in maintaining accurate task performance, (2) that the system is preferred to such booklets by most users with severe disabilities, and (3) that it can be used in real work settings. Future development of the system will require attention to be paid to issues of training job-coaches and support workers in its setting-up and maintenance.

What am I doing in Timbuktu: person–environment picture recognition for persons with intellectual disability

“…A relatively common criterion for determining the capacity to recognize graphic symbols (Keogh & Reichle 1985; Reichle & Keogh 1985; Mirenda & Locke 1989) is 80% or more matches between object and picture, which is also in line with more recent studies (e.g. Furniss et al. 2001; Sigafoos et al.…”

ICT‐supported learning for inclusion of people with special needs: Review of seven educational technology journals, 1970–2011

“…James and Hammersley () reported on testing of ICT solutions for the hearing‐impaired, Hartley () investigated designing instructional text for older readers, and Seale () investigated the use of personal web pages for adults with Down syndrome. Studies with adults with severe cognitive disability have reported on the use of computer pictorial instructions to provide support in the job environment (Furniss et al , ) and on computer‐supported daily organiser application testing (Ager & Aalykke, ). For people with acquired brain injury, computer‐aided relearning activity has been tested by experiment, with the control group using traditional methods.…”

The use of palmtop computers for learning: a review of the literature

“…This was noted as helping their independence and self-confidence (Davies et al 2002a(Davies et al , 2002b. A similar program called VICAID is a palmtop-based job aid for workers with such difficulties which can be used for task scheduling, for example to assemble a valve in 26 stages, which can also be useful for those with attentional difficulties (Furniss et al 2001) • motor impairments such as muscular dystrophy where movement is difficult and the handheld function of word prediction is useful (Myers 2000).…”