CIRCA:Assistive Technology and Universal Design
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How cultures define, think about, and treat those who currently have marked disabilities is how all their future citizens may be perceived if and when those who are able-bodied become less abled than they are now, whether by age, degeneration, or some sudden or gradual change in physical or mental capacities. All people, over the course of their lives, traffic between times of relative independence and dependence. | How cultures define, think about, and treat those who currently have marked disabilities is how all their future citizens may be perceived if and when those who are able-bodied become less abled than they are now, whether by age, degeneration, or some sudden or gradual change in physical or mental capacities. All people, over the course of their lives, traffic between times of relative independence and dependence. | ||
In many cultures — and certainly in the United States — a pervasive, near-obsession with averages and statistical norms about bodies and capacities has become a naturalized form of describing both individuals and populations. | In many cultures — and certainly in the United States — a pervasive, near-obsession with averages and statistical norms about bodies and capacities has become a naturalized form of describing both individuals and populations. | ||
| - | The bell curve is the source of all talk about how individuals measure up relative to others | + | The bell curve is the source of all talk about how individuals measure up relative to others. Exceptional normal-ness is prized above all else. Measurements reassure anxious caregivers, despite little correlation between them and a lifetime of wellness, healthy relationships, or sustaining work. Being ahead of the 'bell curve' is another way of saying being ahead of the normal. |
== Advatages to a generalized approach to design == | == Advatages to a generalized approach to design == | ||
Revision as of 16:56, 11 December 2021
Contents |
Assistive Technology
Many see assistive technology as tools or systems in place to help people with disabilities cope and navigate the world as others do. But in fact, all technology is assistive. We all use help from our devices whether it is our phones, smart watches, glasses, etc. All technology is created as a tool to help us navigate through the world. Rather than thinking about designing for diagnostic impairments, all technology is designed to assist different groups of the population.
Normativity
How cultures define, think about, and treat those who currently have marked disabilities is how all their future citizens may be perceived if and when those who are able-bodied become less abled than they are now, whether by age, degeneration, or some sudden or gradual change in physical or mental capacities. All people, over the course of their lives, traffic between times of relative independence and dependence. In many cultures — and certainly in the United States — a pervasive, near-obsession with averages and statistical norms about bodies and capacities has become a naturalized form of describing both individuals and populations. The bell curve is the source of all talk about how individuals measure up relative to others. Exceptional normal-ness is prized above all else. Measurements reassure anxious caregivers, despite little correlation between them and a lifetime of wellness, healthy relationships, or sustaining work. Being ahead of the 'bell curve' is another way of saying being ahead of the normal.
Advatages to a generalized approach to design
Universal Design
Examples
References
- Hendren, Sara. “Chapter 15: All Technology Is Assistive: Six Design Rules on Disability.” Making Things and Drawing Boundaries: Experiments in the Digital Humanities, edited by Jentery Sayers, Debates in the Digital Humanities, Series 3, Minneapolis, MN, University of Minnesota Press, 2017, doi:10.5749/9781452963778.
- National Disability Authority and Centre for Excellence in Universal Design. “What Is Universal Design.” Centre for Excellence in Universal Design, 2020, universaldesign.ie/what-is-universal-design.
- https://www.sli.do/
- Review, Disability Science. “The Curb Cut Effect: How Making Public Spaces Accessible to People With Disabilities Helps Everyone.” Medium, 13 June 2018, mosaicofminds.medium.com/the-curb-cut-effect-how-making-public-spaces-accessible-to-people-with-disabilities-helps-everyone-d69f24c58785.
