CIRCA:Assistive Technology and Universal Design

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Revision as of 14:55, 16 December 2021

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.

What is defined as technology that is assistive, depends largely on how each culture and society handles those who have significant disabilities. However, everyone will be more or less dependent on their surrounding systems at one point or another in their lives. This may be due to age (e.g. a baby or a centenarian), degeneration (e.g. Alzheimer's), or sudden change (e.g. car accident).

Normativity

There is a strong focus, particularly in North America, to look at numbers to decide what is normal. This has led at looking at averages as the ideal in both individuals and generalized populations even if it leads to more harm than good.

Looking at what is normal gives the allusion of easing a sense of anxiety even if what it actually does is create a fixation. Within a culture, everyone takes for granted what is deemed as normal and tries to stay ahead of that normal. This is without consideration for any actual correlation between 'normalcy' and wellness, work or healthy relationships.

Advantages to a generalized approach to design

Universal Design

Universal Design is the design and composition of an environment so that it can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people regardless of their age, size, ability or disability. An environment (or any building, product, or service in that environment) should be designed to meet the needs of all people who wish to use it. This is not a special requirement, for the benefit of only a minority of the population. It is a fundamental condition of good design. If an environment is accessible, usable, convenient and a pleasure to use, everyone benefits. By considering the diverse needs and abilities of all throughout the design process, universal design creates products, services and environments that meet peoples' needs. Simply put, universal design is good design.

The 7 Principles of Universal Design were developed in 1997 by a working group of architects, product designers, engineers and environmental design researchers, led by the late Ronald Mace in the North Carolina State University. The purpose of the Principles is to guide the design of environments, products and communications. According to the Center for Universal Design in NCSU, the Principles "may be applied to evaluate existing designs, guide the design process and educate both designers and consumers about the characteristics of more usable products and environments."

• Principle 1: Equitable Use: Provide the same means of use for all users: identical whenever possible; equivalent when not. Avoid segregating or stigmatizing any users. Provisions for privacy, security, and safety should be equally available to all users. Make the design appealing to all users.

• Principle 2: Flexibility in Use: Provide choice in methods of use. Accommodate right- or left-handed access and use. Facilitate the user's accuracy and precision. Provide adaptability to the user's pace.

• Principle 3: Simple and Intuitive Use: Eliminate unnecessary complexity. Be consistent with user expectations and intuition. Accommodate a wide range of literacy and language skills. Arrange information consistent with its importance. Provide effective prompting and feedback during and after task completion.

• Principle 4: Perceptible Information: Use different modes (pictorial, verbal, tactile) for redundant presentation of essential information. Provide adequate contrast between essential information and its surroundings. Maximize "legibility" of essential information. Differentiate elements in ways that can be described (i.e., make it easy to give instructions or directions). Provide compatibility with a variety of techniques or devices used by people with sensory limitations.

• Principle 5: Tolerance for Error: Arrange elements to minimize hazards and errors: most used elements, most accessible; hazardous elements eliminated, isolated, or shielded. Provide warnings of hazards and errors. Provide fail safe features. Discourage unconscious action in tasks that require vigilance.

• Principle 6: Low Physical Effort: Allow user to maintain a neutral body position. Use reasonable operating forces. Minimize repetitive actions. Minimize sustained physical effort.

• Principle 7: Size and Space for Approach and Use: Provide a clear line of sight to important elements for any seated or standing user. Make reach to all components comfortable for any seated or standing user. Accommodate variations in hand and grip size. Provide adequate space for the use of assistive devices or personal assistance.

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.
• Jackson-Gibson, Adele. “The Racist and Problematic Origins of the Body Mass Index.” Good Housekeeping, 1 Nov. 2021, www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/a35047103/bmi-racist-history.
• 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.