Assistive technologies can negatively impact social interactions for people with disabilities. As a result, device abandoment can occur. This problem may be remedied by drawing on social science studies of the social impacts and development of technologies. Using a multi-method social scientific approach, this research (1) investigates the intersection of people, technology, and context to understand how assistive technologies may make users feel self-conscious; (2) determines what elements of design may be deemed socially acceptable; and (3) develops a new approach, Design for Social Acceptance, for creating assistive technologies that embody social acceptability. To do so, the investigators use interviews, observations, and participatory design with people with disabilities using assistive technologies, focusing on how design affects social interactions. Participatory design workshops may provide opportunities to work closely with people with disabilities to develop design practices that can be used to create socially acceptable assistive technologies. Findings from this study contribute to the field of science, technology, and society by providing a systematic understanding of the relationship between stigma and technology, and how that problem can be overcome. The study also contributes to understandings of the intersection of people with disabilities, the technologies they use, and the social interactions in which they engage.
The broader impacts of this research are (1) an increased ability for people with disabilities to participate in technology design, engineering, and testing; (2) a greater awareness of how assistive devices can be designed to meet the social needs of users with disabilities; and (3) establishing a new assistive technology design approach that may be adopted into existing design and engineering processes. Findings are disseminated through a doctoral dissertation. The course component of the study--where design students will work on projects by using the methodology--can shape student design sensibilities and influence their future design work. Finally, the research project broadens the participation of people with disabilities in engineering processes.
