Reading Disabilities, Assistive Technologies, and Values

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Reading Disabilities, Assistive Technologies, and
Values

• Katherine Deibel
• Value Sensitive Design
• May 7, 2008

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Where I am
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Motivation

• Reading is critical in an information society
• 715 of the population have significant
  difficulties with reading
• Computer-based assistive tools can provide
  successful accommodations
• A tool is only helpful when it is used
• 35 of all assistive technologies purchased are
  abandoned
• Waste of resources, time, and funds for users and
  disability services

Refs Phillips Zhao, 1993 Riemer-Reiss
Wacker, 2000 Sands Buchholz,1997
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Constraining the focus Population

• User Population
• Undergraduate and graduate students
• Ages 18
• Reading disabled

• Why?
• Available population
• Largely unresearched
• Variety of reading contexts
• Transition stage of maturity and adulthood
• Increasingly in charge of personal life decisions
• Autonomy
• Independence
• Trust

Previous diagnosis but not reconfirmed by
researcher
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Constraining the focus Technology

• A reading widget
• Digital device
• Assists reading process
• Benefits a user with a reading disability
• Form factor, abilities, etc. not specified

• Why?
• Allows consideration of multiple potential
  technologies
• Acknowledges diversity of populations strengths
  and needs
• Abstraction places emphasis on the device, the
  user, and the contexts in which it is used

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Again Where I am
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Value Analysis from Literature Review

• Disability Studies
• Higher Education and Disability
• Stigma and Visibility
• Reading Disability Case Studies
• Assistive Technology Adoption

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Lit. Review Disability Studies

• Theme in Literature
• Medical Model
• Cory, 2005
• Clough Corbett, 2000
• Social Model
• Cory, 2005
• Clough Corbett, 2000
• Charlton, 1998
• Self-advocacy / Self-efficacy
• Cory, 2005
• Williams Shoultz, 1982

• Values Involved
• Human Welfare
• Normalcy
• Respect / Courtesy
• Human Welfare
• Choice
• Identity
• Charity
• Respect / Courtesy
• Empowerment
• Autonomy
• Independence
• Trust
• Privacy
• Choice

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Lit. Review Higher Education and Disability

• Theme in Literature
• Support
• Cory, 2005
• Scott et al., 2003
• Strange, 2000
• Spekman et al., 1992
• Gerber et al., 1992
• Faculty support
• Deibel, 2007 2008
• Cory, 2005
• Zirkel, 2000
• Williams Ceci, 1999
• Success in life
• Spekman et al., 1992
• Gerber et al., 1992

• Values Involved
• Community
• Universal usability
• Respect / Courtesy
• Trust
• Identity
• Human Welfare
• Trust
• Respect / Courtesy
• Identity
• Fairness
• Accountability
• Identity
• Community

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Lit. Review Stigma and Visibility

• Theme in Literature
• Stigma of reading disabilities
• Cory, 2005
• Charlton, 1998
• McDermott, 1993
• Goffman, 1963
• Invisible disabilities and hiding
• Cory, 2005
• Edwards, 1994

• Values Involved
• Community
• Identity
• Privacy
• Respect / Courtesy
• Literacy
• Awareness
• Community
• Identity
• Privacy
• Respect / Courtesy
• Independence
• Autonomy
• Empowerment

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Lit. Review Reading Disability Case Studies

• Theme in Literature
• Distrust of disclosing to others
• Cory, 2005
• Edwards, 1994
• Ridicule and embarrassment
• Cory, 2005
• Edwards, 1994
• McDermott, 1993
• Failure of institutional supports
• Deibel, 2007 2008
• Cory, 2005
• Edwards, 1994
• Self-advocacy / self-efficacy

• Values Involved
• Privacy
• Autonomy
• Independence
• Choice
• Trust
• Community
• Identity
• Privacy
• Respect / Courtesy
• Trust
• Respect / Courtesy
• Choice
• As before

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Lit. Review Assistive Technology Adoption

• Theme in Literature
• Diffusion of innovations
• AT adoption studies
• Self-advocacy
• User involvement in selection process
• Ease of configuration and maintenance

• Values Involved
• Community
• Autonomy
• Independence
• Trust
• Choice
• Empowerment
• Privacy

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Values

• Accountability
• Autonomy
• Awareness
• Charity
• Choice
• Community
• Empowerment
• Fairness
• Human Welfare

• Identity
• Independence
• Literacy
• Normalcy
• Perfection
• Privacy
• Respect/Courtesy
• Trust
• Universal Usability

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Aside Mapping Terminology to Values

• Frequent terms in the disability and assistive
  technology literature
• Self-advocacy
• Support / Accommodation
• Medical model
• Social model
• Ableism
• Inclusion
• Neurodiversity
• To assist future usage of VSD in this area,
  create a mapping of terminology to values

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Identifying Stakeholders

• Direct Stakeholder
• College students with reading disabilities
• Indirect Stakeholders

• Affected by usage
• Disability services
• Instructors
• Students in same class
• Study or group partners

• Affect usage
• Aware allies
• Unaware allies
• Stigmatizers
• Reading disability community
• General disability community

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Stakeholder Analysis

• Direct Stakeholder User with RD
• Benefits
• Improve literacy and related performance skills
• Technology could be a visual marker of membership
  in reading disability community
• Harms
• Technology could out user
• Technology could require disclosure for
  permission to use technology in classes, at work,
  etc.
• Likely Flows Literacy and Choice
• Likely Dams Privacy and Independence

• Values Involved
• Literacy
• Community
• Identity
• Trust
• Choice
• Empowerment
• Privacy
• Autonomy
• Independence
• Trust
• Choice

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Stakeholder Analysis

• Indirect Stakeholder Instructors
• Benefits
• Clearer means for providing support to students
  with reading disabilities
• Harms
• Students might use technology but not go through
  disability resources
• Unawareness of presence of disabilities among
  students
• Question of legitimacy of need of device
• Question of fairness to other students
• Likely Flows Human welfare
• Likely Dams Trust and Fairness

• Values Involved
• Literacy
• Human welfare
• Trust
• Fairness
• Awareness
• Accountability

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Stakeholder Analysis

• Indirect Stakeholder RD Community
• Benefits
• More options for support and self-advocacy
• Technology could be a visual marker of membership
  in reading disability community
• Harms
• If technology promotes hiding, diffusion process
  will be stymied
• Likely Flows Literacy
• Likely Dams Lack of Community

• Values Involved
• Literacy
• Choice
• Empowerment
• Autonomy
• Community
• Community
• Choice
• Empowerment
• Autonomy
• Community

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What next

• Finish stakeholder analysis
• Figure out how to explain / visualize value and
  stakeholder analyses in paper
• Empirical analysis of reading disability message
  boards for value discussions
• Potential threads identified
• Technical analysis
• Apply value and stakeholder models to Kurzweil
  3000 software
• Develop preliminary design recommendations

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