The goals of the pilot sites are:
- Better understand of the users’ needs and expectations regarding to the use of AT and related with a better life/quality of life
- Identify actions required to ensure the successful use of AT
- Develop a range of practical, internationally-transferable tools to evaluate assistive technology in an ethical and dignified manner and test their relevance
- Bring out strategic and geographically-defined future challenges to improve quality of life through technology and ethics in care.
- Create an interregional network of stakeholders
Powered Wheelchair Activity
This activity proposes to pilot a study into obtaining user feedback for the development of a system to improve the safety and confidence of the user when using a Powered Wheelchair [PWC]. To achieve this, disabled people test drive a powered wheelchair with a driving assistance device over a predefined indoor circuit. Semi-structured interviews, using questionnaires before and after tests, a modified NASA Task Load Index and data from the PWC drive system are used to collect information about technical and ethical issues. The Questionnaires provide qualitative information on the user feedback, the NASA Task Load Index, quantitative information and the data from the drive system, novel objective data on how the chair is being driven.
The following goals are set for this trial:
The following goals are set for this trial:
- Participant experience driving a PWC using the new assistive technology [Driving Assistance system]
- Collect the participants* impressions about the relevance of trials related to improving the safety and the user confidence when using a PWC
- Collect the feedback of participants related with the relevance of the questionnaires used
- Analyse the output from the NASA Task Load index
- Develop analysis tools for the drive data
- Develop the methodology to correlate the subjective with objective data analysis
- Collect the feedback of participants related with the question “Using assistive devices has to enhance and fit in with ‘good care’ (‘good care’ involves four main issues: respect, autonomy, empowerment and communication)
Alternative and Augmentative Communcation (AAC) Activity
The AAC-experiment gives stakeholders, throughout immersion into a simulated real-life situation (role play), the possibility to experience what it is like being a user of an AAC-tool. The experience includes the training in how to use the technology and a simulation/role play scenario that could be provided to the carers and other support staff. There are two major elements to the AAC-experiment: First, there is the training of the care network in the use of a typical communication aid so that they can provide the user with technical support. Secondly, there is the genuine experience of what it is like to rely on a communication aid for all verbal communication. This gives the participant some idea of the challenges faced by both the user and the carer in using such technology. The whole experience will help the members of the care network develop their empathy for users of communication aids and so enhance the care provided to users and the interaction between users and carers.
Following goals are searched out with this trial:
Following goals are searched out with this trial:
- to let stakeholders supporting people suffering from speech and writing disabilities to experience what it is like to be deprived of usual communication capacities and to have to resort to technological assistance to express themselves.
- to evaluate the methodology of this training experience, in particular the way the carers’ and support staff’s empathy may be affected by this training.
- to build a set of tools to be used in training stakeholders (students, carers, etc)