Assistive technology for cognitive disability

Abstract

The advanced technology of today's society is challenging for persons with disabilities. One way to handle these challenges is assistive technology, such as powered wheelchairs for persons with motor disability or synthetic speech for persons with communication disability. The use of assistive technology has been minimal for a large group of persons with disabilities, namely persons with cognitive disability. This is probably due to the fact that cognitive disability is more difficult to observe and measure than other disabilities, like motor disability. The handicapping consequences of the disability on the person-environment interaction cannot be directly observed and therefore must be deduced from behavior in task-analysis. Thus, unlike observable disabilities, the need for assistive technology is not self-evident in persons with cognitive disabilities. This paper describes a model for developing assistive technology for cognitive disability, illustrated by a case study. The model was developed in the MENTEK project, sponsored by the Swedish Handicap Institute. The model is based on the international classification of impairments, disabilities, and handicaps (ICIDH) and stresses the importance of differentiating between cognitive impairment, cognitive disability and cognitive handicap. Assistive technology can be used either to minimize the disability with the help of a cognitive aid, like a device for understanding the passage of time, or to minimize the handicapping consequences of the disability in a specific context, like a computerized cash-register helping a person to handle money in a coffee-shop.