How tech has made itself more accessible to those with unique and special needs.

Many people these days are turning to more mainstream avenues in the tech world to fill the needs of their children with unique or special needs. In years past there were really only a few options for someone to try and help their child with unique needs. These options were very costly as well as perpetuating a stigma of people with unique and special needs.

In addition to the unfortunate way assistive tech used to perpetuate a stigma many of them were also not very user friendly for professionals in the AT field and especially not for the family members. Family members would want to get involved and would quickly get frustrated by the time involved in setting up just one part of a device for their loved one. Between the cost and end user experience in the past there have been many attempts to give assistive tools to those who want and need them yet with very mixed results for long term buy in and success.

Enter the “new age” of Technology. In the past 10+ years we have seen seismic shifts in the world of technology. The biggest shift seems to be in the purpose for which tech is developed and how that purpose affects the design both graphically as well as functionally. In years past Technology was developed for jobs, tasks etc. however, the design was mainly thought out through the lens of completing those jobs, tasks etc. with little to no thought on the end user. The end user (you and me) were supposed to adapt to the technology that was developed and become proficient in the use of that developed tech. This made tech seem more out of reach for some and while accessible to others most would have agreed it took a deep understanding to use technology properly in the past.

Over these last 10+ years we have seen a real seismic shift in the purpose for which tech is made and why tech is developed. Technology is now developed in reverse. It starts with a question “what does the end user want?” this question is twofold – What do they want to do with it? And how will they want to interact with it?
These two questions have shifted technology in important and incredible ways. But the most important for us today is how this change has affected the accessibility and usability of tech with people who have unique and special needs.

The smartphone and tablet development has changed the idea of what assistive tech is and what it can be. These two small devices have taken so many barriers to the use of technology in the field of special needs away. They have not only taken them away they have obliterated them. How? Well lets list just a couple of those barriers that now appear to be removed.

Cost. It used to cost upwards of $7,000 for someone just to purchase an assistive device. That did not include training, set up, or ongoing support. Now someone can get a device for between $200-$500 and with an additional $50-200 in app purchases someone can be set up. The unique thing is that many of the apps available are complete at purchase and the end user can begin using them right away. Others that require additional set up are simple and straight forward and many have been developed by parents of children with unique and special needs. In short the cost savings of at least $6,000 has sure made a few heads turn.

Accessibility. The previously developed devices were something that unless you were in the “field” and were someone who sought to be well versed in the available “helps” around you would not find yourself familiar with the devices that were made for people with special and unique needs. This made things difficult when a person purchased one of these previously developed assistive devices because the people around them needed some fairly extensive training to become familiarized with the features and use of the persons device. This took time and money to train people, the unfortunate thing is that any staff who worked with the person needed to be trained and if that staff changed positions or was no longer available to serve with that person a new staff would need to be trained on the device and more money and time spent doing so.

Smartphones and tablets have become commonplace in everyday use. This makes the devices used in serving someone with special and unique needs FAR more familiar to those who would be working with them. This lessens much of the time organizations spent training people. Again creating a significant cost savings as well as making these new devices more accessible to people since there is less time spent in setting up and maintaining the devices.

Perception Changes. As stated above, the previously developed devices added to a stigma that while unfair and wrong was very real. As individuals received these devices and began taking them and trying to use them out in the community they sometimes found that this added to the wrong perception that some had of them in community. In some cases this caused those individuals to cease use of these expensive devices as to try and curtail the stigma and perception they were experiencing.

The development of these new devices has taken almost all of this issue away. Why? Because as was already stated many people are using these smartphones and tablets already to assist them in their daily life so when a person with special and unique needs pulls a smartphone or tablet out to communicate with or to remind themselves of a task or job they need to complete they simply appear to be using something that the community around them are using. This builds towards an inclusive environment for the individual and helps to break through the wrong stigmas that have existed in the past.

In short the smartphone and tablets have given a cost saving stigma free environment for people with special needs to thrive in new and amazing ways.