A Device is Just a Device

categories: accommodations, Communication

Published July 03, 2009 @ 09:59AM PT

Anyone who reads what I write here (all 6 of you ;-P) probably knows that I'm a huge fan of assistive technology. However, it's important not to mislead about what an assistive technology really is.

I almost passed up Weighted Belt for Autism? -- Research Summary because, well, it's not, in fact, anything resembling a "research summary" (or even a well written or interesting article). But then it is pretty illustrative of this theme. Why would anyone think the application of a piece of assistive technology--a weighted belt--would be a "cure" for anything? Any more than a car is a "cure" for not being able to run really fast?

Sometimes unrealistic expectations get put on a device. Once a man observed me use my speech device--something I have high levels of skill in. "I want one just like that," the man told others, and VR purchased him one. Then I was asked to help show him how to use it.

Now, I touch-type 80 - 90 words a minute, have been using typing-as-conversation for decades, my communication processes function natively in writing far better than they do in speech, and I've had benefit of working with an SLP who specializes in assistive technology. Unfortunately, the man is an exceptionally slow hunt-and-peck typer with a preference for speech over writing. And I am no SLP. This lead to some disappointment.

Or, here's a second story: My state has a lovely program to enable all individuals to have telephone access. I have a speaker phone through this program, and my speech device right next to it. However, I don't use the telephone any more than I did before I had this system. Because, well, I don't have any better phone skills than I did before I had this system. I still have no clue when it's my turn to speak, can't understand most of what an unfamiliar voice is saying, and any number of other things that make using the telephone functional.

The two-parter key point here is that, one, assistive technology can make a HUGE difference in the types of activities that are available to a person. I can do things with AT that I could never dream of doing without. But, two, this is not because of the device itself. A device is just a device. What makes a device truly functional is the individual who uses it.

Whether it's technology for sensory needs like a weighted belt (or my beloved extra heavy, knee-high boots), or a speech device, or a telephone, or anything all else, the usefulness of the item is going to depend on the skill, needs, and personality of the person using it as much as it is on the device. And successful use of a device is akin to successful use of a car or a computer--it's not a cure for anything, it's technology that enables us to do things we could not do otherwise.

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Comments (8)

Oh, surely a few more than 6 of us, even if we don't all comment all the time...

Fine analogy about car as "cure" for not being able to run fast!

In general, I figure that if they feel they need to put "Miracle" in the product name, it probably... isn't.

Posted by JoyMama J on 07/03/2009 @ 01:06PM PT
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You said "I figure that if they feel they need to put "Miracle" in the product name, it probably... isn't."

LOL! I think you're right about that! :-)

Posted by Dora Raymaker on 07/03/2009 @ 01:49PM PT
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As one of the 6 (haha) I must say that your skills and knowledge are impressive!

Posted by Twyla Ramos on 07/03/2009 @ 07:55PM PT
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I believe the expression is "narrow but deep" ;-P

Posted by Dora Raymaker on 07/03/2009 @ 09:21PM PT
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Thanks for this great post. :)

I really like how you describe individual uses of technology, as opposed to technologies being these neutral tools that automatically have super powers simply on the basis of "OMG TECHNOLOGY."

In the field of computers & writing (a.k.a. my field, heh), technologies are often portrayed not only in individual/contextual terms, but also in terms of *who* creates the technology.

Technology is inescapably ideological. People themselves shape the hardware and software we use, and inevitably their values, experiences, biases, and so forth factor into the designs and structures at play. Like you describe, technology has become naturalized -- and often when a student, for instance, doesn't "get" word processing or video editing, we automatically intuit "student failure" rather than question the power structures that are hidden within those technologies in the first place. This ideological-ness, if you will, often leaves certain technologies "inaccessible" to groups of people, e.g., women, people with disabilities, minorities, working class individuals, and so forth.

In "The Politics of the Interface: Power and Its Exercise in Electronic Contact Zones" (1994), Cynthia Selfe & Richard Selfe give a really good example of this: the computer desktop, a metaphor that is undoubtedly geared toward CEO/white-collar folks over other folks. (For instance, why don't OS interfaces rely, say, on a kitchen metaphor? Instead of a desktop, we could have a counter. And instead of My Documents, we could have, uh, a fridge?)

Anyway, I ramble. I just sort of had a YES! moment. And this was a fun post to read. :)

Posted by Melanie Yergeau on 07/04/2009 @ 02:21PM PT
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I never thought about the boots thing, but I wear heavy work boots almost all the time, even when I have to wear business casual. I least I live in the southwest where a lot of people wear boots. I have Aspergers Syndrome and never realized that the weight of my footwear was probably conforting

Posted by William Brown on 07/04/2009 @ 09:03PM PT
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I'm curious - how are heavy boots and weighted belts helpful? This coming from someone who's knowledge of ASD comes solely from this blog...

Posted by Lianne Lavoie on 07/06/2009 @ 09:56AM PT
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I like heavy boots or heavy shoes too (but it's better if they come up over my ankles). I don't know how exactly they're helpful, but they make me feel grounded, help me feel that my feet are there or whatever. I think they might actually be easier to coordinate when I can feel them well the entire time. And I dunno, it just feels nice with something tight and heavy around my feet and lower legs. I'd never wear a weighted belt though, I can't stand to wear anything tight around my upper body (I wear suspenders too instead of a belt).

I'd probably like a weighted vest unless it'd make my back hurt faster, and I'm still hoping to find an easily accessible source of weighted blankets (too big a project to start on my own).

Posted by Norah vd Stel on 07/13/2009 @ 11:32AM PT
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Dora is committed to improving quality of life for individuals on the autistic spectrum--including herself! She is Co-director of the Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education and a member of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network's Board of Directors.