Exploring the Design of Technologies and Services that Support Do-It-Yourself Assistive Technology Practice Jonathan Hook, Sanne Verbaan*, Peter Wright and Patrick Olivier Culture Lab, School of Computing Science Newcastle University, UK {jonathan.hook, p.c.wright, patrick.olivier}@ncl.ac.uk *Human Technology The Hague University of Applied Sciences, NL scverbaan@gmail.com ABSTRACT The term Do It Yourself (DIY) assistive technology refers to the creation and adaptation of assistive devices by non-professionals, such as people with disabilities and their families, friends and carers. Previous research has argued that the development of technologies and services that empower people to make their own DIY assistive technology might lead to the development of assistive devices that are tailored to meet the complex needs of individual disabled people, at a low cost and within a short timescale. In this paper, we describe our ongoing research into the design of interactive technologies and services that will support and empower people to make such DIY assistive technology for children with disabilities. Categories and Subject Descriptors H.5.m. Information interfaces and presentation (e.g., HCI): Miscellaneous; K.4.2. Computers and society: Social issues – Assistive technologies for persons with disabilities. Keywords Additional needs; assistive technology; accessibility; children; DIY; disability; do it yourself; interviews. 1. INTRODUCTION Assistive technology can be defined as "any device or system that allows an individual to perform a task that they would otherwise be unable to do, or increases the ease and safety with which the task can be performed" [3]. Many children with disabilities rely on a wide variety of assistive technologies for help and support during the course of their everyday lives. Such devices can range from simple adapted cutlery for children with weak grip or a limited range of motion [1], to switches that allow a child who is unable to use standard input devices like a mouse or keyboard to interact with a computer using, for example, head movements or by sipping and puffing air down a tube [11]. Despite the demand for, and potential utility of, assistive technology for people with disabilities, the current design and provision of such devices can be problematic. The generic designs of commercially produced, or off the shelf, assistive devices regularly fail to meet the specific, complex and often changing needs of individuals’ with disabilities. Furthermore, the process by which assistive technology is provided can often be lengthy and fail to adequately consult, involve and, consequently, understand the needs of the prospective end user. As a result of these, and potentially other, factors, it has been shown that as many as 29.3% of assistive devices are abandoned by the people that they are designed to help, over the first five years of use [12]. Hurst and Tobias have argued that the development of technologies and services that empower people to make and adapt their own Do It Yourself (DIY) assistive technology might provide a solution to these challenges [6]. They propose that supporting amateurs in creating such DIY assistive technology might lead to the development of devices that are tailored to meet the specific needs of individuals’ with disabilities, while avoiding the lengthy and expensive processes associated with the provision of assistive technology by professionals. We wholeheartedly believe in this vision, but acknowledge that a number of social and technical issues are likely to prevent many people from making their own DIY assistive technology. In this paper, we describe our ongoing research into the design of interactive technologies and services that will support and empower people to make DIY assistive technology for children with disabilities. We describe an ongoing series of semi-structured interviews and focus groups that seek to identify the challenges and issues that will affect the design of such technologies and services. Additionally, we present a number of possible directions for the design of interactive technologies and services for DIY assistive technology, inspired by the initial results of the aforementioned qualitative study and previous research, that we intend to explore in the future. 2. EXPLORING THE DESIGN CONTEXT To commence our research into the design of technologies and services that support people in making DIY assistive technology for children with disabilities, we are in the process of conducting a series of semi-structured interviews and focus groups. We intend that these interviews and focus groups will uncover insight into the range of social and technical issues that might prevent many people from making their own DIY assistive technology. So far, we have conducted six individual interviews with people involved in the existing provision, adaptation and bespoke development of assistive technology. The following people have participated in these interviews: two occupational therapists, one who works exclusively with children with disabilities and one who works with disabled people of all ages; a medical physics practitioner, who develops and modifies assistive technology to meet individuals’ needs professionally; two representatives from charities that develop bespoke assistive technology and a person who makes DIY assistive technology for himself and others as a hobby and runs a website to share his designs. Each of these interviews lasted approximately one hour and followed a script that sought to elicit information about the issues and challenges that are currently faced by children who use assistive technology, the participant’s role in the existing provision and adaptation of assistive technology for children with disabilities, the participant’s knowledge of existing DIY assistive technology practices and their views about the prospect of DE ‘13, 4-6 November 2013, Media City, Salford, UK Copyright is held by the author/owner(s).