{"title":"Helping or hindering: Inclusive Design of Automated Task Prompting for Workers with Cognitive Disabilities","authors":"Gavin R. Philips, Morris Huang, Cathy Bodine","doi":"10.1145/3628447","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Of the ∼8.8 million working-age adults with cognitive disabilities in the United States, only 28.6% are employed, contributing to a poverty rate (26.1%) for people with cognitive disabilities (PwCDs) that is more than twice that for people without disabilities. PwCDs who are employed are often still marginalized via reduced hours and pay, largely due to their more limited capability to perform work efficiently and independently. As evidence, warehouse and shelf stocking jobs that serve as employment for a significant percentage of PwCDs, often require frequent intervention from a job coach in the workplace, impacting the pay and self-esteem of these workers. This study's objective was to remove barriers to employment for PwCD through inclusive design of technology supports in warehouse and similar settings. Specifically, a nonlinear context-aware prompting system (NCAPS) was developed, iteratively refined, and tested. In a pilot crossover study, subjects with cognitive disabilities participated in simulated work sessions, picking orders in a small warehouse environment using the NCAPS and industry standard paper tickets. Their performance was assessed in terms of errors and productivity, and their insights and perspectives were gathered. The resulting NCAPS prevented or corrected all errors for all but one participant. It also increased productivity for participants with the poorest baseline (paper ticket) performance, but decreased productivity for those with high baseline performance. No significant difference was observed in system usability scale (SUS) scores between methods. Topics emerging from user input highlighted the need for technological supports for PwCD to be simple and flexible in operation, and reliable to maintain user trust. By prioritizing robustness and intuitiveness, flexible technology supports can be developed to empower workers with a broad range of abilities, including those with temporary and situational impairments. Such tools would reduce barriers to employment, including stigma, discrimination, and other barriers to equity.","PeriodicalId":54128,"journal":{"name":"ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5000,"publicationDate":"2023-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3628447","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"COMPUTER SCIENCE, INTERDISCIPLINARY APPLICATIONS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Of the ∼8.8 million working-age adults with cognitive disabilities in the United States, only 28.6% are employed, contributing to a poverty rate (26.1%) for people with cognitive disabilities (PwCDs) that is more than twice that for people without disabilities. PwCDs who are employed are often still marginalized via reduced hours and pay, largely due to their more limited capability to perform work efficiently and independently. As evidence, warehouse and shelf stocking jobs that serve as employment for a significant percentage of PwCDs, often require frequent intervention from a job coach in the workplace, impacting the pay and self-esteem of these workers. This study's objective was to remove barriers to employment for PwCD through inclusive design of technology supports in warehouse and similar settings. Specifically, a nonlinear context-aware prompting system (NCAPS) was developed, iteratively refined, and tested. In a pilot crossover study, subjects with cognitive disabilities participated in simulated work sessions, picking orders in a small warehouse environment using the NCAPS and industry standard paper tickets. Their performance was assessed in terms of errors and productivity, and their insights and perspectives were gathered. The resulting NCAPS prevented or corrected all errors for all but one participant. It also increased productivity for participants with the poorest baseline (paper ticket) performance, but decreased productivity for those with high baseline performance. No significant difference was observed in system usability scale (SUS) scores between methods. Topics emerging from user input highlighted the need for technological supports for PwCD to be simple and flexible in operation, and reliable to maintain user trust. By prioritizing robustness and intuitiveness, flexible technology supports can be developed to empower workers with a broad range of abilities, including those with temporary and situational impairments. Such tools would reduce barriers to employment, including stigma, discrimination, and other barriers to equity.
期刊介绍:
Computer and information technologies have re-designed the way modern society operates. Their widespread use poses both opportunities and challenges for people who experience various disabilities including age-related disabilities. That is, while there are new avenues to assist individuals with disabilities and provide tools and resources to alleviate the traditional barriers encountered by these individuals, in many cases the technology itself presents barriers to use. ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS) is a quarterly peer-reviewed journal that publishes refereed articles addressing issues of computing that seek to address barriers to access, either creating new solutions or providing for the more inclusive design of technology to provide access for individuals with diverse abilities. The journal provides a technical forum for disseminating innovative research that covers either applications of computing and information technologies to provide assistive systems or inclusive technologies for individuals with disabilities. Some examples are web accessibility for those with visual impairments and blindness as well as web search explorations for those with limited cognitive abilities, technologies to address stroke rehabilitation or dementia care, language support systems deaf signers or those with limited language abilities, and input systems for individuals with limited ability to control traditional mouse and keyboard systems. The journal is of particular interest to SIGACCESS members and delegates to its affiliated conference (i.e., ASSETS) as well as other international accessibility conferences. It serves as a forum for discussions and information exchange between researchers, clinicians, and educators; including rehabilitation personnel who administer assistive technologies; and policy makers concerned with equitable access to information technologies.