Seamless journeys : enhancing accessibility to work through digital technologies for people with mobility-related impairments

Numerous disruptions and barriers are encountered by persons with mobility-related disabilities in their daily’s experience of going to work and the pressure these exert on gaining and maintaining their employment. The nature and extent of their difficulties to workforce participation entails a requirement for extensive planning and also strategies to address problems of being stranded (for example, when the bus they are waiting for is not accessible). This paper presents the conceptualisation and methods of understanding workforce participation as a journey, and a discussion on the role digital technologies play in helping people with mobility-related disabilities in their journeys to work and mitigating disruptions when these occur. This is presented through an initial case study that helped identify the sequence of supports needed to be in place to make the work journey possible. Importantly, the paper also highlights points of intervention for the use of digital technologies and where design can potentially help to enhance accessibility to work for people with mobility-related impairments by making journeys to work seamless.

Combination of web usage, content and structure information for diverse web mining applications in the tourism context and the context of users with disabilities

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Experiences and desires of people with tetraplegia living with and without electronic aids to daily living: an Irish focus group study

This qualitative descriptive study explores the lived experience for persons with a high cervical spinal cord injury who have Electronic Aids to Daily Living (EADLs), and for persons who have no EADLs. Fifteen people with cervical spinal cord injuries attended four focus groups. Data analysis uncovered a novel framework of several themes that were organised into three categories: experiences, desires and meanings of living with EADL. Users’ and non users’ groups revealed homogenous themes. Experiences and desires are explored further in this paper. Themes within the category of experiences included: EADL devices, supply support and training, abandonment, mouthsticks and powered wheelchairs. Desires included: simple stuff, reliability, aesthetics and voice activation. Findings offer valuable personal insights about life with EADL to be considered by all involved with EADL.

The meaning of environmental control systems (ECS) for people with spinal cord injury: An occupational therapist explores an intervention

Environmental Control Systems (ECS), enable people with high cervical Spinal Cord Injury (high SCI) to control and access everyday electronic devices. In Ireland, however, access for those who might benefit from ECS is limited. This study used a qualitative approach to explore the insider experience of an ECS starter-pack developed by the author, an occupational therapist. The primary research questions: what is it really like to live with ECS, and what does it mean to live with ECS, were explored using a phenomenological methodology conducted in three phases. In Phase 1 fifteen people with high SCI met twice in four focus groups to discuss experiences and expectations of ECS. Thematic analysis (Krueger & Casey, 2000), influenced by the psychological phenomenological approach (Creswell, 1998), yielded three categories of rich, practical, phenomenological findings: ECS Usage and utility; ECS Expectations and The meaning of living with ECS. Phase 1 findings informed Phase 2 which consisted of the development of a generic electronic assistive technology pack (GrEAT) that included commercially available constituents as well as short instructional videos and an information booklet. This second phase culminated in a one-person, three-week pilot trial. Phase 3 involved a six person, 8-week trial of the GrEAT, followed by individual in-depth interviews. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis IPA (Smith, Larkin & Flowers, 2009), aided by computer software ATLAS.ti and iMindmap, guided data analysis and identification of themes. Getting used to ECS, experienced as both a hassle and engaging, resulted in participants being able to Take back a little of what you have lost, which involved both feeling enabled and reclaiming a little doing. The findings of this study provide substantial insights into what it is like to live with ECS and the meanings attributed to that experience. Several practical, real world implications are discussed.

Substance Use Behaviours of Young People with A Moderate Learning Disability: A longitudinal analysis

Substance use behaviours of young people attending a special school are reported over a four year period from the age of 12-16 years. The paper investigated these behaviours by surveying a cohort of young people with a statement for moderate learning disabilities annually during the last four years of compulsory schooling. The findings show that these young people consistently reported lower levels of tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use compared with those attending mainstream school. No other illicit drug use was reported. The potential implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the context and timing of targeted substance education and prevention initiatives for young people with moderate learning disability attending a special school.

Costing the hospital-based process of resettling people with learning disability in the community

Objectives: Much has been written about the costs and cost-effectiveness of community care for people with learning disabilities resettled from long stay hospital care. However, comparatively little has been published about the cost of hospital services relating to the preparatory process before eventual resettlement and the disengagement of formal, sustained input from hospital staff. This study describes and costs the input provided by a hospital based multi-disciplinary team into the resettlement of adults with learning disabilities, from long stay wards in Muckamore Abbey Hospital in Northern Ireland between 1996 and 1999 (n = 71).

Ethics in sexual behavior assessment and support for people with intellectual disability

Sexuality is an issue of equality, rights, and ethics, especially when it comes to the sexuality of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This paper offers a discussion of ethics related to the assessment and intervention supports of sexual behavior in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. A brief history of sexuality and disability is presented. Issues of sexual abuse of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the laws related to sterilization, pornography, sexual rights, and consent are explored. Finally, specific ethical concerns related to intervention by behavior analysts in the realm of sexual behavior are examined.

The Use of Touch Screen Technology by People with Dementia and Their Carers in Care Home Settings.

Dominic Upton, Jennifer Bray, Tim Jones and Penney Upton report on research that confirms that touchscreen devices can be of great benefit in engaging and supporting people with dementia.

Wrap around analysis of the affordances and constraints for girls with physical disabilities participating in physical activities /

This is a qualitative study exploring the physical activity patterns of a group of women with physical disabilities through their lifespan. In-depth interviews were done with a group of 6 women aged 1 9 to 3 1 . The data were analyzed via content and demographic strategies. Participants in this study reported that their physical activity patterns and their experiences related to their physical activity participation changed over their lives. They were most physically active in their youth (under 14 years of age) and as they reached high school age (over 14 years of age) and to the present time, they have become less physically active. They also reported both affordances and constraints to their physical activity participation through their lifespan. In their youth, they reported affordances such as their parents' assistance, an abundance of available physical activity opportunities, and independent unassisted mobility, as all playing an important factor in their increased youth physical activity. In adulthood, the participants' reported less time, fewer opportunities for physical activity, and reliance on power mobility as significant constraints to their physical activity. The participants reported fewer constraints to being physically active in their youth when compared to adulthood. Their reasons for participation in physical activity changed from fun and socialization in their youth instead of for maintenance of health, weight, and function in adulthood. These affordances, constraints and reasons for physical activity participation were supported in the literature.

An inquiry into the barriers to participation within the fitness industry for people living with mobility challenges

This qualitative study was designed to inquire about the barriers to participation within the fitness industry for people living with mobility challenges. i\n examination of the insights, stolies~ and experiences with barriers through interviews gi ven by 4 people living with mobility challenges (PMC) formed the core of the research. An analysis of the interviews from the 4 PMC informants was performed at t\\/O levels. First, a content analysis served to identify general and specific categories related to barrier issues within various fitness environments. Secondly, in-depth thematic analyses of the entries related to the insights and stories from the 4 informants which emerged from the content analysis of the data gave rise to fi ve thematic statements. From the thematic statements a fitness industry awareness protocol was created in the fonn of a statement response questionnaire. The protocol, which was given to 4 fitness assessors/trainers, \vas used to provide a snapshot of the fitness industry's readiness to work vvith disability. Throughout the process, the four PNIC informants formed a collaborati vely involved group of coresearchers, adding their voices to the narrative of the fitness-barrier experience. The result of the study suggests that barriers to participation within the fitness industry for PMC exist in various forms and levels of severity. The results also suggest that the fitness industry needs to better prepare their people and environment for working with people with physical disabilities, such as PMC, and provide a more open and positi ve environment for participation. Within the context of any fitness-related environment, recognizing that barriers to participation do exist, and acknowledging and accepting people with disabilities for who they are as indi viduals, will serve to develop a relationship where fitness practitioners and people with disabilities can work towards creating an inviting, inclusive, accessible, and barrier-free fitness environment for all.

Experiences and meaning of the aquatic environment for individuals with physical disabilities

This study examines the experiences and meaning of physical activity in the aquatic environment to enhance social, cultural and political understanding of its impact in the lives of individuals with physical disabilities. Interviews, lived experience descriptions and artifacts present an explanation of the felt sense oftheir bodies as they engage in swimming or scuba diving. 11 Combining written, verbal and visual descriptions generated by informants provides a detailed account of the unique qualities of physical activity in the water for those with physical disabilities. Participants' descriptions highlight that context is an important aspect of physical activity among individuals with physical disabilities through discussion of motility and the role of the lived body. Aspects of the aquatic environment create a setting that facilitates forgetfulness of the lived body's presence. Instructors and participants alike will benefit from learning the difference between the object body and the lived body, listening to the body's voice as they participate in physical activity .

Youth with intellectual disabilities and the right to make choices : investigating the family context to inform a training program

People with intellectual disabilities (ID) are more likely to be victims of abuse and human rights violations than people without ID. The 3Rs: Rights, Respect, and Responsibility project has developed and is testing a human rights training program for adults with ID. The current project was conducted to make recommendations to adapt the 3Rs rights training program to be used with youth with ID and their families. An interpretive phenomenological framework was employed to investigate youth with ID, parents', and siblings' perceptions of the i r experiences with choice making, an enactment of rights, in the family context. Thematic analysis of interviews revealed that, consistent with previous research, family members consider family values, conventions, and family members' well being when making decisions. A training program should promote a consideration of expanded opportunities for youth with ID to make choices and should be flexible to address individual families' cultures, needs, and desires.

A shift to randomness of brain oscillations in people with autism

BACKGROUND: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) enables investigation of the intrinsic functional organization of the brain. Fractal parameters such as the Hurst exponent, H, describe the complexity of endogenous low-frequency fMRI time series on a continuum from random (H = .5) to ordered (H = 1). Shifts in fractal scaling of physiological time series have been associated with neurological and cardiac conditions. METHODS: Resting-state fMRI time series were recorded in 30 male adults with an autism spectrum condition (ASC) and 33 age- and IQ-matched male volunteers. The Hurst exponent was estimated in the wavelet domain and between-group differences were investigated at global and voxel level and in regions known to be involved in autism. RESULTS: Complex fractal scaling of fMRI time series was found in both groups but globally there was a significant shift to randomness in the ASC (mean H = .758, SD = .045) compared with neurotypical volunteers (mean H = .788, SD = .047). Between-group differences in H, which was always reduced in the ASC group, were seen in most regions previously reported to be involved in autism, including cortical midline structures, medial temporal structures, lateral temporal and parietal structures, insula, amygdala, basal ganglia, thalamus, and inferior frontal gyrus. Severity of autistic symptoms was negatively correlated with H in retrosplenial and right anterior insular cortex. CONCLUSIONS: Autism is associated with a small but significant shift to randomness of endogenous brain oscillations. Complexity measures may provide physiological indicators for autism as they have done for other medical conditions.