An Ecosystem of Support: A U.S. State Government-Supported DIY-AT Program for Residents with Disabilities

dc.contributor.authorHiggins, Erin
dc.contributor.authorSakowicz, Marie E.
dc.contributor.authorHamidi, Foad
dc.date.accessioned2025-04-01T14:55:54Z
dc.date.available2025-04-01T14:55:54Z
dc.date.issued2024-10-27
dc.descriptionASSETS '24: Proceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, St. John's NL Canada, October 27 - 30, 2024
dc.description.abstractWhile Do-It-Yourself (DIY) approaches to producing customized assistive technology (AT) have been shown to support end-user agency and further technology democratization, research has shown that the utilization of digital fabrication tools requires a high level of technical expertise as well as financial investment. Facilitation of collaborations between end users and makers is a possible solution to these issues, however, previous efforts have uncovered issues around shared language, lack of consistent communication, and liability concerns. A promising direction for addressing these issues is to conceive of new types of multi-organizational collaborations that draw on complementary strengths. We explored these possibilities through an Action Research study in which we collaborated with the Maryland department of disability to launch a state level DIY-AT program. Through developing and supporting this program, we studied motivations for participation, relationships to creating and customizing AT, how individuals participated in and grew the program, and how the program allowed for individuals to reflect on their disabilities and AT use. Our findings generated an ecosystem model describing the interdependent relationships between and roles held by each stakeholder in the state DIY-AT program as well as a description of how this ecosystem encouraged expanding and transcending the understandings and definitions of AT and disability. We offer lessons learned for the design of future government-supported DIY-AT programs and reflections on the role of HCI researchers within these ecosystems.
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants DRL-2005502 and DRL-2005484. We would like to thank everyone who participated in our study, especially Thomas Ajala who designed our prototypes and supported our lab as a mechanical engineer.
dc.description.urihttps://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3663548.3675667
dc.format.extent16 pages
dc.genreconference papers and proceedings
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/m2rvto-xyh8
dc.identifier.citationHiggins, Erin, Marie E Sakowicz, and Foad Hamidi. ?An Ecosystem of Support: A U.S. State Government-Supported DIY-AT Program for Residents with Disabilities.? The 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, October 27, 2024, 1?16. https://doi.org/10.1145/3663548.3675667.
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1145/3663548.3675667
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/37941
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherACM
dc.relation.isAvailableAtThe University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Information Systems Department
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Student Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Faculty Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Interactive Systems Research Center
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International CC BY 4.0 Deed
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectUMBC Human-Centered Computing Program
dc.titleAn Ecosystem of Support: A U.S. State Government-Supported DIY-AT Program for Residents with Disabilities
dc.typeText
dcterms.creatorhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7885-9470
dcterms.creatorhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1991-6062
dcterms.creatorhttps://orcid.org/0009-0003-4064-9904

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