“All Technology is Assistive”

• For each of the 6 categories, can you think of an example from your own life?
  • “Invisibility is overrated.” My aunt walks on crutches that have handles. Normally, I see crutches that are just a generic black or gray, trying to blend in. My aunt instead puts different bold fabrics like animal prints on her handles to make them a fashion statement instead of something she tries to hide.
  • “Rethink the default bodily experience.” Sometimes, when my hands are full of stuff coming through the door from our eating area to the kitchen, I will knock open the door with my shoulder, a foot, or my chin instead of putting the stuff down to open the door with my hands.
  • “Consider fine gradations of qualitative change.” My aunt has only one leg and walks on crutches, so she has a hard time carrying stuff. When she comes to our house, my mom usually had to help carry in all her stuff from the car. Then she got my aunt a backpack, which allowed her to carry around her stuff by herself while still being able to use her crutches.
  • “Uncouple medical technologies from their diagnostic contexts.” I don’t have any diagnosed disorder like ADHD or anxiety, but I still like to use fidget toys. I just find them fun to play with. They don’t help me concentrate or anything, so I don’t use them in school. Instead, I use them when I’m bored I just want to play with something with my hands.
  • “Design for one.” I have made a certain organizational system for myself with my binders at school. I have one binder that I bring home every day, and I have a specific set of papers that I put in that binder instead of the subject binder. I devised this system through experience in sixth grade, and I made it in a way that made sense to me, which did not always agree with how the teachers were telling me to organize my stuff.
  • “ Let the tools you make ask questions, not just solve problems.” One example of this for me is the Google Home and other similar home speakers. Though I get the appeal of being able to ask the internet anything without using one’s hands, I find it incredibly creepy that the speaker is always listening to you. It makes me think about what happens to the information technology companies get and if we should trust them with it.
• What were 4 things that surprised you from this article?

One thing that surprised me was that wood splints were not used in battle until the 1940s. Wood seems like the logical material, and I am surprised they did not start using it sooner. Another thing that surprised me was that Despina found that the reason she enjoyed sewing was not for the sewing but for the people she sewed with. I personally, in my extracurriculars, find that the people are an added bonus, but I do the activities for the activity. A third thing that surprised me was the tongue sensor. I find that I don’t really pay attention to the position of my tongue, and it probably moves a lot without me realizing it. I think it would be hard to adapt to controlling the movement of one’s wheelchair using the often-forgotten tongue. A final thing that surprised me was how the Eameses used the techniques for making a splint to make famous furniture. I would never have thought of that connection.  

• What was 1 thing you disagreed with?

I disagree with the idea that the new hearing aid described is something that shows that one is wearing a hearing aid. Yes, the hearing aid necklace is more obvious than a normal hearing aid, but the necklace is still a way of disguising the hearing aid. Even the motions used to control the hearing aid were made to be motions that people normally made so that it would be less obvious that the person was controlling the aid. These are all ways of disguising the aid, not showing it off proudly.

• What was your favorite device?

My favorite device was the hugging chair because I thought it is a smart and visually appealing application of Temple Grandin's ideas.

“The Four Pillars of Ability Awareness: It’s Not Rocket Science”

1. When talking about people with disability, use people first language (e.g. "person with autism” instead of “autistic person”) to avoid labeling people based solely on their disability.
2. If you are not sure how to help a person with a disability or if they want help, ask because they know about their disability and what they want.
3. Be polite to people with disabilities, and treat them as you would treat any other person.
4. When interacting with people with disabilities, act like yourself; people with disabilities deserve to be treated like you would treat anyone else.