Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
uses CanConnect to have conversations with her daughter. Since its original
development and customization for Marion, the CanConnect program has
been distributed to many hundreds of users across Canada and internationally.
5.4.2 When Projects Don't Go So Well...
There are many factors that can lead to unsuccessful outcomes. Surprisingly,
few of these are due to the technology not working as designed. In this sec-
tion, we present several examples of how factors beyond the technology can
affect success or failure of an approach. Often project failures arise from a
lack of effective communication between the user (or the user's caregiver)
and the design team, or from changed circumstances over the duration of the
project. Sometimes the project can be rectified relatively easily (e.g., chang-
ing a mounting or the color of a device to make it more appealing or less
obtrusive), but in some cases it is better to accept that mistakes have been
made and that no further investment should be made in the project.
Sophie and the slippers:
In some cases, needs are determined by focusing
on the wrong person. Consider Sophie, who has Angelman Syndrome, char-
acterized by profound developmental delay, a lack of speech, and ataxia of
gait. Sophie's parents wanted a device that would encourage her to put on
her slippers by herself with the expectation that once she did, she would also
put on her shoes. This was considered to be a critical step in teaching So-
phie to become more independent. Sophie loves music and dogs, so CanAssist
modified a pair of slippers (featuring a large dog's head on the toes) so that
when Sophie put both feet in the slippers her favorite song would play. (Each
slipper is equipped with a pressure sensor, a radio receiver, and a transmitter,
and a small MP3 player is embedded in one of the slippers.) Unfortunately,
Sophie refused to put on the slippers and would insist that her parents acti-
vate her slippers themselves. The assistive technology worked flawlessly, the
need was clear, and the reinforcement was matched to the client. Further, the
way the reinforcement was built into the desired item was clever. So what
went wrong? The critical element was that Sophie never participated directly
in the design - rather, her parents decided that the slippers would be a good
approach. The motivational component of the HAAT model's human element
was not addressed. If Sophie had been brought into the process sooner, with
a careful evaluation of why she did not put her slippers on, another approach
might have been chosen.
Carol and the video camera:
In some cases, a key person can wield con-
trol over the situation. Consider Carol, who has cerebral palsy. She was one of
ten high school children with special needs who were each given an adapted
video camera system. The camera system included control panels with large,
easy to use buttons that control functions such as recording, zooming in and
