Pilot on Evaluating Social Participation Following the Use of an Assistive Technology Designed to Facilitate Face-to-Face Communication Between Deaf and Hearing Persons
By Vincent, Claude; Deaudelin, Isabelle; Hotton, Mathieu; Technology and Disability, Vol. 19, pp. 153-167Publication Date: 2007
Review of a Canadian pilot study on social participation with a new assistive technology (AT) for face-to-face communication between deaf and hearing persons. Fifteen deaf adults completed the study, with pre- and post intervention (introduction of AT). The AT tested was a pocket PC supporting software that translates sign language into oral French via ideograms selected on the touch screen; the constructed sentence is displayed as a sign-language video for validation before transmitting using voice synthesis. One month into the study, all participants had used the AT in 40% of activities of daily living (ADL) and 33% of social roles. AT use in life habits declined over the 3 months of the study from 40% to 29%, as did use of AT in social roles, from 33% to 17%. The results for social participation showed significant improvement in ADL only in regard to conversation with a hearing person. For functional communication, significant improvement was found for “social communication” only. The users reported that they were “neither dissatisfied nor satisfied” with the AT. Limits to the study and implications for improvements on its design are discussed.
Published by: IOS Press (Website:http://www.iospress.nl)
Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe (AAATE) (Web Site: http://www.aaate.net )
