Methods for achieving greater involvement of people with disabilities in the design of technologies

Policy actors and researchers have called for more user involvement in the design of assistive technologies. This chapter will examine the extent to which a shared understanding exists in the disability and technology community regarding what greater ‘user involvement’ means and how to achieve it. In particular, the chapter will report on the results of a critical review of studies that have involved people with disabilities in the design of new technologies. This review seeks to identify what approaches are commonly used to involve people with disabilities in the design of new technologies; the factors that influence the decisions regarding which design approach to adopt; whether evidence exists to suggest that one particular approach to involving users in design is more effective than another and how AT developers can be supported to enhance the involvement of users with disabilities. The chapter concludes by considering implications for a future research agenda.