Digit:Alle
Digital skills to encourage participation of people with cognitive impairments
Type of project: Exploratory research
Disability concerned: Autism and pervasive development disorders, mental disability
Topics: Digital Accessibility, Autonomy, Communication, Education, Responsibility
Status: Completed
The inclusive project team at the University of Applied Sciences Eastern Switzerland has been looking into the use of media by people with mild cognitive impairment (PCD). On the basis of this data, a co-creation workshop was held to come up with ideas for a range of services designed to enhance the use of everyday digital applications by people with cognitive impairments, thereby encouraging their social participation, involvement and self-determination.
Digital media are important in the lives of people with cognitive disabilities (PCD) as they offer greater opportunities for inclusion and participation. However, the digital transformation reinforces existing exclusionary tendencies if there is a lack of access and usage options. There is a lack of knowledge about the usage needs and challenges of this target group. In addition, media education programmes are rare, are based on print material and are rarely developed together with those affected. The project aimed to strengthen the equal opportunities and self-determination of PCD in dealing with digital applications and thus contribute to the implementation of the CRPD. Using target group-appropriate methods in plain language, with images and assisted communication, insights were gained into needs, challenges, device use and ownership, as well as connections between media use and participation from the perspective of PCD. Ideas for specific programmes were generated in an inclusive workshop. The results show that PCD have a great interest in media. They use it actively and in various areas of life such as mobility, information, education, leisure, communication, health, living and working. However, use is often dependent on caregivers. Various needs are satisfied: cognitive, affective, integrative and interactive.
However, respondents are also confronted with challenges such as hate comments, fake news, phishing, subscription traps, excessive consumption, complexity, security settings, restricted media access and little support with usage issues. The devices used are diverse – from TVs and games consoles to smartwatches. However, none of the people involved have addressed the topic of AI.
Many ideas for services were developed. The idea of a media bus as a mobile media competence centre for the Ekkharthof as well as for other institutions in German-speaking Switzerland was prioritised.
The project process was divided into the following steps and was designed to be inclusive and participatory at every stage: Preparatory workshop, data collection, data evaluation, development of personas, co-creation workshop to develop ideas, reflection and prioritisation of ideas. The transdisciplinary, inclusive team was able to profitably contribute its diverse knowledge (e.g. specialist expertise, workshop moderation, network, communication). The collaboration was enriching and inspiring for everyone.
Everyone involved learnt to adapt the language, methods and scheduling so that the project processes are inclusive throughout. The co-creation workshop for developing ideas was particularly interesting in terms of expanding methodological knowledge. It was shown that the methodology with personas and Lego Serious Play is suitable as an inclusive workshop format, whereby the processes were adapted to the target group (complexity, time).
The inclusive team prioritised the idea of a “media bus as a mobile media skills centre”. The media bus is based on the needs identified and offers action-orientated activities for residents and staff (e.g. designing media content, trying out new media developments such as AI). It also serves as a mobile contact point for questions about media applications (opportunities/risks), both for Ekkharthof and for other institutions in German-speaking Switzerland. In the next phase, a conceptual prototype will be created, with the identified needs serving as a framework. The concept will be developed in co-creation and tested by PCD. This user-centred approach is intended to ensure acceptance. Employees also play an important role in this process.
