2007 PhD Thesis Final Revised.pdf - Curtin University

AT often fails when there is not enough time dedicated to ensuring that the AT
device receives the correct support. There are three areas which are vital in ensuring
that an AT device is going to be effective.
Firstly, there are the factors related to the people who are supporting the use
of the AT product. This includes the evaluation and testing of the product, providing
support and training, determining the practicalities such as funding, service and
delivery and cultural factors. The second group of factors relate to the AT user. The
device needs to match perfectly the user, the age of the person, literacy skills, gender
and ability to use. The third group of factors revolves around the device itself. This
includes the attention to essential human factors, design, mechanical safety,
durability, power consumption and reparability (King, 1999).
Ironically, it is also possible to give too much support to the use of AT
devices. Dorman (1998) suggests that in order for AT to be truly effective in an
educational environment, an evaluation team must be assembled for each student.
This team must consist of the student, teachers and appropriate design professionals.
Input must be considered by the user, a focus of the AT functions must be
determined, the advantages and disadvantages must be carefully considered and after
an analysis of all products, a device can be obtained. Unfortunately, personal
observation and conversations with many other students with disabilities suggest that
by the time the meeting has been coordinated and evaluation completed on the
appropriate product, too much time has passed in the course for the eventual choice
to be useful. It is important to strive for a balance between the analytical approach to
AT and real-world time constraints.
In addition to cost and the time for implementation, AT devices are also
criticised for their design. For example, the PACMate, developed between HP and
Freedom Scientific, runs the same OS as other PDA systems but it is very large in
comparison to the equivalent pocket-sized devices. When the HP representative was
asked about this issue it was suggested that it is significantly cheaper to keep AT
products large. Given that they are already so expensive, it is important that costs are
cut wherever possible. When the issue of the cost of AT was discussed with
employees of Humanware, the representatives confirmed that it is likely that only the
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