Inspired by conversations with disabled people, and the creativity they used to support their independence, we wanted to know more. In particular we wanted to know more about how design and technology supports independence. So – we hit the road.

In late 2010 we held 11 workshops across Scotland, from the islands to the borders, talking to disabled and older people about design and technology. We talked to people about design that delighted them and also design that frustrated them. Similarly we talked to people about their best and worst pieces of technology.

The full report on these workshops is available and below are some of the main issues that people talked about. We’re interested to hear if you agree with them?

Design
Just because people have assistive technology or independent living aids, doesn’t mean they don’t care what they look like. People didn’t want their home to look like a hospital ward. If they had a telecare device they didn’t want a big plastic box with a huge red button on it. They wanted something that looked good on their sideboard and matched their other gadgets and devices. Similarly if they had aids such as crutches they wanted to be able to adapt them. Battleship grey wan not a popular colour!

Costs
As soon as something becomes seen as a ‘disabled’ product the price shoots up. Lots of people had examples of things that they found in the mainstream that were just as good and a fraction of the price. For example one man who used a motorised chair had a mobile phone holder attached to it. The phone holder was from a trade catalogue and was designed to attach to a tool belt.

Doors
Doors were mentioned at every single workshop in one way or another. Either they were too narrow or the hinges were on the wrong side which made them difficult to get around. Sliding doors were often too stiff to move and caused people problems. Outside, electronic doors also caused distress. In one extreme case someone had damaged their teeth because the sensors were set badly and the door didn’t open until the person got very close. When they did trigger they opened so violently that they hit the person in the mouth!

Technology
The level of technology use was very high – exploding the myth that older people ‘don’t do technology’. Lots of technology was very specific, in particular the devices used by people with sensory impairments. However, the overall use of technology was very high. One person told us that the internet was as important to him as electricity.

Mobile Phones
Mobiles were seen as a mixed blessing. Many people liked the reassurance that they could contact someone at any time if they needed support or back up. However, lots of people also said that phones were getting harder to use as the buttons became smaller and more fiddly. Also, some people didn’t want a phone that did everything and just wanted one that made phone calls! However, getting one that suited them was difficult and often it was just as expensive as a high end phone.

Flexible Design
Lots of people gave examples of adaptations that made the house more suitable for them, but in the process made it unsuitable for everyone else that they lived with. Flexibility was seen as the key with people wanting to create a home that suited most of the people in it for most of the time.

These are just the highlights and there is more detail in the full report. We’re very interested to hear from you. Do you agree with the issues people raised with us? Are there other difficulties of delights that you have with design and technology? Does it support your independence in the way it should?