ATIS4all was presented in the AAATE Conference, Involving users on e-accessibility issues, 31 August to 2 September, MaastrichtTechnical coordinator05/09/2011
ATIS4all was presented in the the AAATE Conference, Involving users on e-accessibility issues
The 11th European AAATE Conference (Association for the Advancement for Assistive Technology in Europe) took place in Maastricht from 31 August to 2 September.
AGE expert Mrs Angela Cluzel participated in the event, thanks to the financial contribution of the e-Access+ and Atis4All thematic network of which AGE is part. What follows is an extract of her report back to AGE.
AAATE members were invited to reflect on the real use and penetration in the market of the main Assistive Technology (AT) devices and to take into account that still new cohorts of users will need AT in the future.
The "Stakeholders" panel session to which AGE Platform Europe was invited to participate was therefore crucial in enlightening AAATE on the obstacles that are there for people with disabilities and older persons to really benefit from technology. Is it lack of information? Complex procurement systems? Lack of ressources? Insufficient trials with user involvement?
In voicing the older people's point of view, Angela Cluzel expressed the concerns of AGE members to digital literacy and to assistive technology. She pointed 3 areas of concern, namely:
to what extent home monitoring and video dialogue can be introduced and implemented without intrusion. Are we sure that there is total understanding and acceptance of such or such installation in the home? What are the ethical "guidelines" ruling the market?
to what extent assistive technology can be an asset to monitoring health care in the home and takes into account the lessons learnt from projects running at the present time. Older people are particularly anxious about who is responsible, is the device reliable? Technology made in one EU country, will it work in another?
to what extent AT can make it "visible" that there is someone behind the tool, that the "human contact" is not abandoned, that someone is looking at my safety and my well-being.
Other discussions with the panellists called for policy on mainstreaming A.T., a Design for all approach and in particular for disability; the fear of discrimination to access to A.T. was evoked.
This discussion clearly proved that good knowledge of the end-user stakeholders was essential for the R&D of A.T. and opened up one path for AAATE to follow in the next 2 year period.
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