Communications of the ACM
Co-Designing Personalized Assistive Devices Using Personal Fabrication
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Assistive or enabling technologies aim to create more accessible and inclusive solutions for people living with disabilities. This is critical, since many such users rely on technology for daily activities such as mobility and communication. While the problems are global, there are unique challenges that exist in the Asia Pacific region when it comes to developing assistive technologies, particularly assistive devices.
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) estimates that 650 million people in the Asia-Pacific region live with a disability.4 It is also well understood that disability statistics in the region could be significantly underreported. An Indonesian study published by TN-P2K found that accessibility to equal opportunities, environments, education, and employment is significantly modest compared to many developed countries. Similarly, UNICEF "Every Mind" program in Sri Lanka reported that children with learning disabilities are often excluded from mainstream education. In some areas, sociocultural beliefs and taboos are associated with disability leading to social exclusion. This is overshadowed by the economical and geographical challenges.
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