Project Capabilities: An inquiry about using technologies to help people living with intellectual disabilities inspire others through sharing their capabilities.

Ann-Louise Davidson Ph.D.Stefanie Corona Christina Hannum@Concordia University

Context

Deinstitutionalization movement

Life in the XXI century

Digital technologies have become an important aspect of our lives (technological competencies= sine qua non)

Daily living skills, cost of living, health, food security, etc.

People living with an intellectual disability (ID) do not necessarily have everything they need to integrate to society by the end of high school.

Institutions that serve people with ID do not have all the necessary resources to help their clients become fully fledged citizens that can be functional in a knowledge economy

Literature review

120,000 canadians adults living with an ID live with their parents or in group residences (Lenk, 2006; Canadian Association for Community Living, 2010)

Very few people with ID have paid work (Davidson 2009; Canadian Association for Community Living)

Digital technologies have the potential to help people living with ID:

Video-based intervention(Mechling, Pridgen, Cronin, 2005; Mechling, O’Brien, 2010; Ayres, Langone, Boon et Norman, 2006; Hammond, Whatley, Aytes, Gast, 2010)

Mobile technologies (Wang, Shen, Novak, Pan, 2008; Kurubacak, 2007; Majumder et Basu, 2010, Wangner, 2008; Metcalf et Marco, 2006; Davidson, 2012)

*

Capability approach (Sen, 1992)

Activities that human beings can undertake

Beings and doings

Substantive freedoms (to do or to be)

ex. The ability to transform resources into valuable activities

ex. Distribution of opportunities

ex. Balance between materialistic and non materialistic factors

Focus on what people can do rather than focus on their deficits (Terzi, 2005)

Starving vs Fasting

Cho

ice

No

choi

ce

Functionings

Central capabilities (Nussbaum, 2000)

Being able to:

Live to old age

Have a good health

Move freely and safely

Use the senses

Have attachments

Form a conception of the good

Have affiliations

Have a concern for other species

Being able to have good times

Being able to participate in political choices and to hold property or goods

Freirian pedagogy

No pedagogy which is truly liberating can remain distant from the oppressed by treating them as unfortunates and by presenting for their emulation models from among the oppressors. The oppressed must be their own example in the struggle for their redemption (Freire, 1970, p. 54) To affirm that men and women are persons and as persons should be free, and yet to do nothing tangible to make this affirmation a reality, is a farce. (Freire, 1971, p.46)

The banking concept of education -Freire

It doesn’t matter if you don’t know how this applies to real life at the moment. Learn it and you will know

why later.

The banking concept of education

Blabsecurytylablabla

Blablabla BlablablaBlablabla

Social mediaBlablabla

ComputersInformation

Blablabla

Blablabla

Blablabla

BlablablaBlablabla

Blablabla

Blablabla

Blablablablablablabla

Blablablablablablabla

BlablablaBlabla

bla

Research objectives

Document the co-development of capabilities videos with people living with an intellectual disability

Study the advantages and challenges of co-producing such artifacts with this population

Methodology

Ten individuals with mild or moderate intellectual disabilities

Geographical dispersion

Three step collaborative action-research

Individual interview -capability planning

Demonstration or speech about the capability (video shoot)

Focus group to discuss the capabilities

Plan

ActReflect

PlanAct

ReflectPlan

Act

Reflect

Results

Which capabilities?

Get paid jobs

Practice a sport

Win a prize

Compete in an event

Use technologies

Play a music instrument

Paint

Cook

Shop

Get your own apartment

Get involved in the community

Use public transportation

Get a key to your apartment

Get married

Get access to affordable housing

Go out

Party

Make friends

Have a hobby

Do volunteer work

Résultats

Quelles capabilités?

Avoir un travail rémunéré

Pratiquer un sport

Compétitionner

Gagner un prix

Jouer un instrument de musique

Peindre et dessiner

S’engager dans la communauté

Utiliser les technologies

Results

Share existing capabilities vs share the thought of developing the capability

How to talk about capabilities?

Create rapport

Individual interviewing techniques

F2F: use iPads and smartphones to record

Distance: record on screen

What do these capabilities mean?

Become a fully fledged citizen

Participate to all spheres of activities

Develop specific “functionings”

Participate to their liberation means...

ConclusionPreliminary results show that self-advocacy videos have the potential to generate feelings of self-efficacy among adults with ID.   By celebrating what adults with ID can do, the study encourages community integration. Making the videos available to the public further reduces community stigma. 

Contribution for practice

Production of adapted resources for intervention in ID

Empowerment for participants

Technological skills

Contribution for education

Development of VBI intervention and the use of technology in an empowerment perspective for populations with special needs

Limitations of the study

Transferability

Generalizability

Merci!

Challenge

Document positive digital technology integration experiences with people living with an intellectual disability (ID).

Create adapted resources to foster the development of autonomy with people with ID and to improve intervention methods.

Identify the conditions of the development of autonomy with portable wireless technology?

Theoretical framework for the project

CommunityRules

and conventionsPeople living with an

intellectual disability, their educator and friends and

families

Personalsecurity

SocialcompetenciesEthic

ObjectPerson

Adapted from Engeström 1987

Theoretical framework for the project

Adapté de la théorie de l’activité de Engeström 1987

Objective

in a society in which digital technologies are adopted

Digital integration

Social integration

Residential and communityintegration

Problem= double exclusion

Video production

Instructional videos

Laundry

Pocket money

Morning routine

Eggs

Pasta

Personal security

PBL-video...

Usefulness

Likability

I like a lot I likeI like more

or lessI don’t like

Very useful

Pasta (2)Eggs (2)Budget (2)Laundry (2) Personal security (1)

Pasta (1)Eggs (1)Morning routine (1)Personal security (1)

Budget (1)

More or less useful

Pasta (1)Eggs (1)

Morning routine (2)Laundry (3)

Budget (1)Morning Routine (1)

Not useful Morning routine (1)

Budget (1)Personal security (1)Eggs (1)Pasta (1)

The Rainbow Activity

The Socratic Wheel Activity

!"#"$"%"&"'"

()*"+,*"-./*01.2"342*)*0+5"

()*"+,*"./.26"-/7-8"342*)*0+5"

()*"+,*",792:/.))"342*)*0+5"

;.+-,"<=1*7)"342*)*0+5"

;.+-,">/6)"3?9+92*5"

@2.0)?*2"69)=-"3?9+92*5"

A/.B":.6*)"3?9+92*5"

C<*2.:*"D":2**0"

E2**0"