AMT Lab @ CMU: This previous article established the many different kinds of learning disabilities that impact how patrons interact with art organizations. An arts organization needs to consider dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia, auditory processing disorder, visual processing disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism when creating accessible experiences. The first step is to find people from these different communities to serve as consultants in developing the technology. The next step is to build methodically by researching the disability and then building and iterating the experience. An organization doesn’t need to have a solution for every community at once, so make a plan for every exhibition or art event. Once arts organizations start to use technologies to accommodate learning disabilities, the arts will become more welcoming and accessible to a variety of audiences.
2 comments:
These technologies are awesome. The text-to-speech tool blew my mind. I had no idea that technology was at a point where a little pen tool could read out loud text for you. I like how these tools encourage keeping the arts environment the same space and atmosphere, and just adding these tools to enhance the experience for those with disabilities. I hate seeing "solutions" to accessibility problems that isolate the audience member from the atmosphere and community of the arts space, because that is not making the experience more inclusive, it is singling out the disabled person. The scarf earpiece is an amazing example of something a better inclusive tool. The tool that made the least sense to me here was the Stop, Breathe & Think app. As someone with anxiety, I can understand that stopping to check in with yourself can be the right first step, but going on your phone takes you out of the arts experience, and can negatively impact the experience of other participants and audience members. I like that it is an easily accessible tool, but I think there could be a better solution, especially as it applies to theatre specifically. I think this app is great for those in a less restrictive setting, like a museum, but in the context of a theatre, this seems more disruptive than helpful.
This is a super awesome concept to be applied to arts galleries and other exhibits since thy are usually such a reserved and quiet space and therefore not the best for people with disabilities that require more assistance or experience stress in non-familiar environments. The only technology I was familiar with before reading this piece was Text-to-Speech technology and even then I only knew it as something I had growing up to help people learn how to read, and hadn’t even thought of it as an assistive tool for disabilities. Liguiso seems like an awesome form factor for these kinds of exhibits as I have never really been a fan of the headphone tours myself since they do cut you off from the rest of the experience. This “open ear” concept is a fantastic model for many people struggling with certain disabilities and I hope I see it around exhibits in the future.
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