AI accessibility tools have mostly been designed for individual use, helping one person overcome a specific functional barrier. But for many people with disabilities, complex tasks are accomplished through collaboration with others who bring complementary abilities, not solitary effort. We propose a three-layer framework, Channelling, Coordinating, and Co-Creating, that rethinks AI's role in ability-diverse collaboration: establishing shared informational ground across abilities, mediating workflows between collaborators with different abilities, and contributing as a bounded partner toward shared goals. Grounded in the Ability-Diverse Collaboration framework, grounding theory, and Carlile's 3T framework, it extends the ``agents as remote collaborators'' vision by centring the collaborative, interdependent ways people with disabilities already work.
Generative AI (GenAI) is both promising and challenging in supporting people with disabilities (PwDs) in creating stories about disability. GenAI can reduce barriers to media production and inspire the creativity of PwDs, but it may also introduce biases and imperfections that hinder its adoption for personal expression. In this research, we examine how nine PwD from a disability advocacy group used GenAI to create videos sharing their disability experiences. Grounded in digital storytelling theory, we explore the motivations, expression, and sharing of PwD-created GenAI story videos. We conclude with a framework of momentous depiction, which highlights four core affordances of GenAI that either facilitate or require improvements to better support disability storytelling: non-capturable depiction, identity concealment and representation, contextual realism and consistency, and emotional articulation. Based on this framework, we further discuss design implications for GenAI in relation to story completion, media formats, and corrective mechanisms.
Ellie C Hartman, Emily A Brinck, Catherine A Anderson
et al.
Background The Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act (WIOA) aims to enhance employment outcomes and career advancement for teenagers and young adults with disabilities through pre-employment transition services. Objective This study assessed the relationship between pre-employment transition services and employment outcomes, focusing on wages, credential attainment, and co-enrollment in partner employment programs. Method Researchers analyzed federally required data submitted by states to the Rehabilitation Service Administration (RSA) to examine the impact of pre-employment transition services on wages, considering variations by demographics, lived experiences, and location. Results Pre-employment transition services, credential attainment, and co-enrollment in partner employment programs were associated with increased wages. Wage outcomes varied based on demographics, lived experiences, and state-level differences in service delivery. Conclusion Findings highlight the importance of pre-employment transition services, connecting youth to postsecondary credential attainment opportunities, and improving collaboration with partner employment programs. Researchers emphasize the use of data to inform service delivery for diverse youth with varying lived experiences.
Nazem Qandeel, Anan Abu Mariam, Numan Al-Natsheh
et al.
The present study investigated the impact of a disability awareness program on the attitudes of university students at Al-Ahliyya Amman University towards people with disabilities. The study employed a randomized, two-group, pre- and post-test design. A total of 60 university students were randomly allocated to either the experimental or control group. The results of a survey showed that those in the experimental group, in comparison with the control group, exhibited a statistically significant increase in the favorability of their attitudes towards people with disabilities following the implementation of the program. Based on the results of this study, we recommend implementing disability awareness programs inside universities and subsequently evaluating their effectiveness in enhancing student attitudes and interactions with people with disabilities, which in turn could lead to a more inclusive society and improve the quality of life for people with disabilities by reducing social barriers and fostering greater understanding and acceptance. The limitations of this study include its restriction to a single university setting and its utilization of a rather small sample size. The study did not assess the long-term effects of the disability awareness program.
Vocational rehabilitation. Employment of people with disabilities
Janna Griffioen, Jasleen Grewal, Rinni Mamman
et al.
<i>Background</i>: Achieving meaningful community integration (engagement in meaningful activity, independent living, and social connectedness) after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) requires addressing persistent barriers limiting its fulfillment. This qualitative study explored the perceptions and experiences of community integration for individuals living with TBI in the community. <i>Methods</i>: Using semi-structured interviews, four focus groups of individuals with TBI were conducted. Data were analyzed using codebook thematic analysis. <i>Findings:</i> There were 13 participants between the ages of 25 and 64, who had acquired their injury at least three years earlier. Community integration was illustrated through three themes: (1) ‘Am I left on my own?’ explored the support systems after TBI, (2) ‘One size fits all’ described the response of society to TBI, and (3) ‘Adapting to a new normal’ highlighted responses to a changed reality. <i>Conclusions:</i> Individuals with TBI reported decreased community integration in multiple facets of life. Understanding the experiences of community integration after TBI can create room for future rehabilitation interventions that consider new abilities and adaptation to barriers.
Vocational rehabilitation. Employment of people with disabilities
Background: Prosthetic rehabilitation modifies functional limitations and psychological challenges caused by amputations, as it helps to restore mobility and body image. A physical rehabilitation centre in Juba, South Sudan, has been providing prosthetic rehabilitation since 2009 in this conflict torn part of the world.
Objectives: To determine the quality of life (QoL) of persons with unilateral transfemoral or transtibial amputations who have received prosthetic rehabilitation in Juba, South Sudan.
Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 40 participants, identified through consecutive sampling. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF)questionnaire. Descriptive analysis was conducted, and relationships between QoL and participants’ demographic and medical information were explored through the t-test and analysis of variance (normally distributed data) and the Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallace tests (skewed data).
Results: Mean domain scores were physical (74.28%), psychological (72.59%), social (71.40%) and environmental (58.81%). Overall QoL and overall health satisfaction had mean scores of 4.1/5 and 3.975/5. Marital status (0.049) and occupation (0.022) played a significant role in psychological QoL. No other demographic or medical variable had a significant effect on overall or domain QoL scores. Women were significantly more satisfied with their health than men (0.046).
Conclusion: Overall, participants had high QoL scores. This might be because of prosthetic rehabilitation. Lower scores in the environmental domain might be because of poverty and the continuous danger of armed conflict.
Contribution: Even when using basic components, prosthetic rehabilitation can significantly improve QoL after lower limb amputation.
Vocational rehabilitation. Employment of people with disabilities, Communities. Classes. Races
Sultan M. Alshahrani, Azfar Athar Ishaqui, Sultan F. Kadasah
This study is the first in Saudi Arabia to explore the knowledge, attitudes, and barriers of community pharmacists in managing autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD is a neurodevelopmental condition requiring multidisciplinary care, with pharmacists playing a pivotal role in medication management and patient support. Despite their accessibility, limited data exist on pharmacists’ preparedness for ASD care in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 254 community pharmacists in the Aseer region using a validated questionnaire. The survey assessed pharmacists’ knowledge of ASD symptoms and treatments, attitudes toward their role in ASD care, and perceived barriers to effective management. Descriptive statistics and Likert scale analysis were utilized to analyze the data. The findings revealed a positive attitude among pharmacists, with 86.6% agreeing that they play a crucial role in supporting ASD patients. However, confidence in discussing ASD-related concerns (70.9%) and counseling about medications (66.9%) was lower. Knowledge gaps were evident, with only 43.3% familiar with core ASD symptoms and less than half understanding non-pharmacological management strategies such as special education. Barriers included insufficient training (55.1%), limited continuing education (51.2%), and inadequate infrastructure (49.2%). The study highlights a critical need for targeted educational programs and systemic improvements to address knowledge gaps and enhance pharmacists’ confidence in managing ASD. Strengthening infrastructure, providing continuing education, and integrating ASD-specific topics into pharmacy curricula are essential for optimizing pharmacists’ contributions to ASD care. These findings offer a foundation for policymakers and educators to develop strategies that empower pharmacists as integral members of multidisciplinary teams supporting ASD patients and their families.
Vocational rehabilitation. Employment of people with disabilities
Background: People with intellectual disabilities are generally not consulted in the development of public policies, which impact their lives, and little is known about how to best empower people with intellectual disabilities to enable them to participate in public policy processes.
Objectives: Our article reports on developing a conceptual framework to support self-advocacy by people with intellectual disabilities in social and health-related policy development in South Africa.
Method: Our qualitative study was conducted using empowerment theory and integrated the concept of Ubuntu as a guide and was underpinned by a phenomenological approach. Data were collected through a scoping review, semi-structured interviews and focus groups. The scoping review was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) scoping review protocol. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were analysed using framework analysis. Data sources were triangulated to develop the conceptual framework, using a process adapted from three approaches used to develop similar conceptual frameworks.
Results: Data triangulation identified three core elements for self-advocacy: (1) personal development; (2) creating a supportive environment to facilitate the empowerment of people with intellectual disability; and (3) improved policy participation opportunities.
Conclusion: Participation of people with intellectual disabilities in public policy decisions, which can improve their quality of life, can be supported by developing their capacity for participation and increasing policymakers’ understanding as well as facilitation of what is needed to support their participation.
Contribution: Our study offers a framework for a comprehensive approach to supporting people with intellectual disabilities in participating in and influencing public policy processes that impact their lives.
Vocational rehabilitation. Employment of people with disabilities, Communities. Classes. Races
Ayman Noor, Hanan Almukhalfi, El-Sayed Atlam
et al.
Adaptive technologies have become more sophisticated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), providing world-changing solutions to help people living with disabilities live better lives. In this article, we discuss the potential of AI and IoT to address issues related to Down Syndrome (DS), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Mobility Impairment (MI), Hearing Impairment (HI), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Visual Impairment (VI). In addition, we propose an analytical framework for evaluating AI and IoT disability assistance prototypes. The framework consists of three different layers: <i>Disability Monitoring</i>, <i>Disability Analysis</i>, and <i>Disability Assistance</i> layers. In each layer, a set of dimensions are identified (e.g., technology, data, security, customization, and response time) and used as criteria to evaluate the research prototypes. Moreover, we evaluate 30 representative AI and IoT disability assistance research prototypes published from 2020 to 2024. The evaluation offers valuable insights into the new strategies, technologies, and approaches that will define AI and IoT disability support in the future. While these technologies have promise in enabling access, autonomy, and interfacing, there remain major open research issues such as data privacy, security, cost, scalability, and real-time response. Furthermore, we discuss future research directions to tackle these issues and allow the people with disabilities community to enhance their quality of life and be more independent.
Vocational rehabilitation. Employment of people with disabilities
Accessibility reviews provide valuable insights into both the limitations and benefits experienced by users with disabilities when using virtual reality (VR) applications. However, a comprehensive investigation into VR accessibility for users with disabilities is still lacking. To fill this gap, this study analyzes user reviews from the Meta and Steam stores of VR apps, focusing on the reported issues affecting users with disabilities. We applied selection criteria to 1,367,419 reviews from the top 40, the 20 most popular, and the 40 lowest-rated VR applications on both platforms. In total, 1,076 (0.078%) VR accessibility reviews referenced various disabilities across 100 VR applications. These applications were categorized into Action, Sports, Social, Puzzle, Horror, and Simulation, with Action receiving the highest number of accessibility related-reviews. We identified 16 different types of disabilities across six categories. Furthermore, we examined the causes of accessibility issues as reported by users with disabilities. Overall, VR accessibility reviews were predominantly under-supported.
This paper describes the challenges that deaf and hard of hearing people face with creating accessible multimedia content, such as portfolios, instructional videos and video presentations. Unlike content consumption, the process of content creation itself remains highly inaccessible, creating barriers to employment in all stages of recruiting, hiring, and carrying out assigned job duties. Overcoming these barriers incurs a "deaf content creation tax" that translates into requiring significant additional time and resources to produce content equivalent to what a non-disabled person would produce. We highlight this process and associated challenges through real-world examples experienced by the authors, and provide guidance and recommendations for addressing them.
Recent advancements in image generation technology have enabled widespread access to AI-generated imagery, prominently used in advertising, entertainment, and progressively in every form of visual content. However, these technologies often perpetuate societal biases. This study investigates the representation biases in popular image generation models towards people with disabilities (PWD). Through a comprehensive experiment involving several popular text-to-image models, we analyzed the depiction of disability. The results indicate a significant bias, with most generated images portraying disabled individuals as old, sad, and predominantly using manual wheelchairs. These findings highlight the urgent need for more inclusive AI development, ensuring diverse and accurate representation of PWD in generated images. This research underscores the importance of addressing and mitigating biases in AI models to foster equitable and realistic representations.
Stroke represents the third cause of death and disability worldwide, and is recognised as a significant global health problem. A major challenge for stroke survivors is persistent hand dysfunction, which severely affects the ability to perform daily activities and the overall quality of life. In order to regain their functional hand ability, stroke survivors need rehabilitation therapy. However, traditional rehabilitation requires continuous medical support, creating dependency on an overburdened healthcare system. In this paper, we explore the use of egocentric recordings from commercially available smart glasses, specifically RayBan Stories, for remote hand rehabilitation. Our approach includes offline experiments to evaluate the potential of smart glasses for automatic exercise recognition, exercise form evaluation and repetition counting. We present REST-HANDS, the first dataset of egocentric hand exercise videos. Using state-of-the-art methods, we establish benchmarks with high accuracy rates for exercise recognition (98.55%), form evaluation (86.98%), and repetition counting (mean absolute error of 1.33). Our study demonstrates the feasibility of using egocentric video from smart glasses for remote rehabilitation, paving the way for further research.
Denis Newman-Griffis, Bonnielin Swenor, Rupa Valdez
et al.
Data are the medium through which individuals' identities and experiences are filtered in contemporary states and systems, and AI is increasingly the layer mediating between people, data, and decisions. The history of data and AI is often one of disability exclusion, oppression, and the reduction of disabled experience; left unchallenged, the current proliferation of AI and data systems thus risks further automating ableism behind the veneer of algorithmic neutrality. However, exclusionary histories do not preclude inclusive futures, and disability-led visions can chart new paths for collective action to achieve futures founded in disability justice. This chapter brings together four academics and disability advocates working at the nexus of disability, data, and AI, to describe achievable imaginaries for artificial intelligence and disability data justice. Reflecting diverse contexts, disciplinary perspectives, and personal experiences, we draw out the shape, actors, and goals of imagined future systems where data and AI support movement towards disability justice.
Ruth Nalugya, Harriet Nambejja, Claire Nimusiima
et al.
Background: Obuntu bulamu, a peer-to-peer support intervention for children, parents and teachers to improve the participation and inclusion of children with disabilities (CwD), was developed and tested in Uganda. The intervention consisted of disability-inclusive peer-to-peer training and support activities. In this article, parent participation in and evaluation of the intervention are discussed.
Objectives: The study aims to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of the intervention.
Methods: A qualitative Afrocentric intervention study was implemented in 10 schools in Wakiso district in Central Uganda. Researchers purposely selected CwD aged 8–14 years, their peers and parents from 10 primary schools with on average three CwD per school. A total of 64 study parents (33 parents of CwD and 31 peers) were interviewed at baseline and endline. Two focus group discussions were held with 14 parents at midline. Parents also participated in a consultative meeting about the intervention design at baseline and two evaluation and feedback workshops at midline and endline. Thematic data analysis was conducted.
Results: Findings showed that parents found the intervention inspiring, acceptable, culturally appropriate and supportive, as it built on values and practices from their own cultural tradition. Parents reported that the intervention enhanced a sense of togetherness and belonging and helped them to develop more positive attitudes towards CwD and disability inclusion. They felt the intervention increased participation and inclusion of CwD at home, school and in communities.
Conclusion: The Obuntu bulamu peer-to-peer support intervention is an acceptable, culturally appropriate intervention with the potential to improve inclusion of CwD. Further studies are recommended to measure the effectiveness of the intervention.
Contribution: The paper contributes to existing evidence that there is need for more Afrocentric interventions, which built on cultural values and practices. Interventions based on indigenous values have a greater potential to be acceptable, can foster integration and are likely to be more sustainability to achieve disability inclusion. In the article we describe parental perspectives of the Obuntu bulamu intervention, an intervention to improve inclusion of children with disabilities, which was designed by children, parents, teachers, educationalists, and academics from Uganda
Vocational rehabilitation. Employment of people with disabilities, Communities. Classes. Races
Background: Even though there are extensive, studies carried out to assess the caregiver burden among caregivers of Cerebral Palsy children through different scales. Caregiver Difficulties scale (CDS) is designed for the specific population of CP’s Caregivers. So this scale is translated in Urdu to use on the parents of CP children in Pakistan. Objective: To translate, adapt and validate the Caregiver Difficulties Scale into Urdu. Method: There Descriptive Study was conducted on n=40 caregivers of Cerebral Palsy children. Males & Females (Specifically fathers & mothers) age ranged 30 to 60 from Rehabilitation Institute took part in the study. Caregiver difficulties scale (CDS) was used along with a demographic Performa for data collection. Results: The caregiver difficulties scale is a reliable measure to assess the caregiver burden among caregivers of CP Children (Cronbach α=0.91). The significant correlation value ranges from r=0.88 (Urdu to Urdu) to r=0.83 (English to English) which shows that Urdu version has conceptual equivalence and cross-language validity. Conclusion: The translation and adaptation of the Caregiver Difficulties Scale (CDS) in Urdu is reliable and valid for the assessment of caregiver giver difficulties in caregivers of cerebral palsy children Keywords: cerebral palsy; caregivers; care giver burden
Vocational rehabilitation. Employment of people with disabilities
The study was designed to determine the entrepreneurial capability and engagement of persons with disabilities toward a framework for inclusive entrepreneurship. The researcher used descriptive and correlational approaches through purposive random sampling. The sample came from the City of General Trias and the Municipality of Rosario, registered under their respective Persons with Disabilities Affairs Offices (PDAO). The findings indicated that the respondents are from the working class, are primarily female, are mostly single, have college degrees, live in a medium-sized home, and earn the bare minimum. Furthermore, PWDs' perceived capability level in entrepreneurship was somehow capable, and the majority of engagement level responses were somehow engaged. Considerably, age and civil status have significant relationships with most of the variables under study. Finally, the perceived challenges of PWDs' respondents noted the following: lack of financial capacity, access to credit and other financial institutions, absence of business information, absence of access to data, lack of competent business skills, lack of family support, and lack of personal motivation. As a result, the author proposed a framework that emphasizes interaction and cooperation between national and local government units in the formulation of policies promoting inclusive entrepreneurship for people with disabilities.
Ali Abedi, Paritosh Bisht, Riddhi Chatterjee
et al.
Physical exercise is an essential component of rehabilitation programs that improve quality of life and reduce mortality and re-hospitalization rates. In AI-driven virtual rehabilitation programs, patients complete their exercises independently at home, while AI algorithms analyze the exercise data to provide feedback to patients and report their progress to clinicians. To analyze exercise data, the first step is to segment it into consecutive repetitions. There has been a significant amount of research performed on segmenting and counting the repetitive activities of healthy individuals using raw video data, which raises concerns regarding privacy and is computationally intensive. Previous research on patients' rehabilitation exercise segmentation relied on data collected by multiple wearable sensors, which are difficult to use at home by rehabilitation patients. Compared to healthy individuals, segmenting and counting exercise repetitions in patients is more challenging because of the irregular repetition duration and the variation between repetitions. This paper presents a novel approach for segmenting and counting the repetitions of rehabilitation exercises performed by patients, based on their skeletal body joints. Skeletal body joints can be acquired through depth cameras or computer vision techniques applied to RGB videos of patients. Various sequential neural networks are designed to analyze the sequences of skeletal body joints and perform repetition segmentation and counting. Extensive experiments on three publicly available rehabilitation exercise datasets, KIMORE, UI-PRMD, and IntelliRehabDS, demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method compared to previous methods. The proposed method enables accurate exercise analysis while preserving privacy, facilitating the effective delivery of virtual rehabilitation programs.
Introducción: vivir la sexualidad y afectividad de forma plena es fundamental en todo ser humano; sin embargo, las personas con síndrome de Down (SD) tienen escasas instancias de educación sexual y pocos espacios de socialización para experimentarla. Objetivos: describir el conocimiento que tienen jóvenes con SD sobre temáticas básicas de pubertad, relaciones de pareja y reproducción. Metodología: estudio cualitativo, descriptivo, exploratorio, en dos grupos focales de jóvenes con SD, entre 13 y 18 años, separados por género. La información fue grabada, transcrita y codificada según categorías emergentes. Resultados: sobre la palabra “sexualidad”, las mujeres
declararon no haberla escuchado y los hombres hicieron referencia a “sexo”, “relaciones de pareja”, “amor” y “familia”. Para “cambios puberales”, ambos grupos señalaron los cambios más visibles, pero nada respecto a reproducción. Solo un participante entendía el concepto de “relación sexual”. Las mujeres consideraron el “inicio de la vida humana” como un evento de generación espontánea y los hombres plantearon una teoría fantasiosa. La familia fue la principal fuente de información. Discusión: los participantes mostraron un manejo deficiente e infantilizado de la información. Son urgentes la investigación y el desarrollo de programas de Educación Sexual y así dignificar la sexualidad y afectividad de personas con SD, desde un enfoque de derechos.
Psychology, Vocational rehabilitation. Employment of people with disabilities