Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine in what type of scenarios of daily life assistive technology such as the INSENSION system would provide considerable benefit for people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD).
Design/methodology/approach
A series of focus group workshops were held with relatives of people with PIMD and direct support professionals (DSPs), as well as experts in information and communications technology (ICT). They were oriented towards the design thinking approach and moderated as per the Disney method.
Findings
The participants identified transitions from known to unknown caregivers, provision of care during the night and the impact of external factors on a person’s mood as challenging situations within the PIMD context.
Practical implications
Solving these problems would lead to considerable benefits to the affected people. Based on the ideas gathered in workshops, three technological applications for the INSENSION system were derived, i.e. communication application, multimedia player and smart room devices, all of which will provide remedies in specific usage scenarios.
Originality/value
Methods drawing on the participant’s creativity in combination with the workshops’ multi-perspectivity facilitated a direct reference to the daily life of the target group. In this manner, the innovative ICT system INSENSION can be oriented towards the requirements of this vulnerable group.
Zusammenfassung: Wesentlicher Bestandteil der Betreuung von Menschen mit schwerer und mehrfacher Behinderung ist deren Interaktion mit Betreuungspersonen. Diese gestaltet sich für Interaktionspartner / innen aufgrund meist präsymbolischer und unkonventioneller Kommunikationsformen häufig herausfordernd. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt die Ergebnisse einer auf den Grundlagen der Grounded Theory basierenden Studie zu den Erfahrungen von Betreuenden in der Interaktion mit ihnen unvertrauten Personen mit schwerer und mehrfacher Behinderung vor. Als zentral konnte hierbei das Erleben von Unsicherheit bedingt durch Passungsschwierigkeiten in der Interaktion herausgearbeitet werden. Abhängig vom Ge-oder Misslingen angewandter Bewältigungshandlungen seitens der Betreuenden wirkt sich die Unsicherheit auf das Verhalten des Gegenübers, die Interaktion, das persönliche Erleben sowie auf die Zufriedenheit der Betreuenden aus.
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