Assistive Technology Abandonment

The phenomenon of users with disabilities ceasing to use an assistive technology device or system after initial adoption. Research identifies several predictors of abandonment, including failure to consider user opinions during design, lack of training, poor device performance, changes in user needs, and social stigma associated with using devices perceived as different or conspicuous. Rates of abandonment are significant across assistive technology categories, making early user involvement through methods like participatory design essential to developing technologies that users will actually adopt and continue using.