Depending on Independence: An Autoethnographic Account of Daily Use of Assistive Technologies
Felix Fussenegger, Katta Spiel · 2022 · Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22) · doi:10.1145/3517428.3551354
Summary
This experience report uses autoethnography to examine the daily realities of depending on assistive technologies (AT) from the first-person perspective of Felix Fussenegger, a person living with a high spinal cord injury (C6 level) resulting in complete sensory and motor paralysis from approximately the shoulders down. The paper catalogues the extensive array of AT required for a typical day — from holding bars and wheelchair fixing devices to voice recognition software, eating aids, and smart thermostats — mapping each technology to the specific activities it enables. Operating from a social model of disability, the author frames AT not merely as compensatory tools but as technologies deeply embedded in socio-technical relationships that shape and are shaped by the user's embodiment and environment. The methodology draws on first-person research traditions, with the first author tracking daily interactions with AT over several days and reflecting on field notes, while the second author guided the analytical and writing process. Three detailed examples illustrate how AT can have both intended and unintended consequences: early speech recognition software that inadvertently retrained the author's handwriting ability, a wheelchair-to-bed transfer mechanism that silently eroded a hard-won physical skill, and smart thermostats whose failure created a potentially dangerous situation during winter. The paper builds on Bennett et al.'s concept of interdependence as a complementary frame for AT research, which considers access as relational and challenges traditional hierarchies of ability.
Key findings
The paper reveals three critical dynamics in AT use. First, AT can paradoxically both enable and diminish user capabilities: the wheelchair fixing device made transfers easier but gradually caused the author to lose the ability to transfer independently without it — a loss discovered only when the device broke. Second, AT failure can have serious, even dangerous consequences that extend well beyond inconvenience: the smart thermostat malfunction left the author unable to regulate temperature in his home overnight, requiring constant window management until help arrived the next morning. Third, poorly functioning AT can sometimes produce unexpected benefits — the inadequate 2003 speech recognition software inadvertently motivated handwriting rehabilitation that the author believes would not have occurred with today's more capable software. The paper emphasises that technical complexity does not correlate with importance; simple devices like eating aids can be just as critical as sophisticated digital systems. The comprehensive daily AT inventory (Table 1) powerfully demonstrates the scale of dependency: failure of any single item removes fundamental daily activities.
Relevance
This paper offers rare first-person insight into what it actually means to depend on assistive technology day after day, making it essential reading for anyone designing, prescribing, or funding AT. The findings have direct implications for practitioners: AT must be designed with failure modes and exit strategies built in, not as afterthoughts. The concept of socio-technical dependency — where reliance on AT can silently erode the very abilities it supplements — is a critical consideration for rehabilitation professionals and AT designers alike. The paper's call for involving disabled people as full project members (not just survey participants) in AT development reinforces participatory design principles. For organisations, the key takeaway is that AT deployment requires ongoing reflection, backup planning, and awareness that even beneficial technologies carry risks of creating new dependencies.
Tags: assistive technology · autoethnography · disability studies · independence · interdependence · spinal cord injury · socio-technical dependencies · participatory design