GVU Technical Report Number: GIT-GVU-04-08

Title: Designing a Cognitive Aid for the Home: A Case-Study Approach

Authors: Jessica Paradise, Elizabeth D. Mynatt, Cliff Williams, John Goldthwaite

Abstract:
Cognitive impairments play a large role in the lives of surviviors of mild traumatic brain injuries who are unable to return to their prior level of independence in their homes. Computational support has the potential to enable these individuals to regain control over some aspects of their lives. Our research aims to carefully seek out issues that might be appropriate for computational support and to build enabling technologies that increase individuals functional independence in the home environment. Using a case-study approach, we explored the needs and informed the design of a pacing aid for an individual with a cognitive impairment whose quality of life was negatively affected by her inability to pace herself during her morning routine.

The contributions of this research include insights we gained with our methodology, two sets of design dimensions: user-centered contraints developed from capabilities and preferences of our users and system-centered capabilities that could be explored in potential designs, a design concept which illustrates the application of these design dimensions into a potential pacing aid, and evaluations of paper prototypes guided by the design dimensions.

Keywords: Cognitive impairment, traumatic brain injury, case study, pacing, home

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