Making together
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Making together: Opening up Making to people living with brain injuries
IRAS ID
284127
Contact name
Jeremy Tree
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Swansea university
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 30 days
Research summary
Historically there have been significant challenges surrounding access to makerspaces for those with disabilities (Taylor et al., 2016), which has resulted in a vicious cycle in access for those with disabilities. Lack of disabled accommodation has resulted in the absence of disabled access in makerspaces, resulting in the lack of voice from people with disabilities. The lack of input by those with disabilities has resulted in a vicious cycle where spaces have become less accessible for people with disabilities due to the lack of disabled members, resulting in less disabled input (Ellis et al. 2021).
Research has also identified patient maker groups that aim to improve accessibility technology, such as #wearenotwaiting, a maker group by those with diabetes who add functionality to glucose meters (O'Kane et al., 2016) and work has been carried out into making more accessible (Caraco et al 2019., Ellis et al. 2019, Hollinworth et al. 2014) however, work by the academic community often does not leave the literature, and good practices are usually not shared by the making community, making it challenging for people with disabilities to interact with the maker community. Further, People with disabilities highlight that they find the accessibility technologies they receive are abandoned, citing lack of engagement in the design process resulting in stigma and not doing what is required (Moraiti et al., 2015).
Our research will bring those with cognitive impairments into a makerspace dedicated to those with cognitive impairments. Participants will receive support from researchers and be encouraged to co-create and support each other. By allowing participants to make, we can also observe the products they produce and the barriers they face. We will support any accessibility technology they develop and demonstrate that we can reduce the abandonment rate for accessible technology by involving end-users in the design process.REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/WM/0060
Date of REC Opinion
16 Mar 2022
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion