Technologies Reaching Diverse Communities: Disability, Seniors, Youth, Low-Income

1. Presented by: Elizabeth Layman, Projects Coordinator,World Institute on Disability, www.wid.org Technologies Reaching Diverse Communities: Disability, Seniors, Youth, Low-Income

2. What Is WID? The World Institute on Disability (WID) works to fully integrate people with disabilities into their communities socially and economically. • Research, policy, and consulting shop • Created in 1983 by the leader of the Disability Rights Movement, Ed Roberts • Focus on the 20% of Americans who live with disabilities; these are YOUR populations • A branch of WID: food and nutrition • For 3 years, WID conducted focus groups and in-depth interviews with people with disabilities about food

4. What Is A Disability? • Americans with Disability (ADA) of 1990 • “A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; has a record of such an impairment; or is regarded as having such an impairment.”

6. Examples Of Disabilities • Blind/vision loss • Deaf/hearing loss • Diabetes • Cancer • Epilepsy • Intellectual Disabilities • Partial or Completely Missing Limbs • Mobility Impairments requiring the use of a wheel chair • Autism • Cerebral Palsy • HIV Infection • Multiple sclerosis • Muscular dystrophy • Major depressive disorder • Bipolar disorder • Post-traumatic stress disorder • Obsessive-compulsive disorder • Schizophrenia

7. Discrimination: Big Picture • People with disabilities may walk, talk, hear, see, or think differently than the average person. • They experience discrimination in many different ways: • Education • Employment • Transportation • Telecommunications • ADA has seen improvements in these categories.

8. What’s Being Left Out?

9. Food! • People with disabilities are food insecure with limited or uncertain access to adequate food (USDA-United States Department of Agriculture) • People with disabilities often are poor • They may live in food deserts (low-income, no car, supermarkets far away)

10. Disability-Specific Challenges • People with disabilities encounter difficulties buying, transporting, and preparing healthy, nutritious foods. • Person with vision loss can’t read labels • Person in wheelchair can’t navigate crowded aisles and displays at grocery store • Deaf person can’t hear oven timer • Short of stature person can’t reach appliances/shelves • Person in wheelchair can’t use own kitchen

11. Current Solution 1

12. Current Solution 2

13. Current Solution 3

14. Current Solution 4

15. What Happens Then? • Existing conditions get worse • PLUS, added chronic conditions: • Heart disease • Diabetes • High cholesterol

16. Secondary Problem: Access To Information • People with disabilities don’t have access to information catered to their needs • Disabled bodies and/or minds might make eating different; example: • “My doctor tells me that eating a hamburger for me is like eating three hamburgers because I can't get up and walk around. I get to eat a third of that burger. How can you tell someone that?!” (focus group member) • So many different types of disabilities! • Where can people with disabilities go for nutrition information specific to them?

17. Call For Recipes: Request • WID released a call for recipes from people with disabilities and seniors. • The ask: healthy and easy recipes with six or fewer items; affordable, flexible for food intolerances, allergies.

18. Call For Recipes: Results • Results? Oops! • People with disabilities need more support • How can we support folks who stay in their homes? • Who are in nursing homes? • Who are working multiple jobs? • Who are low-income?

19. A Quick Diversion- Spoon University Spoon University: an online food publication for college students by college students; covers everything from easy, dorm recipes to eating disorder survival stories • http://spoonuniversity.com/

20. Why It Matters • “I don’t want to use the m word, but Millenials aren’t cooking. They spend most of their time on technology.” (panelists at a food talk in SF) • It turns out Millenialsare using technology, yes, but to cook! Example: Spoon University • Can we use the same technology to reach those with disabilities, seniors, low-income folks? • Yes!

21. WID’s Solution • Disability FEAST: handouts, links, resources; and, simple, tasty, affordable, and healthy recipes. • Catered to the disability community • Also, works well for: • Low-income • Seniors • Young adults/new cooks www.disabilityfeast.wordpress.com (People lacking time/money/cooking skills)

22. Technology As A Tool • Disability FEAST has a focus on technology • Online resources/links • Youtube videos • Digital communities (e.g. Pinterest, Facebook) • Online cookbooks

23. People with disabilities using technology • Much like Millenials, people with disabilities use to technology to cook—in fact, they beat the Millenials to it probably. • Technology broadly defined as “the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry” • Examples: • https://disabilityfeast.wordpress.com/2015/07/07/accessible-kitchen-tools-and-devices/

24. Silverware set for lack of dexterity: http://engineeringathome.org/adaptations/eating-tools • Oven alarm for Deaf cooks: http://www.harriscomm.com/quake-n-wake-three-alert-vibrating-multi-timer.html • Arthritis/one handed: http://www.allegromedical.com/daily-living-aids-c519/kitchen-aids-c3618.html • Blind/vision loss: http://www.braillebookstore.com/Kitchen-Corner • And at 2:31-3:08: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiT08Y0yIWU • Spoon that steadies tremors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEEhuYkpVWM

25. Take Away • People with disabilities deserve a seat at the table, too! • (Many of them can even bring their own chair!) Thank you!