In this type of situation, the neutrality of technology may provide greater respect for the integrity of the individual than a fellow individual, however well-meaning, is able to do. Technology is concrete With regard to people with cognitive disabilities in particular, it is essential to have an object to show and to refer to when one is trying to understand needs, wishes and dreams. Abstract questions or thoughts simply do not work at all. A technical tool, however, remains, and in the end forces a decision. Sometimes technology brings a previously hidden contradiction to light which has to be dealt with.
Technology surprises Even the most open of research approaches has limits to how far it is aiming.
There are moments when neither the user, nor the people around him, notice that he is facing obstacles. If you have not seen them, it is obviously not possible to work towards removing them. Sometimes the people around him do notice the obstacle, but take for granted that there is no technical solution. As a result, one puts a lot of effort into making living with the problem bearable instead. In other cases, the disabled person himself experiences the need but those around him do not see it.