Mid Sweden University

Voice technology is currently growing in popularity but is, currently, mostly restricted to personal use. However, new areas where the technology can be applied are emerging. One of these are social care, where digital communication has been used to increase the independence for people with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Yet, there is a lack of studies that explores the possibility to combine visual and verbal support. At the same time, the municipals of Sweden are having an increasing problem with being able to give support to people in need of care. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine if a VAVA can contribute to reduced workload for staff and an enhanced independence for people with ID or ASD within Swedish Act concerning Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments (LSS). By applying a design science research strategy, a VAVA has been built based on requirements from scientific literature, personnel and users. The VAVA was then evaluated by conducting usability tests, interviews and a survey. The result showed that a VAVA can increase the wellbeing of people with ID or ASD by giving digital assistance that increases their integrity and makes them become more independent and self-determined. There was also some information gathered that indicates that a VAVA can assist that the staff give less reminders, yet not how much. Furthermore, this study suggests some aspect that are important to consider when constructing a VAVA including dynamic ability, mobility and security. Lastly, the conclusion regarding applicable situations, is that a VAVA is useful where the user needs information containing several distinct steps to correctly perform the activity but also has the opportunity of giving additional value to the user