Design Your Life: User-Initiated Design of Technology to Support Independent Living of Young Autistic Adults

TL;DR

This paper introduces 'Design Your Life', a user-initiated co-design method for creating technologies that support independent living among young autistic adults, based on phenomenological principles and practice-oriented research.

Contribution

It presents a novel co-design approach grounded in phenomenology, specifically tailored for autistic young adults, with initial case studies demonstrating its potential.

Findings

Initial case studies reveal promising design directions.

The method facilitates user-initiated technology development.

Insights into co-design with autistic young adults and caregivers.

Abstract

This paper describes the development of and first experiences with 'Design Your Life': a novel method aimed at user-initiated design of technologies supporting young autistic adults in independent living. A conceptual, phenomenological background resulting in four core principles is described. Taking a practice-oriented Research-through-Design approach, three co-design case studies were conducted, in which promising methods from the co-design literature with the lived experiences and practical contexts of autistic young adults and their caregivers is contrasted. This explorative inquiry provided some first insights into several design directions of the Design Your Life-process. In a series of new case studies that shall follow, the Design Your Life-method will be iteratively developed, refined and ultimately validated in practice.