Digital technology and social care for adults with learning disabilities

Non-specialist and everyday technology like social media, home security cameras like Amazon’s Ring doorbell, voice-activated ‘smart speakers’ such as Google’s Nest Audio and generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)such as OpenAI’s Chat GPT, are increasingly being used to support adults with learning disabilities. These technologies are popular because they are widely available, and many people know how to use them. They can be helpful, but there is concern they are being used without fully understanding the risks involved.

Using these technologies might cause problems in several ways. It could affect the privacy of someone with learning disabilities by sharing information they want to keep private. It might harm their dignity by showing them in ways they would find embarrassing. It could also reduce their independence and ability to make choices about their lives. It is essential that these risks are explained clearly so adults with learning disabilities, their family members, informal caregivers, and adult social care support providers understand the risks and benefits and can make informed decisions about whether and how to use this technology safely to meet their social care needs.
 

• Aims

  This project aims to:

  1.     Find out what non-specialist and everyday technology is currently being used for adult social care tasks that would normally require human assistance.
  2.     Understand the risks and the benefits associated with this.
  3.     Work with adults with learning disabilities, their family members, informal caregivers, and social care providers to create helpful resources together. These will explain the risks and benefits to help people make informed decisions about using technology.

   
   

• Design and methods

  We will work closely with people who will use our findings, whom we call “Knowledge-Users.” These include:

  •       Adults with learning disabilities
  •       Family members and informal caregivers
  •       Adult social care providers

  We will find out what non-specialist and everyday technology is being used by searching published research and other written information. We will also develop a survey and tailor it to each of our Knowledge-User groups to ask what non-specialist and everyday technology they use and what they use it for.  We will work with our Knowledge-Users to understand the risks and benefits that people should think about before using this technology for social care tasks. We will hold seven workshops in total – two workshops with each Knowledge-User group and a final joint workshop. 
   

• Planned outputs

  In the workshops, we will share what we have learned and work together to create resources (like a video, webpage or a booklet) to help people understand and safely manage the risks and benefits of using technology, so everyone can make better choices about using technology. We will invite all Knowledge-Users to a final workshop together to share the resources widely.

  Academic Outputs:

  • Peer-reviewed publications in journals such as the International Journal of Sociology & Social Policy, Journal of Enabling Technologies, and BMJ Open.

  • Presentations at academic, professional, and industry conferences.

  Non-Academic Outputs:

  • A freely available toolkit with practical resources for adults with learning disabilities, carers, and care providers.

  • Dissemination via project partners, networks, and platforms like the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) and their e-bulletin Scieline.

  • Communication of findings through international research networks and stakeholder organisations.