Taylor, the Disability Disclosure Virtual Assistant: A Case Study of Participatory Research with Disabled Students

Abstract

Administrative burden in education is a serious issue for disabled students. Form-filling and bureaucracy are ubiquitous in further and higher education, particularly for students who need to disclose a disability and arrange for accommodations and support for an equitable educational experience. Paradoxically, many of these processes are inherently inaccessible for disabled students, and yet completing them can be critical to their success. Artificial Intelligence has potential to alleviate some of the burden imposed by administration and bureaucracy; virtual assistants and chatbots can replace forms with dialogue, without placing additional strain on institutions. However, it is essential that solutions are designed in partnership with disabled students to ensure that students’ needs are met, their concerns addressed, and the final solution is equitable for them. This paper explores a case study of participatory research with disabled students in a large UK distance learning institution, in which participatory research identified an issue of administrative burden for disabled students, and a virtual assistant was designed as a solution using participatory design. It shares the methodology and design process, explores findings from different phases of the research, and shares recurrent themes arising throughout the study. In doing so, it aims to provide a foundation for future participatory research to reduce barriers for disabled students.