Beyond Repairing with Electronic Speech: Towards Embodied Communication and Assistive Technology

Traditionally, Western philosophies have strongly favoured a dualist interpretation of consciousness – emphasising the importance of the ‘mind’ over the ‘body’. However, we argue that adopted assistive technologies become embodied and extend intentionality within environments. In this paper, we restore an embodied view of the mind to theoretically enhance: understandings of assistive technology and human-human communication. Initially, we explore literature on: phenomenological theories of human experience, post-phenomenological accounts of technology, embodied accounts of assistive technology and participatory design. We then present a case study demonstrating the generative and disruptive effects of the embodied framework for co-designing AAC with people living with aphasia. Our findings show that the embodied framework supports a more multidimensional account of experience and suggests a shift from AAC devices that seek to ‘repair’ users’ speech. Reflecting on our case study, we then outline concerns with nascent technologies that could disembody and limit accessibility.