Cyborg Assemblages: How autistic adults construct sociotechnical networks to support cognitive function

Abstract

Autism has become a popular context for accessible technology researchers, yet a majority of HCI projects for autism and ADHD do not engage in participatory methods or otherwise involve disabled stakeholders in the project and research design. Prior inquiry has identified executive function as a common difficulty for which technologies may provide novel benefits. In this study, we explore how autistic adults currently use technologies, broadly defined, to augment executive function and support themselves in day-to-day tasks. We collect qualitative data from narratives elicited during informal asynchronous interviews to conduct a digital ethnomethodology. Following from principles of Design Justice, crip technoscience, and cyborg assemblage theory, we investigate how autistic adults articulate their own sociotechnical environments into technologically mediated assemblages of executive function and interpersonal webs of care. These patterns of sociotechnical formation inform future work in research and design for tools that can mediate executive function for all users.