Davies, D.K., Stock, S.E., King, L.R., Shogren, K.A., & Wehmeyer, M.L. (2015). An interface to...

Promoting Facebook Use 1

Running Head: IMPROVING ACCESS TO FACEBOOK

An Interface to Support Independent Use of Facebook by People with Intellectual Disability

Daniel Davies, Steven Stock, and Larry King

AbleLink Technologies

Karrie Shogren, Michael Wehmeyer

University of Kansas

Final pre-publication manuscript. Published as:

Davies, D.K., Stock, S.E., King, L.R., Wehmeyer, M.L., & Shogren, K.A. (2015). An interface

to support independent use of Facebook by people with intellectual disability. Intellectual and

Developmental Disabilities, 53(1), 30-41.


Abstract

Use of social networking sites, such as Facebook, is rapidly expanding but people with

intellectual disability are at risk for exclusion because sites like Facebook are not designed for

cognitive access. The purpose of the present study was to describe the development and initial

testing of a cognitively accessible prototype interface for Facebook, called Endeavor Connect,

designed to support independent Facebook use by people with intellectual disability. The

performance of young adults with intellectual disability when completing five common

Facebook tasks was compared when using the Endeavor Connect and Facebook interfaces.

Results suggest that when using Endeavor Connect, young adults with intellectual disability

completed more tasks independently with fewer errors and required fewer prompts. Implications

for research and practice are discussed.


An Interface to Support Independent Use of Facebook in People with Intellectual Disability

The use of social networking sites, such as Facebook, is rapidly expanding throughout the

world. As of June 2013, 1.15 billion people worldwide were monthly active users of Facebook,

and 699 million people were daily active users (Facebook, 2013). Although there are debates

about the social implications of the increased use of social networking, a growing body of

research suggests that engagement with Facebook can potentially enhance social capital

(Brandtzæg, 2012; Valenzuela, Park, & Kee, 2009). Social capital can be defined as “features of

social organizations such as networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate coordination and

cooperation for mutual benefit” (Putnam, 1995, p. 67). Social capital enables individuals,

through their social networks, to connect and potentially cultivate information and resources that

enable them to gain economic, educational, and vocational advantages (i.e., bridging social

capital) and to gain emotional and physical support (i.e., bonding social capital). Researchers

have found that Facebook can impact bonding social capital by facilitating direct communication

through the posting of comments and messaging, typically with individuals who the users also

know offline, and bridging social capital (where ties tend to be weaker) through browsing

profiles and liking photos and posts (Wilson, Gosling, & Graham, 2012).

Researchers have also found that people with intellectual disability all too often have

limited social networks that severely restricts their opportunity to build social capital. Clement

and Bigby (2009) noted that “typically, people with intellectual disability have small, highly

restricted social networks characterized by interactions with other people with intellectual

[disability], family members, and paid workers” (p. 264). Building social networks and

community connections, resources, and supports, however, remains one of the most frequently


identified goals of people with intellectual disability and their families (Kampert & Goreczny,

2007; Shogren, 2012). With the growing role of technology and social networking sites like

Facebook in shaping access to social capital, people with intellectual disability are at even

greater risk for exclusion because of difficulties with technology access and use. Despite the

ubiquity of technology in the day-to-day life of most people in society, evidence over the past

decade suggests that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities too often have

limited access to technology and that technology is underutilized by this population for a variety

of reasons (Carey, Friedman, & Bryen, 2005; Palmer, Wehmeyer, Davies & Stock, 2012; Tanis,

Palmer, Wehmeyer, Davies, & Stock, 2012; Wehmeyer, Palmer, Smith, Davies, and Stock,

2008), primary among these reasons is the fact that the majority of technologies are not designed

to be cognitively accessible.

Advocates in the field of applied cognitive technologies have recently developed and

endorsed a statement on The Rights of People with Cognitive Disabilities to Technology and

Information Access (Braddock, Hoehl, Tanis, Ablowitz, & Haffer, 2013_ENREF_1), suggesting

the criticality of ensuring that people with cognitive disabilities have “access to comprehensible

information and usable communication technologies” (p. 98) that use principles of universal

design, and follow best practices in the development of innovative applied cognitive

technologies. As a field, applied cognitive technologies refers to “research and development to

provide technology supports that enable people with cognitive disabilities to successfully

function in typical environments, to increase participation in tasks and activities in typical

environments, and to promote social inclusion, self-determination, and an enhanced quality of

life” (Wehmeyer & Shogren, 2013, p. 92). Applied cognitive technologies focus on electronic

and information technologies that are used by all people, and their application to enabling people


with cognitive disabilities to access typical living, work, education, and community

environments.

Researchers working in the field of applied cognitive technologies have applied best

practices related to universal design to the design of systems to support access to: public

transportation and community access (Mechling, Gast, & Langone, 2002; Davies, Stock,

Holloway, & Wehmeyer, 2010), cell phones (Stock, Davies, Wehmeyer, & Palmer, 2008),

employment (Furniss et al., 2001; Taber, Alberto, & Fredrick, 1998); the Internet and web

browsers (Friedman & Bryen, 2007; Lancioni, Van den Hof, Furniss, O'Reilly, & Cunha, 1999;

Wehmeyer et al., 2011), portable reading systems (Davies, Stock, King, & Wehmeyer, 2008),

education (Bouck, Taber-Doughty, Flanagan, Szwed, & Bassett, 2010; Ayers & Langone, 2008);

and money management tools (Davies, Stock, & Wehmeyer, 2003). Yet, such principles have

not yet been widely applied or applied to the development of tools to support access by people

with intellectual disability to social networking sites, such as Facebook. Facilitating access to

Facebook for people with intellectual disability is important given its widespread use and the

growing body of data suggesting its impact on social capital. The purpose of the present study,

was to describe: (a) the iterative design and development and (b) initial pilot testing of the

usability of a cognitively accessible interface for Facebook, called Endeavor Connect, developed

to support independent Facebook use by people with intellectual disability.

Method

Study Participants. Twelve adults with intellectual disability were recruited from the

Colorado Springs School District 11 transition program, Mosaic and Carmel Community

Living, which are adult service provider organizations. The average age of study participants

was 29.5 years old, with a range from 20 to 45 years old. The sample included five females


and seven males. The average IQ score for the group was 53.5, with a range from 38 to 66.

None of these participants had a Facebook account and thus were not Facebook users.

Procedures. The usability testing took place over a two-week period at AbleLink's

Cognitive Innovation Lab in Colorado Springs using a Gateway All-in-One touchscreen

computer with at 21.5 inch display. The 12 participants received training and were observed

when engaging in five Facebook-specific tasks when in the mainstream Facebook program and,

again, when using the Endeavor Connect interface. Differences in the: a) number of scripted

Facebook tasks successfully completed; b) the amount of assistance required to successfully

complete each task; and c) the number of errors made in completing each task were examined

across Endeavor Connect and Facebook. The five common Facebook tasks included: a)

reading/comprehending an incoming Post; 2) making an outgoing Post; 3) posting a picture; 4)

navigating to a designated Friend’s Facebook page, and; 5) navigating back to the Home page.

Each task was task analyzed to determine the steps necessary to complete the activity under both

conditions.

The order in which each participant interacted with Facebook and Endeavor Connect was

randomized to attempt to control for learning effects. Each participant received training on how

to complete each of the five tasks in Facebook or Endeavor Connect immediately preceding their

interaction with the respective system. Training involved a demonstration of each task followed

by one hands-on walk-through of the common Facebook tasks to allow participants to engage in

each condition with as much prompting support as needed.

After training was completed, each participant interacted with Facebook and Endeavor

Connect, respectively, and data were collected on the three dependent measures using a standard

data collection form. Data collectors were trained on use of the data collection instrument and


participated in mock sessions with project staff to help identify and address how to score various

actions. To limit potential frustration and feeling of failure on the part of research participants

with intellectual disability, the number of prompts required and errors made for each task was

capped at three each. Therefore if a study participant required more than three prompts or made

more than three errors, the task was scored as not completed and research staff demonstrated

how to complete the task before moving on to the next task.

After completing the task sequences in Facebook and Endeavor Connect, a brief

interview was conducted with each participant to identify their perceptions of ease of use and

preferences for Facebook or Endeavor Connect.

Endeavor Connect

Prior to and during the design and development of Endeavor Connect, informal

interviews were conducted with people with intellectual disability, their families, support

providers, and administrators to determine their perceptions of needs related to using Facebook,

and as the Endeavor Connect prototype was designed and developed, the effectiveness of

specific supports to promote access to and use of Facebook. These informal interviews shaped

the design and development process.

The first phase of the design and development activities involved identifying initial

system requirements for Endeavor Connect. These activities included (a) identifying best

practices in the design of applied cognitive technologies that support independent computer use

by people with intellectual disability and (b) reviewing current technical developments in

Facebook features, use statistics, and privacy features/policies to identify specific features

needed in Endeavor Connect to interface with Facebook.


Identifying best practices. Previous research (Davies et al., 2010; Davies et al., 2008;

Davies, Stock, & Wehmeyer, 2001, 2004; Stock, Davies, Wehmeyer, & Lachapelle, 2011; Stock

et al., 2008) conducted by the research team over the past 15 years on the development of

applied cognitive technologies was reviewed to identify best practices in the design of applied

cognitive technologies to guide the development of Endeavor Connect. Several best practices

were identified, including:

Combining use of pictures and system-generated audio prompts for navigation to provide

the user with greater independence and self-direction;

Using familiar voices for audio prompts (i.e., a parent, a sibling, friend, or support

provider) to promote enjoyable and compelling use of the software.

Using clear, uncluttered interface designs, such as oversized picture-buttons, to maximize

the effectiveness of touch screens used for desktop, tablets, and smart phone devices and

to support people with physical disabilities;

Using interface designs that utilize consistency and repetition to promote independent

use;

Using “error minimization” techniques, such as removing buttons from the screen when

their use is inappropriate, unnecessary, or distracting to limit the possibility for errors;

Including a complete set of user-controlled customization options to allow support

providers to adapt the available features and interface to meet the unique needs of

different end-users with intellectual disability;

Building in assessment and management systems to support tracking of use/progress.

Identifying Facebook-specific features needed in Endeavor Connect. As described

previously, Facebook was one of the first social networking tools developed, and currently has


over a billion users world-wide. Since September 2006, anyone over the age of 13 with a valid

e-mail address can become a Facebook user. Users can engage in a variety of activities, such as

adding friends; posting messages, photos, and videos; playing games; signing up for Facebook

apps; and updating personal profiles to notify friends about themselves and their lives. Facebook

users can also join groups created by companies, government entities, non-profits, social causes,

employers, news outlets, schools and many other organizations. Facebook includes both

personal privacy and security features (e.g., user login, ability to permit or withhold public

access to items posted to a user’s Timeline or Home page, limiting availability of content to

approved individuals). Requirements development work included identification of potential

strategies and feature options that may be important in future iterations of the Endeavor Connect

system to enhance the mainstream Facebook privacy and security features. For example, a

potential option that can be selected by the end user may include the ability for things like

incoming Friend requests or even day-to-day outgoing posts to be automatically screened via a

third party email notification to a parent or care giver prior to being presented to the Endeavor

Connect user for consideration. These types of important feature options, though identified

during this project, were reserved for future research and development.

Based on a review of Facebook Platform (Facebook Developers, 2010) and interviews

with key stakeholders, specific technical objectives to enable Endeavor Connect to interface with

Facebook were also identified. Although the scope of the project did not allow for all of these

requirements to be developed and evaluated, they included:

Developing the interface to have clean, uncluttered screens and multimedia

techniques to promote independent usability;


Supporting the most widely used Facebook features such as posting to the Home page

or Timeline, video posting, managing Friend requests, and accessing games and apps

as user-controlled options with an interface ‘look and feel’ similar to that of the

mainstream Facebook interface;

Developing a set of user-controlled safety and security options beyond those already

provided by Facebook (such as third party approval of Friend requests) to provide

additional supports for security and protection against bullying and other potential

social networking hazards;

Developing a configuration interface to allow support providers to activate or

deactivate security options and access to various Facebook elements such as apps,

games, Friend requests, etc.;

Developing cross-platform versions of the system to enable operation on a wide

variety of hardware platforms (Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android tablets and smart

phones, and other mobile devices);

Developing accessible online multimedia training materials for both support

providers and end users with intellectual disability to learn how to implement and

utilize the Endeavor Connect system to safely access Facebook.

Consequently, Endeavor Connect was designed to provide a method of accessing existing

Facebook accounts, but without needing to use the mainstream Facebook user interface. The

prototype interface was designed such that account preferences and security features set up in

Facebook will carry over to Endeavor Connect. The Endeavor Connect interface was developed

to mimic the mainstream Facebook Home page interface, except that many of the options,

features, menus, and other clutter that require high levels of cognition were removed to provide


an appealing but simplified appearance. Endeavor Connect was designed to support the most

frequently used features of Facebook: accessing Home page Posts, creating and posting on the

Timeline or Home page, posting pictures, navigating to Friend’s pages and navigating back to

one’s Home page.

When first launching Endeavor Connect, the system provides a login prompt. To avoid

the barrier of having to login each time, an option to retain the user’s login information is

provided so that on subsequent startups the system goes directly to the accessible version of the

end-users Home page in Endeavor Connect. Figure 1 provides a screen shot showing the

appearance of the Home page in Endeavor Connect for an end-user after logging in. The posts

on the Home page in Endeavor Connect, as shown in Figure 1, are pulled directly from, and

therefore identical, to the posts on end-user’s screens in the mainstream version of Facebook. In

other words, Endeavor Connect displays all things posted by friends in Facebook, regardless of

whether the end-user is in Facebook or using the Endeavor Connect interface. Similarly,

anything posted by an end-user in Endeavor Connect is also posted to approved friend’s

mainstream Facebook pages.

At the top of the screen in Figure 1 are two optional toggle buttons that can be used to

increase the volume and text size, as needed. Each post—either by the end-user or by a Friend of

the end-user—is displayed chronologically along with one or two buttons to the right of each

post. The green speaker button, which is present for every post, can be clicked to initiate a built-

in text-to-speech feature that reads the post aloud. Special programming was done so that the

text-to-speech system first identified the person making the Post before proceeding to read it.

For example, the post that is at the lower part of the screen in Figure 1 would be read as: “Chet

Kincaid said ‘My favorite color is blue.” This feature was designed to allow non- or low-readers


to better comprehend incoming text posts. The Like button (i.e., the blue ‘thumbs up’ button),

which is available for any post on the end-user’s Home page or Timeline, allows the end-user to

‘Like’ posts on their Home page or Timeline. If ‘Like’ is selected for any post in Endeavor

Connect, it is also transferred to friend’s mainstream Facebook Home page or Timeline. Users

can also click on any images posted to see them at nearly full screen and print them if desired.

In terms of making posts in Endeavor Connect, two options were developed. Tapping the

button with the keyboard letter ‘T’ near the top of the screen (see Figure 1) opens a simple dialog

box, shown in Figure 2, with a system generated prompt to “Please type the message that you

would like to post.” After entering text, the Post button is selected to complete the post, or the

Cancel button can be used to abort the text post. The second method for posting in Endeavor

Connect allows for audio-recording of messages, eliminating the need for typing. By clicking on

the microphone button (shown at the top of Figure 1), a display opens and a system-generated

audio message is played, prompting the user to “Please record your Facebook message after the

beep.” This is immediately followed by the familiar beeping sound. This display is shown on

the left side of Figure 3. After finishing the message, the user clicks the “Done” button and the

display shifts to that shown on the right side of Figure 3, with the system-generated audio

prompt, “Click the blue Post button to post this message to Facebook, or click Cancel to start

over.” This allows users to easily re-record their audio post in the event of misspeaking. Audio

posts appear in the user’s Home page in Endeavor Connect with the green speaker button, and

the recorded message plays when the green speaker button is clicked, as shown in the audio post

at the bottom of the screen in Figure 4. In Facebook, audio posts appear as an audio link that,

when clicked, plays the audio message using the Friend’s default media player.


Another commonly used feature in Facebook is posting pictures, and by clicking the

camera icon at the top of the screen (Figure 1) users can initiate a sequence to post digital images

to Endeavor Connect and thus, Facebook. After clicking the camera icon, the box shown on the

left side of Figure 5 opens. This box displays all images that had been placed in a designated

folder (the folder can be set up by the end-user or a support provider in the Endeavor Connect

options menu). A system generated audio message prompts the user to “Please select the picture

that you would like to post to Facebook.” Upon selecting the desired image, it is displayed in the

window on the right of the screen and the system prompts the user to “Select the Post button to

post this picture to Facebook, or press Cancel to start over.” Users can click on any number of

pictures while searching for the desired image, before selecting the Post button. Posted images

appear on mainstream Facebook pages just like all other images posted to Facebook, but appear

somewhat larger when displayed in the prototype Endeavor Connect version. Figure 4 shows

how a picture appears on the Endeavor Connect Home page. Of note, there is also a green

speaker button to the right of the posted picture that when pressed, will read the name of the

individual who posted the picture.

The final features to be noted are along the right side of the screen in Figure 1. The top

button (house icon) can be used to return to the user’s Home screen, which displays the personal

information they have provided and mimics the Timeline feature in Facebook. The second

button (two silhouettes with talking bubbles) returns the user to their Home page. The third

button (three human silhouettes) brings up the end-user’s list of friends, including their pictures.

This is shown in Figure 6. Clicking on a friend’s pictures takes the user to their friend’s Home

page, which has the same format as the end-user’s Home page (Figure 1).

Design and Analysis


The purpose of the pilot test reported in this manuscript was to examine the usability of

the accessible interface of Endeavor Connect, as compared to the mainstream Facebook

interface. Specifically differences in the a) number of scripted Facebook tasks successfully

completed; b) amount of assistance required when successfully completing each task and; c)

number of errors made in completing the common Facebook tasks were examined when

individuals with intellectual disability used Endeavor Connect and Facebook. Data collection

provided information on the number of steps correctly completed, the amount of assistance

required to complete the tasks, the number or errors made and the success rates for task

completion using Facebook and Endeavor Connect. Notes were also taken on each participant’s

interaction with each system. The results were analyzed descriptively, to explore the degree to

which participants completed more tasks successfully in Endeavor Connect, and empirically,

using Sandlers' A-statistic, to examine mean differences in the three dependent measures.

Interview data was also summarized to provide information on participants' perceptions of their

experiences with the two platforms.

Results

Eleven participants were able to complete all five Facebook tasks with three or fewer

prompts or errors per task when using Endeavor Connect, while only four participants were able

to do so while using the mainstream Facebook interface. When comparing the average tasks

completed independently, Endeavor Connect led to significantly more independent completion,

(average across participants of 4.6 vs. 3.8 out of 5 tasks completed; p = .006). It appeared when

observing participants that the overall complexity and screen clutter, in addition to difficulties

with reading or writing, made it difficult for many participants to use Facebook by itself. When

using the mainstream Facebook interface, participants would often click on incorrect screen


elements or stop using the system and ask for help on how to proceed. The amount of

information shown on a mainstream Facebook page at times required multiple verbal and

gestural prompts from research staff for completion of a single task.

Relatedly, in terms of the number of errors, some participants tended to click on elements

on the screen, even when they appeared to be uncertain of how to complete a task. The most

common error was selecting the incorrect interface element (e.g., selecting Post instead of

Friends). Several participants repeatedly used the steps that had been successful in a previous

task, even if they were not relevant to the present task. Other, participants, however, tended to

stop interacting with Facebook when they were uncertain and asked research staff for help. This

led to variability in the number of errors across participants, but overall participants had fewer

errors per task when working with Endeavor Connect (average .05 vs. .30; p = .013). There

were some specific errors that were the most common within Endeavor Connect, however. For

example, several participants selected the Cancel button instead of the Post button when posting

audio messages or digital pictures; this appeared to be a result of the system generated audio that

prompted users to “Select the Post button to post this picture to Facebook, or press Cancel to

start over.” Some individuals appeared to cue into the last part of that message, and an

alternative setting which allows the system to be set up to simply say “Select the Post button to

post this picture to Facebook” or to use further verbal identifiers in the system generated prompt,

e.g. “Select the blue Post button to post this picture to Facebook, or press the red Cancel button

to start over.”

Finally, in terms of the number of prompts, more participants asked for help or simply

waited for a prompt instead of engaging with Facebook or Endeavor Connect, as shown in the

higher rates of average prompts to average errors per tasks, although participants still needed


significantly fewer prompts when using Endeavor Connect (average .22 vs. .58; p = .024). The

most challenging task across systems for participants was posting pictures, and many participants

needed step-by-step prompts when using the mainstream Facebook interface. When interacting

with Facebook alone, many participants also asked for help when text was involved, particularly

typing a post. Several participants appeared uncomfortable or nervous when asked to type a post

in Facebook, and quickly reached the maximum number of prompts or errors before the task was

discontinued. Fewer issues were encountered when participants were able to audio record their

voices, and hear the playback from posts in Endeavor Connect.

Overall, when asked which system they preferred, participants generally reported that

Endeavor Connect was easier to work with ("This one [Endeavor Connect] is probably easier for

me”). They also reported liking to record and hear their voices ("I like recording my voice

better, it’s easier” and "I like recording my voice for people”) and to have Endeavor Connect

read the text aloud (“It told me what it said”). Perhaps most importantly, participants identified

ways that Endeavor Connect could support their social networking (“I’d like to talk to my dad

and my friends on here” and “I could use this to talk to my friends"). During the study one

participant spontaneously recorded a post saying “I would like to go to the movies with a friend

this weekend.” When reminded of the purpose of the study and that her use was just “pretend”,

the participants stated “I know, but that is what I would have said.”

Discussion

The design, development, and pilot testing of the Endeavor Connect interface suggests

that a specially-designed, cognitively-accessible interface to Facebook provides an effective

means to support greater access to the social networking site by young people with intellectual

disability. Given the ubiquity of Facebook in society and research suggesting its potential

impact on the building of social capital in the general population (Wilson et al., 2012), creating


meaningful ways for people with intellectual disability to access Facebook is necessary to

promote meaningful inclusion in society, a fundamental right of people with disabilities, and to

create opportunities for economic, educational, and vocational gains.

By using best practices in the design of applied cognitive technologies, including

principles of universal design and the use of error minimization techniques, personalization and

customization, and reduced screen clutter, as well as insights into the most common uses of

Facebook and the preferences of people with intellectual disability and their systems of support

for using Facebook, the technical team was able to develop an effective interface that retrieves

information from Facebook (and delivers it back) and displays it in a format accessible to people

with intellectual disability. The data from the pilot test suggested that people with intellectual

disability are more able to be successful when navigating Endeavor Connect (vs. Facebook) and

make fewer errors and require fewer prompts. Further, people with intellectual disability report

enjoying the features in Endeavor Connect, particularly features not readily available in

Facebook, such as recording messages to post.

Further research is needed that moves beyond pilot testing and more systematically

examines the degree to which people with intellectual disability are able to independently utilize

the features of an accessible social networking program, like Endeavor Connect, over time. Such

testing should also address the limitations inherent in the pilot testing, such as the small number

of participants and the use of the same participant group to examine the usability of Facebook

and Endeavor Connect. Additionally, the pilot testing conducted in this study was brief, and

examination of the degree to which people with intellectual disability are able to sustain

independent use of Endeavor Connect over time is needed. The impact of Endeavor Connect on

relationships, online and offline, and bridging and bonding social capital should also be


examined, to evaluate general concerns that the use of social networking may under some

measures actually increase social isolation in terms of face-to-face human contact. Further, work

is also needed to examine effective strategies to balance independence and potential risks in the

use of Facebook. Facebook itself has security features available, such as limiting who can see

certain types of posts, and additional features were identified for Endeavor Connect, such as the

ability to set up third-party access and review of posts, friend requests, and other critical features

that need to be developed and evaluated in future research. The most appropriate and respectful

ways to support people with intellectual disability to balance the risks inherent to sharing

information publically on the Internet (e.g., cyber-bullying, exploitation) need to be further

examined. There is a general concern in society for abuse of photos, predatory behavior and

cyber bullying within the realm of social media use, but it appears that despite these concerns

people will continue to grow their use of social media. The potential for additional technological

precautions and protections that may be enabled by the Endeavor Connect approach is a very

important area to consider for further research.

Technology-mediated social networking through sites like Facebook is clearly becoming

a part of day-to-day life of the majority of people in society. Promoting access to such

opportunities is necessary to ensure the full participation of people with disabilities in all aspects

of society, congruent with their preferences, interests, and desires. This study demonstrated that

it is possible to create a cognitively accessible interface design, Endeavor Connect, using proven

design methodologies, that parallels the overall appearance and functionality of Facebook but is

optimized to meet the needs of people with intellectual disability, including graphic

representations, computer-generated audio prompts, and error minimization techniques. Further

work is needed to examine the usability of Endeavor Connect, strategies to promote access to


Facebook to people with intellectual disability, and the creation of a range of supports and

support tools that facilitate the use of technology by people with intellectual disability that are

embedded in mainstream applications.


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Figure 1: The opening Home page display in Endeavor Connect interface (Note: screen shots

are shown smaller than actual size).


Figure 2. Screen shot of the simple typing box, for typing posts. This is pulled up by clicking

the ‘T’ near the top of the screen in Figure 1.


Figure 3. Screen shot of the interface for making audio posts in Endeavor Connect. This is

accessed by clicking on the microphone in Figure 1.


Figure 4. Endeavor Connect Home page for an end-user with picture and audio messages.


Figure 5. Screen shot of the interface for posting photos in Endeavor Connect. This is accessed

by clicking on the camera icon.


Figure 6: Screen shot of Friends list in Endeavor Connect.

Davies, D.K., Stock, S.E., King, L.R., Shogren, K.A., & Wehmeyer, M.L. (2015). An interface to...

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