The Ultimate Medium for People with Disabilities?
Marisa Renee Brandt, Mitchell Reddan, Morgan Kiryakoza · 2022
Techno-utopian visions of virtual reality as the “ultimate” medium do not always live up to the hype for people with disabilities. VR game developers promise to expand realms of play, but their products are often plagued by accessibility issues. VR clinical applications envision more engaging and effective therapies but often rely on medicalized models of care. Meanwhile, VR disability simulations designers make the controversial claim that they encourage empathy by immersing users in experiences of impairment. Centring disability experiences and drawing on disability media studies and advocacy reveals ways VR designers could better support goals of expanding diverse human experience.