Background: Social media use continues to grow, and it offers an important way for adults with intellectual disabilities to feel socially included and to communicate with others. Aim: This study aimed to establish the state of knowledge about social media use among adults with intellectual disabilities, their experiences and its impact. Method: A…

Digital inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities is not commensurate with those without disabilities. Societal, political, financial, individual and interpersonal barriers help explain this disparity. Caregivers can act as both support and gatekeeper to internet access and use by adults with intellectual disabilities. This study…

People with intellectual disability use social media; however, there are barriers preventing them from using and benefiting from social media to the same extent as others. Some barriers include lack of knowledge, limited skills and inaccessibility. This pilot study used a sequential mixed method design to explore the outcomes of a social media…

Digital divides mean that marginalized groups such as adults who speak English as a second or other language (ESOL) are less likely to have access to online instruction. Higher levels of English proficiency are associated with better health and employment; therefore, access to ESOL classes is essential. We investigated how sociodemographics and…

The purpose of this study was to identify factors that affect the adoption of a virtual reality (VR) technology among parents of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study sought to learn what might increase adoption of VR technology among other parents of individuals with ASD. The study employed interviews, focus groups, and…

Despite the pervasive use of wireless technology in today's society, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have limited access to technology. Technology is underutilized by this population for a variety of reasons including cost-related barriers and cognitive inaccessibility of devices and software applications. The lack of…

Internationally representative data of middle-aged adults 45 - 65 years old [n(United States) = 2,150; n(Japan) = 2,318; n(South Korea) = 2,800] from the 2012 Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies were analyzed to examine the roles of education and literacy in relation to the digital divide. Results from survey-weighted binary…

Access to higher education is often limited to adults because of their location. This is particularly challenging for adults who live in rural communities and small towns and can lead to unmet expectations. While policy makers have long recognised the potential impact of lifelong education for adults, the educational needs of adults have received…

Online technologies have entered almost all spheres of life, introducing new challenges to how literacies are theorised, defined and taken up in adult literacy education settings. This process has accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic and on a global scale, as more services, resources and information move online. An important, if under-studied…

This qualitative, instrumental case study explored existing instructional design practices as related to the accessibility of synchronous, virtual instructional content for adult learners with disabilities within a federal government agency. The purpose of study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of a group of learning professionals…

Background: Some adults with intellectual disabilities need support to access the Internet. This study explores how support workers understand their role in facilitating Internet access for intimate relationships. Method: Eight support workers in the West Midlands of the UK were interviewed face-to-face, using semi-structured interviews and a…

Nearly three in five undergraduate students on U.S. campuses experience basic needs insecurity, which means they lack access to stable sources of food, housing, or other living or educational essentials, like affordable childcare or technology. Basic needs insecurity unequivocally jeopardizes student success, increasing the likelihood of leaving…

This dissertation aimed to address existing research gaps in the understanding of "tech social capital" amongst Black and Latino/Hispanic high school students in afterschool computer science education programs. The research employed an exploratory mixed methods approach, with afterschool high school coding program Code Next as its sample…

Background: Developments in digital technologies have transformed how people interact with the world, offering employment, education, communication, health benefits and entertainment. Research has shown that not everyone can easily access digital content, particularly people with intellectual disabilities. Despite internet access being recognised…

Background: It is evident that people with disabilities worldwide face digital divide; although this divide has been mitigated owing to greater access to technologies, a gap remains in terms of Internet use. Given that South Korea has one of the highest Internet access rates, it is necessary to examine how adults with intellectual and…