6. Mistakes to avoid

Stigmatize users: if your product looks like a product "for the disabled", it degrades the user's image, and risks being rejected. Don't minimize this effect: the use of a product or technology associated with disability or dependence can be experienced as a real situation of exclusion. The product becomes tangible proof of the disability, and in so doing, stigmatizes the person. Autonomy-enhancing technologies play a role not only in maintaining or compensating for impaired function, but also in relationships with the environment, self-esteem and social integration. They are therefore sometimes both desired for the help they provide and rejected because they underline the disability. Some people prefer to remain isolated at home and forego activities rather than go out with a technical aid that is too stigmatizing (e.g. a walker).