Beyond Assistive Devices: The Use of Mainstream Technologies by French Visually Impaired Children and Adolescents

Abstract The present article examines the divergent uses of specialised and mainstream technologies by young people with visual impairments, highlighting issues of accessibility, stigma, and creativity. While specific assistive technologies (such as Braille keyboards or screen-reading software) remain essential for daily independence, their high cost, long acquisition times, and limited versatility place significant constraints on families. Conversely, mainstream digital technologies (such as smartphones and free software) appear to offer more accessible and less stigmatising alternatives that are more easily integrated into adolescents’ social practices. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study conducted in France among 15 families (including children and parents) and 15 support professionals (working in healthcare, rehabilitation, education, and associative sectors). Although the broader research project aimed to analyse the impact of visual impairment on children’s quality of life, the interviews highlighted the development of strategies through which young people appropriate and repurpose digital technologies to enhance social participation, self-image, and autonomy. The findings suggest that, rather than adhering to a purely compensatory approach, young people and their families engage in innovative practices that demonstrate experiential knowledge and forms of technological “tinkering,” aligning with the perspective of crip technoscience. Nevertheless, these mainstream devices remain constrained by structural ableist limitations. We argue that greater recognition should be given to user knowledge and that tools should be co-constructed, as this is essential to the autonomy and inclusion of the people concerned.