Mobile Social Assistive Technology: A Case Study in Supported Employment for People with Severe Mental Illness

Assistive technology so far has been focusing on promoting greater independence for people with disabilities by enabling them to perform tasks on a personal basis. Assistive technology that leverages networks of caregivers, who may be nomadic or even remain on the go constantly, has not been developed into useful services or even explored systematically. In this paper, we first propose a general architecture of mobile social networks where individuals of the networks form a virtual community, conversing and connecting with one another based on mobile communication. Second, mobile social networks are implemented in collaboration with a supported employment program set up for people with severe mental illness.