Tempo: design of an app that depicts Time as a visual concept for people with Down Syndrome

Abstract

People with Down Syndrome struggle with mathematics and abstract concepts, and as such, are unable to use digital and analog clocks. The result of such difficulty is that most people with DS need someone to remind and explain them committments at anytime, undermining independence, dignity and in some cases, causing a permanent status of anxiousness. Tempo is a prototype of a mobile app that allows people with Down Syndrome to understand the passage of time, and does so by representing time as visual metaphor. Using the application, users are enabled to pinpoint (rather than calculate) where the living moment is in time, how distant (in time) an upcoming event is, how much free time there is left in a day, and when. Upon testing Tempo with a restricted pool of users, the solution appears to be working, affecting the study of time-related struggles in relation to Down Syndrome and challenging the definition of Time as a concept that demands abstract and mathematical thinking.