Developing a multimedia encyclopedia for little people and their families

Among a variety of disabilities, persons with achondroplasia, i.e., little people, have relatively minor symptoms though they have small bodies. Thus, they can learn how to lead an independent life. This paper presents a study on the development of a multimedia encyclopedia for little people and their families. Due to their different roles, this study examines how little people and their families reacted to the multimedia encyclopedia. In total, 18 little people and 15 family members participated in this study. Their interaction behavior was recorded in log files and their perceptions were identified by a questionnaire. The results indicated that little people preferred to use a search mechanism while their family members favored to use pop-up windows. Either little people or their families thought that the multimedia encyclopedia provided some new information that they did not know. However, family members' attention, confidence and satisfaction with the multimedia encyclopedia were higher than those of the little people. This study can contribute to the knowledge of how to develop individualized multimedia encyclopedias that can accommodate the different preferences of little people and their family members.