Q & A on Customized Employment: Assistive Technology as a Workplace Support

[Excerpt] Despite the promise of assistive technology, many people with significant physical disabilities remain in facility-based employment programs. Underutilization of AT to facilitate competitive employment is related to a number of critical issues. This includes lack of information on available technology; lack of coordination across services; lack of training on how to use devices for users, families, and professionals; and lack of coordination in the evaluation and selection, as well as lack of funding of assistive technology alternatives. This fact sheet will provide some general information about assistive technology and provide resources that the reader can access for more information

Assistive Technology at Work

[Excerpt] Although an immediate transition into an institution of higher learning is ideal for some students who relied on assistive technology in high school, many make the decision to enter the workforce after graduation. It is estimated that about 85 percent of students with learning disabilities (LD) transition directly from school to work.1 Furthermore, statistics addressing employment among people with disabilities indicate that the workplace consists of approximately 18.6 million people with disabilities, ranging in age from 16 to 64. This represents about 56% of all people with disabilities in this age category.2 Given the vast number people with disabilities in the workplace, the potential for assistive technology (AT) to increase productivity is great

Towards solutions for assistive technology

Introduction What is assistive technology? The agreed World Health Organisation definition is "Assistive technology can be defined as “any piece of equipment, or product, whether it is acquired commercially, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities” (WHO, 2011) The array of possible assistive technology products and solutions reflects the diversity of the needs of people with disabilities – ranging from digital technologies that can support social engagement, communication, employment, learning, memory, planning and safe guarding services through to products and devices that support mobility and personal care requirements. Typically as the complexities of assistive technology solutions increase, so do the costs and potential risks (if not appropriately set up or maintained). This document is primarily focused on the Assistive Technology solutions derived from aids and equipment. Home and vehicle modifications and prosthetics have not yet been explored in the same level of detail and will be subject of further work. Proposed approach The proposed assistive technology service approach has been developed in line with the strategic goals of the NDIA. It is one aspect of a broader strategic approach the NDIA has to using technologies to enhance its engagement and management of relationships, services and supports with suppliers, providers, participants and the Australian community. The NDIA’s goal is to use technology in its various forms to ensure that services, supports, and communications between all stakeholders are as streamlined as possible and services are timely and effective. This document outlines the elements of a proposed service delivery approach for individuals to access assistive technology solutions and is based on the three key objectives outlined above

Policy and Practice Brief: Funding of Assistive Technology to Make Work a Reality, Part II; Using the Americans with Disabilities Act to Fund AT

This article is a continuation of “Funding Assistive Technology to Make Work a Reality” (Policy and Practice Brief #3). This brief reviews the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with a particular emphasis on how the ADA can be used to ensure that a person with a disability has access to needed assistive technology to do their job, or to ensure the individual has access to the job site

Development of a technology adoption and usage prediction tool for assistive technology for people with dementia

This article is available open access through the publisher’s website at the link below. Copyright @ The Authors 2013.In the current work, data gleaned from an assistive technology (reminding technology), which has been evaluated with people with Dementia over a period of several years was retrospectively studied to extract the factors that contributed to successful adoption. The aim was to develop a prediction model with the capability of prospectively assessing whether the assistive technology would be suitable for persons with Dementia (and their carer), based on user characteristics, needs and perceptions. Such a prediction tool has the ability to empower a formal carer to assess, through a very limited amount of questions, whether the technology will be adopted and used.EPSR

Wonders never cease

Describes an assistive technology project for visually impaired children in Malawi

Policy and Practice Brief: Funding of Assistive Technology to Make Work a Reality

This brief provides a definition of assistive technology and a discussion of funding sources for assistive technology including: public schools; state vocational rehabilitation agencies; Medicaid; Medicare; and, SSA’s Plan for Achieving Self Support. Eligibility is reviewed for each along with other protections and rights

Investigating the success factors of expert users to inform device development

Objective: Expert user testing is a well recognised tool within user experience and human computer interaction design. Within the domain of assistive technology device design, however, this technique seems to be little used. It is suggested that studying the success factors of expert assistive technology device users may provide a valuable source of data to inform development of assistive technology devices. This paper presents an example of this technique, within the context of a number of studies carried out by the authors, using the example of preliminary data from a study informing the development of an innovative Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device. Main Content: The paper presents a qualitative study whose objective was to influence the design and further development of an innovative voice-input voice-output communication aid (Vivoca) which has previously reached proof-of-concept stage. The Vivoca device is designed for people with dysarthria and this dictates a number of specific constraints and considerations. In order to understand how Vivoca could be designed to be used successfully by people with dysarthria, this study aimed to identify the factors associated with expert users' successful use of current AAC devices. In order to allow comparison, the study included users with some understandable speech and also those with no understandable speech. The study procedure was designed to provide a profile of participants' communication methods and to identify the factors that participants felt made their communication successful. Results: Preliminary results from the study (currently underway) are presented, including a qualitative analysis of interview data, and data profiling participants' communication methods and context. Initial data has highlighted the very specific requirements for a communication aid design for people with some understandable speech. Conclusion: Study of expert users may provide an effective tool to help inform assistive technology device development

Awareness, requirements and barriers to use of Assistive Technology designed to enable independence of people suffering from Dementia (ATD)

This article is available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund. Copyright @ 2012 IOS PressThis study investigated the awareness and use of assistive technology for people with dementia. The aim of the study was to explore barriers to the uptake of, and the unmet needs for, assistive technology for dementia (ATD) The work was carried out with family carers of people with dementia because carers are often the purchasers, end users and main beneficiaries of this type of technology. Focus groups were used to explore carers’ views on ATD use, and the problems that might be addressed by ATD, in order to develop a questionnaire for dementia carers. The questionnaire was administered at Alzheimer’s Society carer support groups in South Bucks and in Hillingdon Borough (UK). None of the 16 focus group participants or the 42 respondents to the questionnaire had any personal experience of ATD. The dementia carers reported a number of concerns, problems and unmet needs that could be addressed by existing, commercially available ATD products. Some needs for new technology development were identified in the study, but the lack of awareness of ATD appears to be the most important barrier to technology adoption

Tech for Understanding: An Introduction to Assistive and Instructional Technology in the Classroom

This paper examines the different types of assistive and instructional technology available to students who are classified with one or more of the thirteen disabilities outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (referred to as, IDEA). While the roles of assistive and instructional technology are different, there are many instances where their uses may overlap. Thus, while these two categories will be discussed separately, it should be noted that some information may be applied to each category and more than one piece of technology. The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to the world of assistive and instructional technology for those who may be new to its concepts, particularly parents who have recently learned that their child may benefit from extra assistance and future educators who are interested in learning more about the devices they will be using to reach their students. Each of the thirteen disabilities will be discussed briefly, and then each disability will be assigned several types of assistive and instructional technology that serve it well. This will by no means be an exhaustive list of all types of technology available to teachers, parents, and students. However, it will attempt to provide a varied glimpse at some of the options that are available and how they may help children who are struggling to access the curriculum