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Module
Objectives
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 Present
several approaches to defining assistive technology (AT)
-- its distinctions and boundaries -- as
well as an inclusive definition and several refinements.
Examine
the distinction between assistive and therapeutic technologies.
Discuss
the relationship between AT and independence which leads
to
a common theme
related to reliance on devices.
Focus
on "universal design" and the "Twelve
Essentials" of AT. |
Definitions
Assistive
technology … well first of all, what is it? Sounds
like a tautology, doesn’t it (something
redundantly true, or true by definition – like beautiful
beauty)?
Technology,
at least the kind that’s meant
to be used by people, directly, is designed to help in some way,
to reduce our effort or make some task come out better, right?
So it’s assistive, or at least purported to be, by definition.
If it weren’t, why is someone making and selling it, and
someone else buying it? But we’ll put this picky complaint
aside for the time being. After all, terminology evolves and
takes on meaning and connotation beyond the literal logic (or
illogic) of the words.
So a simple
non-judgmental definition of Assistive Technology (AT,
typically capitalized, perhaps to distinguish it from the word “at”) is the class of products that enable or support or enhance
some
aspect of function or performance of some activity for persons
with disabilities.
Notice that “selection of Assistive Technology is driven
by an individual’s functional needs, not by her/his disability
category.”1
Attendees at
meetings of RESNA (the Rehabilitation Engineering Society of
North America) or
the ASA (American Society on Aging) or
the Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation or
any of a long list of consumer, provider, and/or academic societies
involved in using, delivering and improving rehabilitation
services
and promoting independent living will hear AT used in
this
way quite consistently.
“The
primary goal of Assistive Technology is the enhancement of capabilities
and the removal of barriers
to performance.”2
This is the
standard working definition.
References
1 The
Arkansas Tech Act Project (ATAP), Guiding Principle 4 as synthesized
by Joy Zabala.
2 Ibid.
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