What is Assistive Technology?
The term assistive technology - often referred to as AT - typically refers to a device or piece of physical equipment used to assist a person with a disability and help him or her become more successful, independent and productive.
According to the Technology-Related Assistance for People with Disabilities Act, "assistive technology" is defined as any item, piece of equipment or product system that increases, maintains or improves the functional abilities of an individual with disabilities. It can be purchased, custom-made or modified.
- Vision
- Hearing
- Communication/language
- Mobility/dexterity
- Cognitive/learning
Assistive technology services also fall into the AT category. AT services refer to any service that directly helps an individual with a disability choose, acquire or use an assistive technology device.
Today, the Abledata catalog - a clearinghouse for assistive technology products and resources - lists more than 25,000 assistive technology products from more than 2,000 companies. Hundreds more are added regularly.
Assistive technology can be low-tech or leading edge. Even the simplest devices can be quite liberating. For example, an emergency buzzer hooked up to a neighbor's home can allow a person with a disability to live on their own rather than have overnight staff. Pencil grips, step stools and simple stabilizers are all "low-tech" forms of assistive technology that can be critical to living, learning and working independently.
At the other end of the spectrum, you'll find sophisticated devices and solutions that would make James Bond envious. For example, computer technology and voice synthesizers allow people who cannot speak or move their hands to write and deliver speeches to legislative committees. Braille readers, computerized communication aids, specially-designed lifts and vehicles, hearing aids and remote control switches provide new independence for thousands of people with disabilities.
The future of AT is limited only by the imagination of self-advocates, parents, teachers, employers, scientists, engineers and others with the creativity, talent and training to make dreams come true.
In the future, look for assistive technology that...
- Harnesses minute muscle movements and other bioelectrical activity to operate communication devices, environmental controls, computers and other technology.
- Expands natural language to allow videos with signing to be sent over the Internet.
- Integrates email, instant messaging, paging and real-time TTY, as well as voice-to-text messaging via the Internet.
- Immediately converts spoken words to text with 95% accuracy.
Want to learn about some common AT applications that are already available? Click here for AT examples!