Tutorial Eight: Assistive Technology

As part of our class looking at assistive technology we had a guest lecturer Dave Speden come to talk to us about how he uses assistive technology in his Occupational Therapy practice. It was extremely fascinating :). We got to play around with some of the things he uses to assists the students at the school where he works to engage in their learning.

So what is assistive technology?

The United States Access Board (2000) defines assistive technology as: 

"Any item, piece of equipment, or system, whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized, that is commonly used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities."

The United States Access Board (2000). Electronic and information technology accessibility standards (section 508). Retrieved from http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/standards.htm

This is a very broad definition. It covers equipment such as an easy reach

as well as advanced technology systems such as complete home automation. What I like about this definition is that it includes a certain DIY aspect. I can imagine "modified" or "customised" referring to the things that a client has adapted for their own assistance. One example of this is when I was on placement a client used an ordinary scarf to lift their legs into bed. 

In class we looked at heaps of different assistive technologies such as switches, a smart board, communication devices, an IPad and an electric wheelchair. These are only some of the many different types of technologies available to aid clients and therapists. 

Commonplace equipment such as digital cameras and cellphones can be very valuable for assisting in practice. I'm going to talk a bit about digital cameras as assisitive technology.

Here goes.........

As the saying goes "A picture is worth a thousand words"

Cameras are a great way of recording things. They capture a visual image of the situation and allow for accurate recall. They can be used in so many ways in Occupational Therapy practice. Therapists can use them (with informed consent of course) to record clients' progress and therapy sessions. In community they can be used to take pictures to aid in the preparation of housing modifications. They can be used to show correct positioning or to  demonstrate how a new piece of equipment would work. Cameras can also be used as a therapy tool. Some clients find photography a very meaningful occupation and others may just like to have a go. Photos can be used to enhance presentations. In the lecture that we had photos were used to illustrate points and show other assistive equipment that could be used. 

The price of a digital camera depends on what kind is required. They vary in price, compact models can be around $100 for a really cheap one to nearly $3000 and digital system cameras (which are a bit more like the old analog in that the lenses can be changed and they are bigger) they range from about $500 to extremely high end nearly $45,000 (not really necessary for OT practice).

This webpage describes a collaboration between OT's and design students one of the designs they came up with was a camera stand to enable an individual to continue photography which is a meaningful occupation for them.

And here is a research study which looks at the benefits of using photos to give voice to people with mental illness. The participant were given cameras and askede to take photos that would tell their experience of mental illness.