The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #44966

Dawn Carlson, PhD, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, 330 C Street SW, Suite 3421, Washington, DC 20202, 202-401-2068, dawn.carlson@ed.gov and Nathaniel Ehrlich, PhD, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 1230 Eisenhower Place, Room 427, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.

The Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA), under its Technical Assistance Project, an activity funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) under the Assistive Technology Act of 1998, contracted with the University of Michigan, Survey Research Center, Division of Surveys and Technologies to conduct a nationally representative survey of the use and need of assistive technology and information technology (AT/IT) by individuals with disabilities. Besides estimating use and need for assistive technology and information technology (AT/IT) the survey used a large number of open-ended questions, and interviewers collected anecdotes about people’s perceptions of disability and assistive technology.

We found that half of the respondents used some type of AT device or environmental accommodation. A third of the respondents reported needing AT devices or environmental accommodations that they did not have. Lack of adequate information, assistance, and inability to pay were mentioned as the major causes of unmet need for AT. However, the context in which people viewed disability and need for assistance, and the items persons mentioned assist them in performing their daily tasks shed new light on this topic. These and other personal accounts of disability and assistive technology use will be presented.

Learning Objectives:

• Obtain the most recent findings of assistive technology use and need from a national survey of persons with disabilities;
• Learn about dual frame design and survey methodology specific to the needs of persons with disabilities; and
• Learn about how persons with disabilities interact with the assistive technology delivery system.

Keywords: Disability Studies, Disability Policy

Related Web page: No related web page available at this time

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: No products or services will be discussed
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.