Assistive Technology (AT)

Assistive Technology & Employment

Over the last decade, rapid changes in technology have increased our access to information and changed the ways in which we do business, participate in formal education, communicate with others, travel and recreate. A specialized area in technology called assistive technology has had dramatic effects on the lives of people with disabilities. Assistive technology (AT) refers to products or systems that enhance the ability of a person to function independently. These tools range from low tech to high tech and may include items as simple as Velcro to complex tools like text reading software that can read aloud text that appears on computer monitors or eye gaze technology that allows someone without hand control to operate a computer.

Assistive technology has increased the number of opportunities for individuals with disabilities who want to enter the job market. Its more frequent use also allows employers to recognize that this population constitutes an often-overlooked segment of the potential workforce. By leveling the playing field it has allowed society to benefit from the many talents and skills of individuals with disabilities who are now employed in all occupational areas and at all levels, from entry level through executive positions.

The Research and Evaluation Center has been working on a national study examining the critical factors in the successful employment of individuals with disabilities who use assistive technology in order to work. The data collected in the fist phase of the study comes from 40 individuals interviewed who use AT in employment situations. In-depth interviews were conducted to gather information regarding critical factors in employment success, barriers, and recommendations for enhancing successful employment experiences. The participants were from various regions in the country, were employed in a wide range of tings and represented all levels of the employment ladder.

Several themes were generated from the interviews; these included personal characteristics, public attitudes, technology advances, legislation and education. Some of the interesting findings were:

  • Low cost and low-tech devices often made the difference between having and not having a job. These might be items that most of us don't even consider to be assistive technology. In fact they may be commonly used tools or pieces of office equipment like speakerphones that allow someone without hand use to access the telephone, or email access that enhances communication for those who can't speak.
  • Although the ADA has been instrumental in increasing opportunities and creating more equal access for employees with disabilities who use AT, some feel that it is a double edged sword in that it has created fear of litigation and made employers wary of interviewing and hiring individuals with disabilities. Some interview participants expressed concerns that legal accountability created a focus on the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law.
  • Education on several fronts was addressed as being critical. The appropriate education of children who need AT, methods to teach children to use that AT within the classroom, the importance of teachers understanding AT issues, the importance of teacher preparation programs that infuse information on technology into the curriculum and the importance of ongoing corporate education were all addressed by participants.
  • In terms of personal characteristics, individuals cited their persistence and determination as important.

The following are documents that have been produced for the purpose of disseminating the findings of this study up to this point:

Prezant, F. (2000). “Assistive Technology and the World of Work.” The Centerpiece, fall, 10-12.

Prezant, F. & Rodriguez, A. (2001). “Duct Tape and Other Types of Assistive Technology.” NBDC Review, 10, 3-9.

Rodriguez, A. & Prezant, F. (2001). Assistive Technology and Employment: Critical Factors and Barriers to the Employment Success of Individuals with Severe Disabilities. A Snapshot of Individual Perspectives. Albertson, NY: National Center for Disability Services.

Prezant, F. & Rodriguez, A. (2002). “A Success Story — Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Dirk Hohenkirk.” NBDC Review, 6, 3-4.

Rodriguez, A. & Prezant, F. “Study Looks at Employment of Assistive Tech Users.” Able Newspaper. July 2002.

Rodriguez, A. & Prezant, F. “Better Interviews for People with Disabilities.” Workforce. August 2002.

The findings have also been shared with various audiences at national conferences:

Prezant, F. (2000, October). Assistive Technology in Action: Personal Perspectives in Corporate tings. Panel presentation presented at National Business and Disability Council Annual Conference. NY, NY

Prezant, F. (2000, December). Critical Factors in the Employment of AT Users With Significant Disabilities. Poster session presented at Annual TASH Conference. Miami, Fl

Prezant, F., & Rodriguez, A. (2001, April). Critical Factors in the Employment of Assistive Technology Users: Implications for Educators. Lecture presented at the Annual Convention and Expo of the Council for Exceptional Children. Kansas City, MO.

Rodriguez, A., & Prezant, F. (2001,July). Successful Employment of Individuals with Significant Disabilities who use Assistive Technology. Poster session presented at the Association on Higher Education and Disability Annual Conference, Portland, OR

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Assistive Technology & Post Secondary

National Survey of Disabled Student Service Offices and Assistive Technology

The Research and Evaluation Center of the National Center for Disability Services has recently conducted a survey of Disabled Student Services (DSS) at colleges and universities across the country. The survey, which was implemented in collaboration with the Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD), measured the use and accessibility of instructional and assistive technology. With almost 500 DSS professionals responding, here are some of the major findings:

  1. Costs of assistive technology purchases and upgrades were found to be inhibiting service provision to students with disabilities.
  2. Knowledge, awareness and understanding of assistive technology among students and DSS staff were found to facilitate service provision to students with disabilities.
  3. Scanners were found to be the most common type of assistive technology on campus while recorded texts were rated as the most useful.
  4. DSS offices in general are not highly involved with a variety of other campus entities including Career Services and the campus technology infrastructure as a whole.

These findings were recently presented at the Association for Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) Conference in Portland, Oregon and the Fourth International Conference on Higher Education in Innsbruck, Austria. AHEAD has committed resources to address professional development for DSS staff in response to these and other findings. The complete article, including implications and recommendations developed from this survey, was published in the Journal of Special Education and Technology:

Michaels, C., Prezant, F., Morabito, S. M. & Jackson, K., (2002). Assistive and instructional technology for students with disabilities: A national snapshot of postsecondary service providers. Journal of Special Education Technology. 17(1), 5-14.

A reprint of the article may be obtained by contacting .

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University Pilot Project

Infusing Awareness About the Role of Assistive Technology in Employment Success: A Case Study Approach for Rehabilitation Professionals and Students.

The project was conducted with the collaboration of Indiana University of Pennsylvania; with the purpose of developing a method that would increase the awareness of undergraduate rehabilitation students regarding the potential of technology to help persons with disabilities become employable. It focused on innovative ways of infusing real consumer experiences with technology and rehabilitation services, into the pre-existing structure of a course on medically related disabilities. The project’s interventions included: use of case studies in which outcomes were facilitated by technology use, in-class activities, provision of on-line resources, and online mentoring opportunities with employed technology consumers. The impact of the curriculum can be assessed using pre and post-test measures, included in the module.

For a copy of the instructors’ manual, which includes the student assessment tools, contact:

Fran Prezant
Director, Research and Evaluation Center

516-465-1602

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Links & Resources

Americans with Disability Act

www.adata.org
ADA Technical Assistance program: comprehensive resource for information on the Americans with Disabilities Act, great site if you're looking for information, materials, technical assistance, or training on the ADA. Will provide contact information on local sites.
www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm
Department of Justice's ADA Home Page. Contains details on enforcement and technical assistance from the Department of Justice, with toll-free information line.
http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/kinder/
Copies of the Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 regulations, technical assistance manuals, and extensive links to disability resources.

Web Accessibility

wally.rit.edu
The mission of this organization is to make information technology accessible to people with disabilities with the use of adaptive technology. Provides informative publications and workshops.
www.w3.org
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) develops interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential as a forum for information, commerce, communication, and collective understanding.
http://ncam.wgbh.org/webaccess/index.html
National Center for Accessible Media

Employment

http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/
Provides information about employment issues to employers, rehabilitation professional and people with disabilities.
www.dol.gov/dol/odep/
Office of Disability Employment Policy (formerly the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities). The mission of ODEP is to bring a heightened and permanent long-term focus to the goal of increasing employment of persons with disabilities through policy analysis, technical assistance, and development of best practices, as well as outreach, education, constituent services.
www.mainstreaminc.net
National, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving competitive employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Mainstream provides specialized services and acts as a bridge that links people with disabilities, employers, and service providers.

Learning Disabilities

www.ldonline.org
the interactive guide to learning disability for parents, teachers and children
www.floridatechnet.org/bridges/
Focus on Adults with Learning Disabilities
www.frostig.org
For fifty years, the Frostig Center has specialized in helping individuals with learning disabilities reach their full potential.
www.ldanatl.org/index.aspxl
The Learning Disabilities Association of America is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to identifying causes and promoting prevention of learning disabilities and to enhancing the quality of life for all individuals with learning disabilities and their families.

Media

www.acb.org/Magazine/
The Braille Forum is the monthly magazine of the American Council of the Blind. In addition to the versions here on the web site, The Braille Forum is available in Braille, audio cas te and large print. It contains information of interest both to ACB members and the general public.
www.disabilityworld.org
A bimonthly web-zine of international disability news and views.
www.closingthegap.com
Closing The Gap, Inc. is an organization that focuses on computer technology for people with special needs through its bi-monthly newspaper, annual international conference and extensive web site.
www.ablenews.com
A monthly newspaper that is published for, by and about the disabled.
www.eop.com/cd.html
CAREERS & the disABLED is the nation's first and only career-guidance and recruitment magazine for people with disabilities who are at the undergraduate, graduate, or professional level. Each issue features a special Braille section.

General Information

www.washington.edu/doit/
Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology: Information on this program that helps individuals with disabilities transition to college and careers.
www.icdi.wvu.edu
Provides a resource menu of links to data, organizations and services around the country.
www.communityinclusion.org
Institute for Community Inclusion is committed to developing resources and supports for people with disabilities and their families, fostering interdependence, productivity, and inclusion in school and community tings.
www.disabilityhistory.org
This project will present images and information about disabled historical figures and events in an attempt to give an introduction to disability social history.
www.nichcy.org
NICHCY is the national information and referral center that provides information on disabilities and disability-related issues for families, educators, and other professionals. Special focus is on children and youth (birth to age 22).
www.ncd.gov
The National Council on Disability (NCD) is an independent federal agency making recommendations to the President and Congress on issues affecting Americans with disabilities.
www.heath-resource-center.org
The HEATH Resource Center of the American Council on Education is the national clearinghouse on postsecondary education for individuals with disabilities.
www.wid.org
The World Institute on Disability is a nonprofit, international public-policy center dedicated to carrying out cutting edge research on disability issues and overcoming obstacles to independent living.
www.nod.org
The National Organization on Disability is the only national disability network organization concerned with all disabilities, all age groups and all disability issues.
www.rfbd.org
Provides taped educational books, Talking Books. Provides resources to individuals who can't read standard print because of visual, physical or perceptual disability.

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Assistive Technology

catea.gatech.edu/projects.php
Provides information on AT for the workplace and everyday life. Resources include information on state tech act projects, state vocational rehabilitation agencies, national information and referral programs.
www.infinitec.org
It has a great section on AT in the real world, looks at uses of AT in school, work, home and the community.
www.dreamms.org
Parent & professional service agency that specializes in AT, related research, development & information dissemination.
www.pluk.org/AT1.html
Family Guide to AT" This site offers an introduction and definition to AT, its uses, benefits and some case studies.
www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/astecharc.htm
Every Wednesday BW Online has a column on AT.
www.ataccess.org
The Alliance for Technology Access -Provides information and demonstrations of adaptive computer technology.
www.worksupport.com
It offers information, resources and research regarding the employment of people with disabilities.
tap.gallaudet.edu
Gallaudet University's Tech Assistance Program focuses on technologies that eliminate barriers faced by deaf and hard of hearing people.
www.cforat.org
Center for Accessible Technology. This organization helps teachers, counselor, parents and people with disabilities explore computer systems, adaptive devices and software. Articles on specific AT.
www.taconicresources.net
Provides links to websites about AT, products such as screen readers, voice recognition, TTY's. Also, agencies and databases.

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