Assistive Technology Devices and Services

People who use a wheelchair often have needs for other kinds of assistive technology devices in addition to their manual and power wheelchair. Many of those kinds of devices as categorized as Assistive Devices or Adaptive Equipment for the Activities of Daily Living. On WheelchairNet an extensive listing of these kinds of devices can be found within Products and Services as ADL Products.

A related category of devices are referred to as Assistive Technology Devices. These devices use electronics or microprocessors and are able to accomplish more sophisticated daily living tasks. In some cases they compensate for an impairment such as loss of speech in other cases they modify how another kind of technology -- such as a personal computer -- is used. These products are also listed in Products and Services as Other Assistive Technology.

The following resources on this page are intended to help consumers, parents, therapists, teachers and others find the resources they might need. These resources can help with understanding the function of assistive technology devices and how they can contribute to increased choice and control of the activities of every day life.

• Assistive Technology Evaluation or Information Resources
• Assistive Technology Products
  • Link to Other Assistive Technology Products that are listed on WheelchairNet.
• Finding an Assistive Technolgy Professional - the RESNA database of Assistive Technology Practitioners (ATPs).
• World Wide Web Accessibility
• Go to the WheelchairNet Discussion Area to ask questions or share your thoughts on this topic with others.

Assistive Technology Evaluation or Information Resources:

• All the State Tech Act Projects - a listing based of the federally funded Assistive Technonology projects in each state.
  • What is Assistive Technology?
• Alliance for Technology Access - a national organization with a network of local resource centers.
• Assistive Technology Outcomes Website - measuring the success of AT services.
• Apple Computer Disability Resources
• Applied Science and Engineering Labs - University of Delaware and AI duPont Hospital for Children.
• Association of Driver Educators for the Disabled - organization of those who teach adaptive driving.
• Assistivetech - informationon AT devices and services created by Georgia Tech Center for AT and Environmental Access
• ATRC @ The University of Toronto - excellent resources on a variety of computer access issues.
• AZtech, Inc. - technology transfer or getting AT to the marketplace.
• Blissymbolics Communication International
• Bloorview MacMillan Center/Toronto - AT and other services for children and youth.
• Center for an Accessible Society - a new way of thinking about disability.
• CAST - Center for Applied Special Technology - a national center for equal access to educational technology through universal design based in Boston, MA.
• Center on Information Technology Accommodation - job accommodation for Federal employees. Click on IT Accessiblity (Sec. 508).
• Center for Universal Design - at the University of North Carolina.
• Center for Literacy and Disability Studies - focused on increasing literacy.
• Closing The Gap - an annual conference + great a website with resources for AT in Rehab and Special Education.
• CSUN Conference - excellent annual AT conference sponsored by California State University Northridge.
• Coalition of Rehab Engineering Research - promotes research in the area of rehabilitation engineering.
• DO-IT - a U. of Washington project for teens with disabilities who are interested in technology.
• Duke University Medical Center - provide a full range of clinical services to individuals with communication disorders.
• Federal Resource Center for Special Education - Special and General Education Links.
• Gallaudet University - resources for hearing impairment.
• IBM Special Needs Screen Reader and Voice Type.
• Job Accommodation Network - JAN - a national project for making work & workplaces accessible
• Lekotek Play Center - accessible play through toy lending libraries and compuplay centers.
• LD Resources - Richard Wanderman's collected resources & software.
• Matching Person & Technology - a tool for creating match between consumer and AT devices.
• Microsoft Accessibility
• NARIC - National Rehabilitation Information Center.
  • ABLEDATA - a searchable database of information about AT devices at NARIC.
• NIDRR - National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research, the primary Federal funder of many AT projects, studies, and training programs.
• National Center for Accessible Media - making the WWW, CD's, DTV and other electronic media accessible.
• Orthotics & Prosthetics Online
• Project EASI - Equal Access to Software and Information. A project focused on computer access at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
• RESNA - The Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America.
• RESNA's SIG-11: on Computer Applications
• RERC on Wheeled Mobility - The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh
• SCI Pilot - a resource describing the AT experiences of individuals with quadriplegia from their own perspective
• TechConnections - Information about AT at Georgia Tech University.
• Trace R & D Center - a rich resource for AT solutions, documents and policy.

The World Wide Web is a generous source of information for solving problems related to disability. In order for persons with disabilities to have full access to the WWW is important to understand and use the accessibility guidelines developed to help standardized access to WWW pages. The following resources will be helpful:

Web Accessibility

• Bobby - a website for testing the accessibility of any website
• Lynx Browser - download a text only browser that works on Mac, Win 95/98/NT, VMS, OS2 or DOS 386.
• NCSA Mosaic Access Page
• WC3 - the Web Accessibility Initiative.
• Trace R & D Center -designing a more usable world - access to information.

Last Updated: 3-2-2006