Full disclosure here: the author of The Illustrated Guide to Assistive Technology & Devices: Tools and Gadgets for Living Independently, Suzanne Robitaille, is a friend of the Disaboom family and we tend to read everything she writes (see her assistive technology blog). But even if we didn’t think she was terrific, we’d still recommend this book as an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to use assistive technology devices to improve their lives or the lives of others.

Assistive Technology for People With Disabilities – and Others
Although her goal is to “help people with disabilities make informed purchasing decisions that will help them succeed in their workplace and lifespace,” Robitaille also targets family members, educators, and employers as she lays out what the options are, and how they support greater levels of independence, participation, and contribution.

From AT History to Today’s Assistive Devices
The book leads off with a brief definition and overview of assistive technology, then moves into a similarly brief history of AT (which has been mostly a story of recent accomplishments, and the overwhelming impact of personal computers).

Then the guide moves into the heart of its coverage: separate chapters devoted to assistive devices for people with visual disabilities, hearing disabilities, physical disabilities, cognitive disabilities, and communications disabilities.

Assistive Technology Choices, Providers, and Financing
Each of these chapters includes brief overviews of the technology related to the disability, then goes into specifics. For example, the chapter on technologies for hearing disabilities discusses “Technologies for Non-Aid Users,” “Technologies for Aided Users,” “Music and Other Audio Accessories,” “Assistive Listening Systems,” “Alerting Devices,” “Non-Audio Technologies for Aided Users,” “Closed Captioning,” “Computer-Assisted Note-Taking,” and “Communications” ( e.g., text telephones).

In addition, three concluding chapters address the role of the ADA in relation to assistive technology, the various options available for paying for assistive tech (this section alone is worth the price of the book), and the possible future of assistive technology.

Throughout, the narrative is enhanced with tips, photos, and illustrations; prices are often included for specific equipment, and a resource list at the back of the guide provides contact information for all of the companies whose products are mentioned.

Guide to Assistive Devices Helps You Understand Your Options
As the author points out, she hasn’t tried to be all-inclusive; she has left in-depth coverage of both education and rehabilitation technologies to the experts in these fields. But Robitaille writes from experience – she has had a hearing disability since her childhood – and that is clear in both the user-friendly language and the practicality of her approach.

Bottom line: this practical guide will help you understand the broad field of assistive technology as well as enabling you to make more informed choices among assistive devices specific to your condition. It’s a valuable resource not only for those who use – or need to recommend –assistive technology devices, it’s also an especially helpful resource for organizations that help those with disabilities, including public libraries.

The Illustrated Guide to Assistive Technology & Devices: Tools and Gadgets for Living Independently, by Suzanne Robitaille. Demos Health, 2009. 194p. ISBN 9781932603. To purchase, go to Demos Health.