Assistive Technology Associations
Family Guide to Assistive Technology - Provides overview of assistive technology options for parents whose children may benefit from assistive devices. In addition, parents are guided through the maze of advocacy and funding options. See the glossary of terms related to assistive technology, which will help parents speak knowledgably with assistive technology vendors and service providers.
HomeMods.org - Offers strategies and products for aging in place. Information for policy-makers, universal design manufacturers, consumers, researchers, etc. Contains a library, links, and online course information. A products section illustrates accessible designs for everyday products.
IDEA Center at Buffalo - Home of the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Universal Design at Buffalo. Includes sections on innovative ideas (“Bright Ideas”), publications, software, and videos on accessibility as well as universal design. Lots of photographs and illustrations.
Inclusive Design Education Resource - From the Helen Hamlyn Research Centre Design Council, this site looks at different accessibility issues around the home and recommends solutions. It takes you each step of the way with pictures and discussion.
National Center for Technology Innovation. UD Readings Collection - The NCTI “advances learning opportunities for individuals with disabilities by fostering technology innovation.” Within individual categories, e.g., Universal Design, Assistive Technology, Grant Writing, etc., are multiple topical articles. Conference and expo information can also be found here.
Trace Research and Development Center - The Trace Research and Development Center is a part of the College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison. The center is dedicated to developing ways to make standard information technologies and telecommunications systems more accessible and usable by people with disabilities.
Assistive Technology Magazines
RESNA - RESNA’s (Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America) mission is to “improve the potential of people with disabilities to achieve their goals through the use of technology.” RESNA produces three publications: Assistive Technology Journal, Conference Proceedings, and RESNA News. Articles are available online to members or for purchase.
Assistive Tech: National Public Website on Assistive Technology - An extensive overview of all things related to assistive technology. Includes an extensive glossary as well as information on products and vendors. Information can be searched by function and activity. Also provides ATWiki, an online encyclopedia of AT information.
ATTO: Assistive Technology Training Online Project - Provides information about assistive technology products that assist students with disabilities learn most effectively. Includes an assistive technology decision section to help parents and teachers choose the correct assistive technology product or method.
Assistive Technology Books
Assistive Technologies: Principles and Practice
By Albert M. Cook and Susan Hussey
Mosby, 2001. ISBN 0323006434
This book offers information on specific assistive technologies for people with a variety of disabilities. Each chapter leads off with an introduction that provides useful background information before launching into the assistive technology specifics. Elaborate illustrations supplement the text.
Assistive Technology: Access for All Students
By Linda Johnston, Larry Beard, and Laura Bowden Carpenter.
Prentice Hall, 2006. 224 p. ISBN 0131175696
A guide based on the principles of Universal Design and aimed primarily at educators of disabled students. The information is also applicable to settings other than the classroom.
Living in the State of Stuck: How Assistive Technology Impacts the Lives of People With Disabilities
By Marcia J. Scherer
Brookline Books, 2005. 250p. ISBN 1571290982
This book discusses the psychological reactions and coping abilities that people with disabilities have to assistive technology. It compares the willingness of people to use assistive technology based on whether they were born with a disability or joined the disability community later on.
See Related Articles
Learn how assistive technology for your home can help you maintain a healthy lifestyle, in Wheelchair Exercises for People with Disabilities.
Discover a computer program that can help those with difficulty writing or typing on a computer, in Hand Tremors, Shaky Hands on Your Computer?
