assistive technology assistive technology assistive technology (at) is a term for assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and the elderly. disabled people often have difficulty performing activities of daily living (adls) independently, or even with assistance. adls are self-care activities that include toileting, mobility (ambulation), eating, bathing, dressing, grooming, and personal device care. assistive technology can ameliorate the effects of disabilities that limit the ability to perform adls. assistive technology promotes greater independence by enabling people to perform tasks they were formerly unable to accomplish, or had great difficulty accomplishing, by providing enhancements to, or changing methods of interacting with, the technology needed to accomplish such tasks. for example, wheelchairs provide independent mobility for those who cannot walk, while assistive eating devices can enable people who cannot feed themselves to do so. due to assistive technology, disabled people have an opportunity of a more positive and easygoing lifestyle, with an increase in "social participation," "security and control," and a greater chance to "reduce institutional costs without significantly increasing household expenses." in schools, assistive technology can be critical in allowing students with disabilities access the general education curriculum. students who experience challenges writing or keyboarding, for example, can use voice recognition software instead. assistive technologies assist people who are recovering from strokes and people who have abstained injuries that effect their daily tasks. hearing aid disability theory and models disability theory ableism / disablism medical model social model education mainstreaming individualized education program (iep) special needs special school special education learning disability therapy physical occupational speech societal implications disability rights movement inclusion normalization people-first language pejorative terms sexuality and disability personal assistance unlicensed assistive personnel (adls) orthotics and braces prosthetics assistive technology assisted living mobility aid physical accessibility universal design web accessibility socioeconomic assistance social security disability insurance supplemental security income ticket to work disability living allowance disabled students allowance disabled persons railcard freedom pass assured income forthe severely handicapped groupsorganizations national telecommuting institute society for disability studies disabled peoples' international (dpi) visitability wethe15 parasports special olympics paralympic games deaflympics invictus games culture disability in the arts disability art disability in the media disabilitylists adaptive technology adaptive technology and assistive technology are different. assistive technology is something that is used to help disabled people, while adaptive technology covers items that are specifically designed for disabled people and would seldom be used by a non-disabled person. in other words, assistive technology is any object or system that helps people with disabilities, while adaptive technology is specifically designed for disabled people. consequently, adaptive technology is a subset of assistive technology. adaptive technology often refers specifically to electronic and information technology access. occupational therapy occupational therapy (ot) is a healthcare profession that specializes in maintaining or improving the quality of life for individuals that experience challenges when independently performing life's occupations. according to the occupational therapy practice framework: domain and process (3rd ed.; aota, 2014), occupations include areas related to all basic and instrumental activities of daily living (adls), rest and sleep, education, work, play, leisure and social participation. occupational therapists have the specialized skill of employing assistive technology (at) in the improvement and maintenance of optimal, functional participation in occupations. the application of at enables an individual to adapt aspects of the environment, that may otherwise be challenging, to the user in order to optimize functional participation in those occupations. as a result, occupational therapists may educate, recommend, and promote the use of at to improve the quality of life for their clients. mobility impairments main article: mobility aid wheelchair propelled by attached handcycle wheelchairs main article: wheelchair wheelchairs are devices that can be manually propelled or electrically propelled, and that include a seating system and are designed to be a substitute for the normal mobility that most people have. wheelchairs and other mobility devices allow people to perform mobility-related activities of daily living which include feeding, toileting, dressing, grooming, and bathing. the devices come in a number of variations where they can be propelled either by hand or by motors where the occupant uses electrical controls to manage motors and seating control actuators through a joystick, sip-and-puff control, head switches or other input devices. often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing or input devices for caregivers. wheelchairs are used by people for whom walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, or disability. people with both sitting and walking disability often need to use a wheelchair or walker. newer advancements in wheelchair design enable wheelchairs to climb stairs, go off-road or propel using segway technology or additional add-ons like handbikes or power assists. a wheelchair propelled by attached power add-on transfer devices main article: patient lift patient transfer devices generally allow patients with impaired mobility to be moved by caregivers between beds, wheelchairs, commodes, toilets, chairs, stretchers, shower benches, automobiles, swimming pools, and other patient support systems (i.e., radiology, surgical, or examining tables). the most common devices are transfer benches, stretcher or convertible chairs (for lateral, supine transfer), sit-to-stand lifts (for moving patients from one seated position to another i.e., from wheelchairs to commodes), air bearing inflatable mattresses (for supine transfer i.e., transfer from a gurney to an operating room table), gait belts (or transfer belt) and a slider board (or transfer board), usually used for transfer from a bed to a wheelchair or from a bed to an operating table. highly dependent patients who cannot assist their caregiver in moving them often require a patient lift (a floor or ceiling-suspended sling lift) which though invented in 1955 and in common use since the early 1960s is still considered the state-of-the-art transfer device by osha and the american nursing association. walkers main article: walkera walker or walking frame or rollator is a tool for disabled people who need additional support to maintain balance or stability while walking. it consists of a frame that is about waist high, approximately twelve inches deep and slightly wider than the user. walkers are also available in other sizes, such as for children, or for heavy people. modern walkers are height-adjustable. the front two legs of the walker may or may not have wheels attached depending on the strength and abilities of the person using it. it is also common to see caster wheels or glides on the back legs of a walker with wheels on the front. treadmills bodyweight-supported treadmill training (bwstt) are used to enhance walking ability of people with neurological injury. these machines are therapist-assisted devices that are used in the clinical setting, but is limited by the personnel and labor requirements placed on physical therapists. the bwstt device, and many others like it, assist physical therapists by providing task-specific practice of walking in people following neurological injury. prosthesis main article: prosthesisa prosthesis, prosthetic, or prosthetic limb is a device that replaces a missing body part. it is part of the field of biomechatronics, the science of using mechanical devices with human muscular, musculoskeletal, and nervous systems to assist or enhance motor control lost by trauma, disease, or defect. prostheses are typically used to replace parts lost by injury (traumatic) or missing from birth (congenital) or to supplement defective body parts. inside the body, artificial heart valves are in common use with artificial hearts and lungs seeing less common use but under active technology development. other medical devices and aids that can be considered prosthetics include hearing aids, artificial eyes, palatal obturator, gastric bands, and dentures. prostheses are specifically not orthoses, although given certain circumstances a prosthesis might end up performing some or all of the same functionary benefits as an orthosis. prostheses are technically the complete finished item. for instance, a c-leg knee alone is not a prosthesis, but only a prosthetic component. the complete prosthesis would consist of the attachment system to the residual limb — usually a "socket", and all the attachment hardware components all the way down to and including the terminal device. despite the technical difference, the terms are often used interchangeably. the terms "prosthetic" and "orthotic" are adjectives used to describe devices such as a prosthetic knee. the terms "prosthetics" and "orthotics" are used to describe the respective allied health fields. an occupational therapist's role in prosthetics include therapy, training and evaluations. prosthetic training includes orientation to prosthetics components and terminology, donning and doffing, wearing schedule, and how to care for residual limb and the prosthesis. exoskeletons a powered exoskeleton is a wearable mobile machine that is powered by a system of electric motors, pneumatics, levers, hydraulics, or a combination of technologies that allow for limb movement with increased strength and endurance. its design aims to provide back support, sense the user's motion, and send a signal to motors which manage the gears. the exoskeleton supports the shoulder, waist and thigh, and assists movement for lifting and holding heavy items, while lowering back stress. adaptive seating and positioning people with balance and motor function challenges often need specialized equipment to sit or stand safely and securely. this equipment is frequently specialized for specific settings such as in a classroom or nursing home. positioning is often important in seating arrangements to ensure that user's body pressure is distributed equally without inhibiting movement in a desired way. positioning devices have been developed to aid in allowing people to stand and bear weight on their legs without risk of a fall. these standers are generally grouped into two categories based on the position of the occupant. prone standers distribute the body weight to the front of the individual and usually have a tray in front of them. this makes them good for users who are actively trying to carry out some task. supine standers distribute the body weight to the back and are good for cases where the user has more limited mobility or is recovering from injury. for children children with severe disabilities can develop learned helplessness, which makes them lose interest in their environment. robotic arms are used to provide an alternative method to engage in joint play activities. these robotic arms allows children to manipulate real objects in the context of play activities. visual impairments main article: blindness § management many people with serious visual impairments live independently, using a wide range of tools and techniques. examples of assistive technology for visually impairment include screen readers, screen magnifiers, braille embossers, desktop video magnifiers, and voice recorders. screen readers screen readers are used to help the visually impaired to easily access electronic information. these software programs run on a computer in order to convey the displayed information through voice (text-to-speech) or braille (refreshable braille displays) in combination with magnification for low vision users in some cases. there are a variety of platforms and applications available for a variety of costs with differing feature sets. some example of screen readers are apple voiceover, google talkback and microsoft narrator. this software is provided free of charge on all apple devices. apple voiceover includes the option to magnify the screen, control the keyboard, and provide verbal descriptions to describe what is happening on the screen. there are thirty languages to select from. it also has the capacity to read aloud file content, as well as web pages, e-mail messages, and word processing files. braille is a system of raised dots representing letters, numbers, punctuation, and words. as mentioned above, screen readers may rely on the assistance of text-to-speech tools. to use the text-to-speech tools, the documents must in an electronic form, that is uploaded as the digital format. however, people usually will use the hard copy documents scanned into the computer, which cannot be recognized by the text-to-speech software. to solve this issue, people always use optical character recognition technology accompanied with text-to-speech software. braille and braille technology braille is a system of raised dots formed into units called braille cells. a full braille cell is made up of six dots, with two parallel rows of three dots, but other combinations and quantities of dots represent other letters, numbers, punctuation marks, or words. people can then use their fingers to read the code of raised dots. assistive technology using braille is called braille technology. braille translator a braille translator is a computer program that can translate inkprint into braille or braille into inkprint. a braille translator can be an