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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.
Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" and "indirect access" meaning compatibility with a person's assistive technology.
Wheelchair basketball is a style of basketball played using a sports wheelchair. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as the sole competent authority in wheelchair basketball worldwide. FIBA has recognized IWBF under Article 53 of its General Statutes.
Universal design is the design of buildings, products or environments to make them accessible to people, regardless of age, disability or other factors. It addresses common barriers to participation by creating things that can be used by the maximum number of people possible. Curb cuts or sidewalk ramps, which are essential for people in wheelchairs but also used by all, are a common example of universal design.
Paratransit is the term used in North America, also known by other names such as community transport (UK), for transportation services that supplement fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. Paratransit services may vary considerably on the degree of flexibility they provide their customers. At their simplest they may consist of a taxi or small bus that will run along a more or less defined route and then stop to pick up or discharge passengers on request. At the other end of the spectrum—fully demand responsive transport—the most flexible paratransit systems offer on-demand call-up door-to-door service from any origin to any destination in a service area. In addition to public transit agencies, paratransit services may be operated by community groups or not-for-profit organizations, and for-profit private companies or operators.
Adaptive clothing is clothing designed around the needs and abilities of people with varying degrees of disability, including congenital disabilities, acquired disabilities, age and temporary disabilities, as well as physical disabilities. Adaptive clothing is influenced by factors such as age, disability type, level of independence, mobility and dexterity, as well as whether a person requires help when dressing, such as from a caregiver. People who struggle with zippers, shoelaces, buttons or even fabrics and texture due to a type of disability may need adaptive clothing. Most adaptive clothing designs are taken from general-market clothing, the comfort of which began to increase in the 1950s, with new technologies such as elastic waistbands and stretchy fabrics.
A mobility scooter is an electric vehicle and mobility aid mostly auxiliary to a power wheelchair but configured like a motorscooter. When motorized they are commonly referred to as a power-operated vehicle/scooter, or electric scooter. Non-motorized mobility scooters are less common, but are intended for the estimated 60% of wheelchair users who have at least some use of their legs. Whilst leg issues are commonly assumed to be the reason for using scooters, the vehicles are used by those with a wide range of conditions from spinal to neurological.
Rehabilitation engineering is the systematic application of engineering sciences to design, develop, adapt, test, evaluate, apply, and distribute technological solutions to problems confronted by individuals with disabilities. These individuals may have experienced a spinal cord injury, brain trauma, or any other debilitating injury or disease. Functional areas addressed through rehabilitation engineering may include mobility, communications, hearing, vision, and cognition, and activities associated with employment, independent living, education, and integration into the community.
A handcycle is a type of human-powered land vehicle powered by the arms rather than the legs, as on a bicycle. Most handcycles are tricycle in form, with two coasting rear wheels and one steerable powered front wheel. Despite usually having three wheels, they are also known as handbikes.
Queen Elizabeth's Foundation for Disabled People is a charity that works with both children and adults with physical and learning disabilities or acquired brain injuries to help them gain new skills and increase their independence, helping them to achieve their goals for life. Its name is abbreviated to 'QEF'.
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability.
A motorized wheelchair, powerchair, electric wheelchair or electric-powered wheelchair (EPW) is a wheelchair that is propelled by means of an electric motor rather than manual power. Motorized wheelchairs are useful for those unable to propel a manual wheelchair or who may need to use a wheelchair for distances or over terrain which would be fatiguing in a manual wheelchair. They may also be used not just by people with 'traditional' mobility impairments, but also by people with cardiovascular and fatigue-based conditions.
The RoughRider wheelchair is a low-cost, durable and appropriate technology wheelchair designed for use in developing countries. The design of the RoughRider originally was open-source and has been revised with input from wheelchair users in over 40 countries since 1980. The RoughRider was created to fill the demand for a reliable wheelchair for over 20 million disabled people in the developing world who need a wheelchair and do not have one.
Move United is an American non-profit organization devoted to the promotion of parasports among youths and adults with physical disabilities. The organization operates community parasports programs via over 150 local chapters across the country. Move United was formed in 2020 as a merger of two organizations; Disabled Sports USA, which was first founded in 1956 and based in Rockville, Maryland, and Adaptive Sports USA, a second organization founded in 1967. Move United is a member of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. As of 2020, the organization operates programs serving 100,000 residents in 43 states. In 2020, the two organizations merged as Move United, introducing a new identity by Superunion. A goal was announced for the organization to serve 90% of the U.S. population with local programs by 2028, in time for the 2028 Summer Paralympics in Los Angeles.
Driver rehabilitation is a type of rehabilitation that helps individuals facing challenges caused by a physical or cognitive impairment or age to achieve safe, independent driving or transportation options through education or information dissemination. Professionals who work in the field use adaptive equipment and modified vehicles to help people attain independent community mobility.
Invalid carriages were usually single seater road vehicles, buggies, or self-propelled vehicles for disabled people. They pre-dated modern electric mobility scooters and, from the 1920s, were generally powered by small gasoline/petrol engines, although some were battery powered. They were usually designed without foot-operated controls.
Susan E. Sygall is an American disability rights advocate and civil rights leader. She is the CEO of Mobility International USA (MIUSA), which she co-founded in 1981.
Rainer Küschall is a Swiss tetraplegic, car racer, inventor and designer.
Everest & Jennings was a manufacturer of mobility and adaptive equipment. Everest & Jennings was the first company to mass-produce wheelchairs.
Juan Salgado is a Chicago-based community leader. Since 2017, he has been chancellor of the City Colleges of Chicago. He is a 2015 recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship.
References
- ↑ About Whirlwind. Whirlwind Wheelchair International.
- ↑ "Independence Today". www.itodaynews.com. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
- ↑ Mr. Mobility: Wheelchair pioneer assembles global network of designers. San Francisco Chronicle, April 19, 1999.
- 1 2 VENANT, ELIZABETH (1989-07-26). "Engineering a Life : 'Genius' Award Winner Ralf Hotchkiss Is Devoted to Helping Others Live as Fully as He Does". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
- ↑ "Independence Today". www.itodaynews.com. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
- ↑ Meet the Fellows: Ralf David Hotchkiss. MacArthur Fellows Program, August 1, 1989.
- ↑ Mathews, Jay (1988-04-03). "PARENTING FROM A WHEELCHAIR". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
- ↑ Ralf Hotchkiss. Independence through Mobility
- ↑ The Center for International Rehabilitation
- ↑ VENANT, ELIZABETH (1989-07-26). "Engineering a Life : 'Genius' Award Winner Ralf Hotchkiss Is Devoted to Helping Others Live as Fully as He Does". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035 . Retrieved 2019-02-27.
- ↑ "MacArthur Foundation". www.macfound.org. Retrieved 2018-07-22.