Assessment Concepts

Before proceeding with this module, it is important to understand some of the key assessment terms and concepts that will be referenced throughout the discussion of specific AT assessment structures. These concepts are the building blocks for the assessment models that will be discussed later.

• Assistive Technology Assessment - the process through which information about a person with a disability is gathered and analyzed so that an appropriate technology is recommended. It also includes the intervention plan.
• Reliability - the consistency with which an assessment instrument measures a particular construct ; the idea that the evaluation instruments used yield consistent results.
• Validity - the ability of an instrument to measure what it intends to measure both effectively and accurately.
• Multidisciplinary Team - a team consisting of various professionals such as teachers, parents, therapists, special education professionals, school administrators, doctors, and AT professionals who perform AT assessments.
• Ecological Evaluation – the part of the AT assessment that takes into account the various settings where AT will be used (e.g. home, work, school) and the people (e.g. family members, co-workers, friends, other people with disabilities) the individual will interact with in these settings.
• Functional Evaluation – an evaluation of an individual's functional capabilities and functional limitations within his or her immediate environment. This process helps determine the proper AT device for an individual.
• Functional Capabilities – motor, sensory, cognitive, and language abilities an individual has the ability to use in order to perform tasks.
• Functional Limitations – difficulties an individual has in relation to his/her motor, sensory, cognitive, and language abilities that can affect different aspects of independent living, academic, and work environments.
• Person-Technology Match - the result of a successful recommendation and provision of an AT device based on a thorough and accurate AT assessment.

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