Assistive Technologies: Principles and Practice

Master the assistive strategies you need to make confident clinical decisions and help improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. Based on the Human Activity Assistive Technology (HAAT) model developed by Albert Cook, Sue Hussey, and Janice Polgar, Assistive Technologies: Principles and Practice, 6th Edition, provides detailed coverage of the broad range of devices, services, and practices that comprise assistive technology. This text offers a systematic process for ensuring the effective application of assistive technologies ― and focuses on the relationship between the human user and the assisted activity within specific contexts. New to this edition is updated and expanded content on autonomous features of wheelchairs and vehicles, electronic aids to daily living, robotics, sustainability issues related to assistive technology, and much more.

• NEW! Enhanced readability and navigation streamline content with a user-friendly layout for a smoother reading experience and quick reference
• NEW! Enhanced focus on clinical reasoning and clinical decision-making processes in assistive technology service delivery
• NEW! Updated information on autonomous features of wheelchairs and vehicles, electronic aids to daily living (including mainstream products), and robotics
• NEW! Integration of global resources and guidelines on assistive technology and wheelchair provision, including the WHO/UNICEF Global Report on Assistive Technology and the WHO Wheelchair Provision Guidelines
• NEW! Expanded content on global and sustainability issues related to the provision/development of assistive technology products and service delivery
• NEW! Enhanced ebook version, included with every new print purchase, allows access to all the text, figures, and references, with the ability to search, customize content, make notes and highlights, and have content read aloud
• Human Activity Assistive Technology (HAAT) framework locates assistive technology within common, everyday contexts for more relevant application
• Explicit applications of the HAAT model in each of the chapters on specific technologies and more emphasis on the interactions among the elements make content even easier to understand
• Focus on clinical application guides application of concepts to real-world situations
• Study questions and chapter summaries in each chapter help assessment of understanding and identification of areas where more study is needed
• Coverage of changing assistive technology needs throughout the lifespan emphasizes how assistive technology fits into different stages of people’s lives and contributes to their full participation in society
• Principles and practice of assistive technology provide the foundation for effective reasoning
• Ethical issues content offers vital information to guide assistive technology service delivery

Professor Emerita Janice Miller Polgar works at the School of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.

Senior Affiliate Professor Pedro Encarnação works at Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisboa, Portugal.

Emma Smith works at the Assisting Living and Learning Institute, Maynooth University, Ireland.

Professor Emeritus Albert M. Cook, Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.