Individuals with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities Use of Assistive Technology Devices in Support Provision

Abstract

During a four-year period, from 1988–1992, two significant events occurred that greatly influenced assistive technology (AT) and intellectual disability: the passage by Congress of the Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988 and publication by the American Association on Intellectual and Development Disabilities (AAIDD) of Mental Retardation: Definition, Classification, and Systems of Supports (Luckasson et al. 1992), which emphasized the importance of support provision. In the years since, the two (AT and support provision) have been aligned closely. The support provision led to the development of the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS; Thompson et al., 2004), which includes seven areas of support that pertain to specific AT devices. This article reports the results of survey research that involved 158 respondents—service providers who identified AT devices used by their clients with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD) to support activities in the seven SIS areas. Findings showed that clients were using 201 assistive devices. The results also revealed that the majority of clients do not use AT devices as supports in the areas surveyed.