Lack of awareness

• Three out of five believe education, awareness and interest in assistive technology need to be improved. One in five feels that this effort is virtually non-existent.

• Two-thirds agree that improved education of consumers and providers would be among the best ways to enhance utilization of assistive technology.

Shortage of trained experts

• Nearly nine in 10 believe that not enough students are entering the field of assistive technology, due to lack of awareness about the profession or society's need for technology, as well as inadequate compensation and benefits.

Lack of collaboration

• Three-quarters agree that people with disabilities have some, but not enough, input during the development of assistive technology. 5% say people with disabilities have virtually no input at all.

• Nearly two-thirds believe there isn't enough best-practice sharing among professionals.

Plan for Improving Technology Transfer

To heighten the focus on improving patient outcomes and quality of life, Ms. Gammon offered a series of recommendations, which were drawn from the collective opinions of survey respondents, Clarkson University researchers and physical therapists and from examples of ongoing initiatives throughout the country.

1. Get the 800-pound gorilla on board. Keep the pressure on, and work together to enlist federal government support for coverage of every single piece of technology a person needs to function more independently and have a better quality of life.

2. Design products with mass appeal. Incorporate more universal design principles in research to broaden the application of new products and devices. Attract interest from manufacturers and venture capitalists by making assistive technology more commercially viable, and convince in
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Contact: Brenda Timm
1-212-704-4593
Edelman Public Relations
5-Nov-2004