Glossary of Terms Delivering Assistive Technology

Glossary of Terms	Definitions	Examples
Assessment	A process through which information about the consumer is gathered and analyzed so that appropriate assistive technologies can be recommended and a plan for intervention developed.	Assessment provides information needed to adjust teaching and learning while they are still happening.  The process serves as practice for the student and a check for understanding during the learning process.  The assessment process guides teachers in making decisions about future instruction.
Client-Centered Practice	Client-centered care is a philosophical approach to service delivery and service development, ensuring that service systems are developed in partnership with older people and/or their careers.	Client-centered practice can be developed on an organizational scale, for example having a client-centered practice organizational policy; at a work unit level, for example ensuring all patients have a care plan developed that incorporates patient goals and at an individual staff member level, for example therapy times are arranged around the patient's preferred showering time.
Criteria for Service	The recognition of a need for assistive technology service triggers a referral for services.	·         Interpersonal and communication skills ·         Excellent written and verbal skills ·         Ability to work in a team ·         Good time management skills ·         Highly developed analytical and problem solving ·         skills ·         Relevant tertiary qualifications
Criterion-Reference Measurement	A measurement in which the person’s own skill level in using the system is used as the standard.	A test or other type of assessment designed to provide a measure of performance that is interpretable in terms of a clearly defined and delimited domain of learning tasks.
Device Characteristics	General properties of the hard technology portions of an assistive technology system.	Any measurable property of a device measured under closely specified conditions characteristic.
Expert Systems	Computer-based software that assists in the decision-making process for assistive technologies.	Expert systems are designed to solve complex problems by reasoning about knowledge, represented primarily as if–then rules rather than through conventional procedural code.
Functional Performance Measures	Measurements that address whether the individual can accomplish tasks that she could not do without assistive technology.	FPM is an instrument developed from grounded theory, and measures daily function in persons with Alzheimer Disease.
Follows-along	The portion of the service delivery process in which a mechanism for regular contact with the consumer is established to see whether further assistive technology services are indicated.	·         Reevaluate ·         Maintenance ·         Repair As Needed
Follow-up	The portion of the service delivery process that determines whether the system as a whole is functioning effectively.	·         Maintenance ·         Repair As Needed
Health-Related Quality of Life	The impact of health services on the overall quality of life of individuals; represents the functional effect of an illness and its consequence therapy.	HRQoL is a multi-dimensional concept that includes domains related to physical, mental, emotional and social functioning. It goes beyond direct measures of population health, life expectancy and causes of death, and focuses on the impact health status has on quality of life. A related concept of HRQoL is well-being, which assesses the positive aspects of a person’s life, such as positive emotions and life satisfaction.
Implementation Phase	The portion of the service delivery process in which the recommended technology is ordered, modified, and fabricated as necessary; set up, delivery to the consumer; and initial training takes place.	It has one key activity: deploying the new system in its target environment. Supporting actions include training end-users and preparing to turn the system over to maintenance personnel. The purpose of the Implementation Phase is to deploy and enable operations of the new information system in the production environment.
Needs Identification	The portion of the assessment during which more detailed specification of the consumer’s assistive technology needs is made.	Is the process of determining what and how a customer wants a product to perform? Needs are non-technical, and they reflect the customers’ perception of the product, not the actual design specifications, although frequently they are closely related.
Norm-Referenced Measurements	The ranking of the performance of the individual or system according to a sample of scores others have achieved on the task.	Norm-referenced refers to standardized tests that are designed to compare and rank test takers in relation to one another. Norm-referenced tests report whether test takers performed better or worse than a hypothetical average student, which is determined by comparing scores against the performance results of statistically selected group of test takers, typically of the same age or grade level, who have already taken the exam.
Operational Competence	Skills required for the individual and his aides to use the basic features of the assistive technology device.	Competencies are defined as the characteristics of an individual which underlie performance or behavior at work.
Outcome Measures	Used to evaluate the end results of the assistive technology intervention.	Outcome measures can be the assessment of the benefits of an intervention such as amplification or the goals and objectives that are established after the initial diagnostic work-up of a client. Measuring client outcomes as a QI activity obligates audiologists to address the efficacy and efficiency of client interventions.
Performance Aid	Activities of daily living, work, and productive activities, and play and leisure.	Performance Aids include technical manuals, decals, flowcharts, or other means of aiding or listing the steps for performing a task. Performance aids remove the cognitive load requirement from the performer and places it in an artifact.
Qualitative Measurement	.A measurement in which an intelligible feature that can be used to characterized the thing under investigation is obtained.	Qualitative measurements means the quality or identity of an objects. Qualitative measures don't have a definite value, Like color red, pink, purple).
Quality-of-Life Measures	Assess the effectiveness of assistive technology devices and services in the broader social context of the impact on the user’s overall life.	QOL is the general well-being of individuals and societies. QOL has a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, politics and employment. Quality of life should not be confused with the concept of standard of living, which is based primarily on income. Instead, standard indicators of the quality of life include not only wealth and employment but also the built environment, physical and mental health, education, recreation and leisure time, and social belonging.
Quantitative Measurement	A measurement in which an indefinite amount or number is obtained or the measurement may be in terms of a physical parameter such as weight	Quantitative measurements means the quantity or amount of an objects. Quantitative have a definite value, like height (4ft, 16mm).
Referral and Intake	The portion of the assessment in which consumer or someone close to him, has identified a need for which assistive technology intervention may be indicated and contacts an ATP; basic information is gathered and a determination of the match between the services provided and the identified needs of the consumer is made; finding is also identified and secured at this stage.	·         Needs Identification ·         Skills Evaluate o   Sensory o   Physical o   Cognitive o   Language ·         Device Characteristics
Strategic Competence	Skills in the use of strategies that maximize the effectiveness of the assistive technology system	Strategic competence is knowing how to recognize and repair communication breakdowns, how to work around gaps in one’s knowledge of the language, and how to learn more about the language and in the context. Strategic competence asks: How do I know when I’ve misunderstood or when someone has misunderstood me? What do I say then? How can I express my ideas if I don’t know the name of something or the right verb form to use?
Technology Abandonment	A situation in which the consumer stops using a device even though the need for which the device has been obtained still exist.	Technology abandonment may have serious repercussions for individuals with disabilities and for society.
User Satisfaction	The consumer’s perception of the degree to which the assistive technology system achieves the desired goals.	User satisfaction helps you to measure the overall quality of the service experience.
User Satisfaction Measures	Measures that address whether the assistive technology services and devices provided meet the consumer’s needs from the consumer’s point view.	It is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. Customer satisfaction is defined as "the number of customers, or percentage of total customers, whose reported experience with a firm, its products, or its services (ratings) exceeds specified satisfaction goals.