Assessment and Evaluation of Assistive Technology Needs
The Evaluation Process
A defensible AT evaluation is team-based, functional, and context-driven. Typical phases: referral and question clarification, data gathering across environments, feature matching, trial/implementation, and follow-up. The feature-matching process is central: identify the student's needs and the task demands, then match features (not brands) of tools to those needs.
Data Sources
Gather triangulated data: observation, work samples, interviews, formal and informal assessments, and environmental analysis. Consider sensory, motor, cognitive, and communication profiles. Document baseline performance so effectiveness can be measured later.
Traps
- Tool-first thinking: recommending a specific device before defining the need. Questions reward need-first, feature-second reasoning.
- Single-setting evaluation: assessing only in a resource room misses generalization demands.
- Ignoring the environment and support personnel: a device that no one can maintain or that disrupts the classroom is a poor match.
- Confusing AT evaluation with a standardized eligibility assessment-AT evaluation is individualized and functional, not norm-referenced.
Worked Example
A student can't copy from the board due to visual fatigue. Trap answer: "purchase a tablet." Better reasoning: define the task (near-point copying), environment (distance viewing), and features needed (magnification, contrast, adjustable viewing distance), then trial candidate solutions and collect data on speed and accuracy.
Rule of Thumb
No recommendation without a documented need, a feature rationale, and a plan to measure outcomes.