Editing Assistive technology (section)

{{short description|Assistive devices for people with disabilities}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2020}}
[[Image:Hoergeraet analog 050609.jpg|thumb|[[Hearing aid]]]]
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'''Assistive technology''' ('''AT''') is a term for assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for [[Disability|people with disabilities]] and the elderly. Disabled people often have difficulty performing [[activities of daily living]] (ADLs) independently, or even with assistance. ADLs are self-care activities that include toileting, mobility (ambulation), eating, bathing, dressing, grooming, and personal device care. Assistive technology can ameliorate the effects of disabilities that limit the ability to perform ADLs. Assistive technology promotes greater independence by enabling people to perform tasks they were formerly unable to accomplish, or had great difficulty accomplishing, by providing enhancements to, or changing methods of interacting with, the technology needed to accomplish such tasks. For example, wheelchairs provide independent mobility for those who cannot walk, while [[assistive eating devices]] can enable people who cannot feed themselves to do so. Due to assistive technology, disabled people have an opportunity of a more positive and easygoing lifestyle, with an increase in "social participation", "security and control", and a greater chance to "reduce institutional costs without significantly increasing household expenses."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Parant|first1=Aymeric |last2=Schiano-Lomoriello |first2=Sandrine |last3=Marchan |first3=Francis |date=October 2017|title=How would I live with a disability? Expectations of bio-psychosocial consequences and assistive technology use |journal=Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology|volume=12|issue=7|pages=681–685 |doi=10.1080/17483107.2016.1218555|pmid=27677931|s2cid=4797800}}</ref> In schools, assistive technology can be critical in allowing students with disabilities to access the general education curriculum. Students who experience challenges writing or keyboarding, for example, can use voice recognition software instead. Assistive technologies assist people who are recovering from strokes and people who have sustained injuries that affect their daily tasks.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sivan, Gallagher, Holt, Weightman, O'Connor, Levesley|first=Manoj, Justin, Ray, Andrew, Rory, Martin|date=6 February 2016|title=Employing the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health framework to capture user feedback in the design and testing stage of development of home-based arm rehabilitation technology|doi=10.1080/10400435.2016.1140689|journal=Assistive Technology|volume=28|issue=3|pages=175–182|pmid=26852630 |s2cid=205685927 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Calabrò|first1=Rocco Salvatore|last2=Naro|first2=Antonino|last3=Leo|first3=Antonino|last4=Bramanti|first4=Placido|title=Usefulness of robotic gait training plus neuromodulation in chronic spinal cord injury: a case report|journal=The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine|date=4 March 2016|pages=118–121|doi=10.1080/10790268.2016.1153275|pmc=5376144|pmid=27077568|volume=40|issue=1 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Vanoglio|first1=F.|last2=Bernocchi|first2=P.|last3=Mule|first3=C.|last4=Garofali|first4=F.|last5=Mora|first5=C.|last6=Taveggia|first6=G.|last7=Scalvini|first7=S.|last8=Luisa|first8=A.|title=Feasibility and efficacy of a robotic device for hand rehabilitation in hemiplegic stroke patients: A randomized pilot controlled study|journal=Clinical Rehabilitation|date=7 April 2016|doi=10.1177/0269215516642606|volume=31|issue=3 |pages=351–360|pmid=27056250 |s2cid=39455580 }}</ref>

A recent study from India led by [[Edmond Fernandes|Dr Edmond Fernandes]] et al. from [[Edward & Cynthia Institute of Public Health]] which was published in [[World Health Organization|WHO SEARO]] Journal informed that [[Geriatrics|geriatric]] care policies which address functional difficulties among older people will ought to be mainstreamed, resolve out-of-pocket spending  for assistive technologies will need to look at government schemes for social protection.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kamath |first1=Ramachandra |last2=Fernandes |first2=Edmond |last3=Dsouza |first3=Neevan |last4=Ghai |first4=Glory |last5=Kamath |first5=Surekha R. |date=June 2024 |title=Unmet Needs and Barriers to Assistive Technology in the Coastal Districts of Karnataka, India |url=https://journals.lww.com/wsep/fulltext/2024/13010/unmet_needs_and_barriers_to_assistive_technology.2.aspx |journal=WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health |language=en-US |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=5–8 |doi=10.4103/WHO-SEAJPH.WHO-SEAJPH_57_23 |doi-access=free |pmid=39167129 |issn=2224-3151|url-access=subscription }}</ref>