Improving assistive technology economics for people with disabilities: Harnessing the voluntary and education sectors
Name
Li-2009-Improving assistive technology economics for people with disabilities Harnessing the voluntary and education sectors.pdf
Size
483.79 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
92615d08b9e535f078f1749881f04b01
Author(s)
Li, William
Sellers, Clara
Date Issued
April 2010
Journal
IEEE Toronto International Conference Science and Technology for Humanity (TIC-STH), 2009
Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Citation
Li, W., and C. Sellers. “Improving assistive technology economics for people with disabilities: Harnessing the voluntary and education sectors.” Science and Technology for Humanity (TIC-STH), 2009 IEEE Toronto International Conference. 2009. 789-794. © Copyright 2010 IEEE
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Assistive technology (AT) describes any device or other solution that is used by people with disabilities to assist in performing tasks or activities. While potentially useful, the availability of appropriate AT for people with disabilities can be problematic due to high costs, limited funding sources, and a lack of expertise on what solutions might exist for their needs. This paper explores the potential power of technical volunteers in collaboration with the education sector to address the problem of high AT costs for certain classes of assistive devices by providing a volunteer force of skilled engineers, designers, and other technicians who donate their time and goodwill to building appropriate, low-cost assistive devices. It presents a number of case studies on AT-related volunteer organizations and post-secondary educational initiatives, and discusses the possible growth of such initiatives. We propose a path forward to build a social movement of volunteers, modeled after the success of organizations such as Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Canada, Teach for America, and CanAssist at the University of Victoria to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1109/TIC-STH.2009.5444391
