Page 108 - Handbook of Electronic Assistive Technology

Chapter 4 • Assessment and Outcomes 95

Visual perception is the ability to give meaning to visual information. Tests to determine
this are available (e.g., Motor Free Perception Test and Rivermead Perceptual Assessment
Battery); however, these are not appropriate for all client groups and may rely on the client
being able to physically/verbally respond. Problems such as identifying an item within a
selection can be solved by reducing the number of items in the array or creating a greater
contrast between back and foreground or simplifying the symbols.
It is important to understand any hearing loss so that visual alerts are put in place of
auditory cues. Clients may have equipment to support hearing loss but may not tolerate
their use, or only use them in certain settings.
Finally, an area to consider within the assessment is the cognitive ability of the client
and ensuring that we are supporting them with an activity and equipment appropriate
to their level of understanding. Some centres have the opportunity to have input from a
psychologist to support this area, who can give guidance on the level of understanding a
client has and their ability to learn.
To provide the appropriate equipment, we need to know whether the client can retain
information about how to operate the equipment and how many steps they might cope
with to successfully access a function. In some instances, a client may use a single switch
to operate a device successfully. When the task becomes more abstract or complex the suc-
cessful operation of the device diminishes.
Details such as whether the client can read and to what extent, and do they understand
text, symbols, pictures or photos, are required.
Having gathered all this information, there is an opportunity to consider the range of
equipment, the access options and display set-ups which best fit the needs of your client.
Each area of AT requires knowledge of the range of equipment available for that
activity, and compatibility with other types of AT. Increasingly, we need to consider not
only the ‘specialist’ equipment but also mainstream options to meet clients’ needs.
Detailed assessment of the physical, sensory and cognitive needs of your client and
what support they have in place is then added to this to determine the optimum solu-
tion for a given activity.
There needs to be an opportunity for the client to trial a range of solutions to determine
which fits best with their needs, and training for them and their support workers/family
to ensure the equipment is embedded into daily usage. Reviews are then required on a
regular basis to ensure the client’s needs continue to be met and support workers remain
confident in usage.

Follow-Ups and Reviews

Reviews will enable the team that assessed the client to evaluate their prescription and
implementation. There are occasions when after having considered all of the foregoing,
the process fails. Despite initial success, use of the device diminishes with time and the
client abandons the technology (e.g., priority changes, physical ability changes or external
factors play a role). The reasons for this may not be apparent at the time of assessment.