Measuring the outcomes of assistive technology: challenge and innovation

Documenting outcomes is becoming an essential function in assistive technology. Successfully documenting outcomes, however, depends on having appropriate measurement instruments and methodologies available. This is a challenge, as few measures are available which target the measurement of assistive technology outcomes. New instrumentation and approaches may need to be created or older measures radically adapted for assistive technology applications. This paper reviews measurement issues specifically relevant to assistive technology outcomes assessment. Many of the issues relate to measurement theory, as it is important to understand how instruments based on traditional psychometric concepts may not be the most appropriate for applications of assistive technology outcomes assessment. Fortunately, the assistive technology field also has innovative ideas being developed and tested. These may hold some promise as we all pursue better ways to document the outcomes of our assistive technology devices and services.