Assessing Individual Functioning and Disability - Assistive Technology Assessment - page 16

result of the interaction between the disability dimension and supports; second, giving
support to people improves their independence, relationships, social participation, and
global well-being; third, the assessment and selection of supports are carried out by tak-
ing into consideration the aspects and domains of a person's daily life; and fourth, the
supports defined as “services” are one type of support provided by professionals and
agencies. Also the concept of support, like others, is culturally determined and there-
fore subject to cultural variability in relation to the importance of rehabilitative practice
and use, although Schalock and Luckasson highlight that its “conceptual and practical
link to assessment is widely observed” (2004, p. 143). It is, then, in the relationship that
entails individualized support to the assessment process that we can reach the goal of a
diagnosis (i.e., the intervention) so that the primary purpose of diagnosis is intervention
(Schalock and Luckasson 2004, p. 143).
1.3 Where Individual Functioning and Disability
Are Assessed: Assistive and Rehabilitation
Technology Service Delivery Models
The current literature base demonstrates that the appropriate strategy for the design and
distribution of assistive technology (AT) depends on many factors, including the availabil-
ity of personnel, raw materials, and device parts, and the interaction of all of these factors
can complicate AT service delivery models. Health-care workers and policy-makers need a
knowledge base in the extant ways that AT may be provided to end-users to improve their
well-being and participation. The issue is multivariate and complex and various models
have begun to be developed that encourage innovation and service delivery. The exten-
sive variety of models may be captured in six overarching categories, but each of these
categories is general and made up of many more subcategories of models. In addition,
these categories are not perfectly discrete, but rather they are hybridized or “multimodal”
types of models that overlap. Nevertheless, the following six overarching categories are an
important way to conceptualize the universe of transferring AT to persons with disabili-
ties (Adya et al., in review):
1. Charity/donation model : Mass distribution of free recycled or low-cost AT
2. Community-based rehabilitation model : Providing services for independence and
integration through the use of local resources in collaboration with community
stakeholders
3. Individual empowerment model : Matching the person with the appropriate AT and
facilitating empowerment through personal construction of AT using available
materials, do-it-yourself instructions, and home-based solutions
4. Entrepreneurship model : Local entrepreneur or foreign entity designing a solution
to match an identified need, developing distribution networks, and commercial-
izing the solution
5. Globalization and large-scale manufacturing model : A product already developed or
in development locally or in developed regions is transferred to resource-limited
environments (RLEs) through multiple methods, such as workshops and factories