Where To Start: Your Local AT Program

When you're just starting to look into assistive technology for a loved one, the options can feel overwhelming. Where do you even begin? What's worth the money? Is there a way to try something before you buy it? We recently came across a resource that answers a lot of those questions in one place, and we wanted to share it with our community.

First, a quick glossary

If you're new to this world, you'll run into a lot of acronyms and jargon. Here are some of the most common terms you'll see, both on Explore AT and across the AT space in general:

• AT (Assistive Technology): Any device, software, or equipment that helps a person with a disability do something they otherwise couldn't, or do it more easily. This can be as simple as a grab bar in a bathroom or as advanced as a speech-generating computer.
• AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication): Tools and strategies that help people communicate when speech alone isn't enough. AAC can be low-tech, like a picture board, or high-tech, like a tablet that speaks aloud what someone types or selects.
• Switch Access: A way of operating a device using one or more buttons (called switches) instead of a keyboard, mouse, or touchscreen. Switches can be activated with a hand, foot, head, cheek, or any reliable movement. 
• Switch Interface: A small piece of hardware that connects switches to a computer, tablet, or other device so the switch presses register as commands.
• Scanning: A method often used with switch access where options on a screen highlight one at a time, and the user activates a switch when the option they want is highlighted.
• Eye Gaze: Technology that lets a person control a device using only their eye movements. A camera tracks where the user is looking and treats it like a mouse pointer.
• Mounting: The hardware that holds a device, switch, or communication tool in the right position for the user, often attached to a wheelchair, bed, or table.
• DME (Durable Medical Equipment): A category of medical equipment built for repeated use, including wheelchairs, hospital beds, and certain communication devices. This term often comes up when working with insurance.
• IEP (Individualized Education Program): A legal document for students in special education that outlines goals, services, and accommodations, often including assistive technology.
• OT, PT, SLP: Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, and Speech-Language Pathologist. These professionals often help evaluate and recommend AT.
• ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act): The federal civil rights law that protects people with disabilities from discrimination and requires accessibility in many public spaces and workplaces.
• Accessibility: Designing products, environments, and services so people with disabilities can use them. Often shortened to a11y online.
• Adaptive Equipment: A general term for tools modified or designed to help someone with a disability complete daily tasks, from adapted utensils to adapted gaming controllers.
• Universal Design: The idea of designing products and spaces so they work for the widest range of people possible, with or without disabilities, from the start.

Keep this list handy. The more comfortable you get with the language, the easier it becomes to ask the right questions and find the right tools.

What is Explore AT?

Explore AT is a free central resource from the AT3 Center, designed to help individuals with disabilities, families, and caregivers find and understand assistive technology. Instead of organizing AT by diagnosis or age, the site organizes it by what you actually need a device to do, like help someone communicate, access a computer, move around their home, or participate in recreation.

You can browse by category, including:

• Computer Access
• Speech Communication
• Daily Living
• Seating, Positioning & Mobility
• Vehicle Modifications
• Recreation
• Vision and Hearing

Reading, Writing, Math, and Organization

The best part: your State AT Program

This is the piece we want every family to know about. Every state has its own AT Program that offers free services, including information and assistance, device demonstrations, and short-term device loans so you can actually try equipment before committing to a purchase. Some programs also help connect families to funding sources, grants, and low-interest loan options.

You can find your state's program here: at3center.net/stateprogram

If you've ever wished you could test a switch interface, communication device, or adapted gaming tool before buying it, this is the door you've been looking for.

Helpful databases worth bookmarking

Explore AT also links out to several searchable databases that can help you compare devices and apps:

• Bridging Apps for educational and therapeutic apps
• Tech Matrix for learning tools
• Tech Finder for apps geared toward learning and attention needs
• iAccessibility for everything Apple-related
• Unified Listing which pulls from 12 international AT databases

Tips for buying smart

Explore AT also walks through practical buying advice, things like comparison shopping between specialized AT vendors and mainstream retailers, factoring in shipping costs, reading reviews for durability and customer service, and being cautious with credit card interest when financing equipment.

Why we're sharing this

Our mission at the NARBE Foundation is to help families navigate the assistive technology world with fewer roadblocks. Resources like Explore AT make that easier, especially for families just beginning the journey. Bookmark it, share it with someone who might need it, and don't forget to look up your state's AT program. There's more support out there than most families realize.