Perceptions of Assistive Technology Education From Occupational Therapists Certified as Assistive Technology Professionals.

Abstract

Missing from the recent literature is information about specific categories of assistive technology (AT) education provided in entry-level occupational therapy curricula. To examine occupational therapists' perceptions of the AT education received in occupational therapy entry-level programs, specifically the AT categories in which therapists received training. Quantitative survey study with Likert-scale, multiple-choice, or ordinal ranking-scale questions and three open-response questions. Format was a web-based Qualtrics survey tool; participants had approximately 2 mo to respond. Occupational therapists certified as Assistive Technology Professionals (ATPs) were recruited through the Rehabilitation and Engineering Society of North America email database (response rate of 21%; N = 148). Outcomes may contribute to determining what categories of AT are missing from occupational therapy entry-level curricula and what further education is needed to develop competency. Occupational therapists with ATP certification did not perceive their entry-level curricula as having adequately prepared them in the AT categories of technology for learning disabilities (67%), computer access (57%), augmentative and alternative communication (57%), and accessible transportation (52%). This study supports the need for occupational therapy entry-level programs to reexamine the categories and amount of AT training they currently provide. Future research with a larger and more generalized sample could provide more detailed evidence of which AT categories should be provided. This article provides evidence that to use AT in intervention, entry-level occupational therapists require increased training in specific AT categories.