Trust, respect, and training: Principles of care for service professionals supporting adults with intellectual disabilities in community residential programs.

Adults with intellectual disabilities in community residential programs receive services from direct support professionals (DSPs) intended to facilitate community engagement. As part of a rate study for Washington State's Developmental Disabilities Administration on community residential services, adults in these programs were asked to provide their perspective on the quality and effectiveness of their care. Twenty-five adults with intellectual disabilities were interviewed focusing on daily activities, staffing, and living situations.

COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Implications for employment and higher education.

Background: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal law that protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination in all areas of public life. The ADA contributes to equal opportunity across policy areas, including the interconnected domains of higher education and employment. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, emerging research has begun to document the disparities in impact on people with disabilities, among other marginalized groups.

Infusing disability equity within rehabilitation education and practice: A qualitative study of lived experiences of ableism, allyship, and healthcare partnership.

Background: Addressing issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has become central in implementing inclusive and socially responsible rehabilitation education and clinical practice. Yet, the constructs of disability and d/Deaf identity and culture, as well as ableism and allyship are often overlooked. Or, these concepts are approached using outdated philosophical perspectives that pathologize disability and fail to prioritize the lived experiences, expertise, intersectionality, and self-identified needs of people with disabilities.

Accessibility Considerations in the National Children's Study.

In the National Children's Study (NCS), assessments were proposed and developed that used a wide range of modes of administration (e.g., direct in-person interviews, telephone interviews, computer assisted interviews, self-administered questionnaires, real time and recall observations, and physical examinations).

Perspectives on a mobile application that maps assistive technology resources in Africa.

Background: Access to assistive technology (AT) is poor in African countries because of a lack of knowledge, resources, services and products. A mobile application (app), the AT-Info-Map, was developed to map AT availability in southern Africa.

Objectives: This article aimed to describe users' and suppliers' perceptions of the AT-Info-Map app.

Lessons from the pilot of a mobile application to map assistive technology suppliers in Africa.

A pilot project to develop and implement a mobile smartphone application (App) that tracks and maps assistive technology (AT) availability in southern Africa was launched in Botswana in 2016. The App was developed and tested through an iterative process. The concept of the App (AT-Info-Map) was well received by most stakeholders within the pilot country, and broader networks.

Test accommodations for individuals with neurological conditions completing the NIH Toolbox-Cognition Battery: An evaluation of frequency and appropriateness.

Objectives: First, to evaluate the frequency with which individuals with neurological conditions require test administration accommodations for the NIH Toolbox-Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB). Second, to evaluate the appropriateness of accommodations provided by administrators, including adherence to NIHTB-CB Reasonable Accommodations Guidelines.

Method: Adults with traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, or stroke (n = 604) completed the NIHTB-CB and other assessments as part of a multisite study.

Interdisciplinary Approach to the Development of Accessible Computer-Administered Measurement Instruments.

Principles of fairness in testing require that all test takers, including people with disabilities, have an equal opportunity to demonstrate their capacity on the construct being measured. Measurement design features and assessment protocols can pose barriers for people with disabilities. Fairness in testing is a fundamental validity issue at all phases in the design, administration, and interpretation of measurement instruments in clinical practice and research.

Conducting Accessible Research: Including People With Disabilities in Public Health, Epidemiological, and Outcomes Studies.

People with disabilities are largely absent from mainstream health research. Exclusion of people with disabilities may be explicit, attributable to poorly justified exclusion criteria, or implicit, attributable to inaccessible study documents, interventions, or research measures. Meanwhile, people with disabilities experience poorer health, greater incidence of chronic conditions, and higher health care expenditure than people without disabilities.

Assistive technology in resource-limited environments: a scoping review.

Purpose: It is estimated that only 5-15% of people in low and middle income countries (LMICs) who need assistive technologies (AT) have access to them. This scoping review was conducted to provide a comprehensive picture of the current evidence base on AT within LMICs and other resource limited environments.

Method: The scoping review involved locating evidence, extracting data, and summarizing characteristics of all included research publications.

Assistive technology access and service delivery in resource-limited environments: introduction to a special issue of Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology.

This special issue addresses access to and service delivery of assistive technology (AT) in resource-limited environments (RLEs). Access to AT is complicated not simply by limited funds to purchase AT, but by larger ecosystem weaknesses in RLEs related to legislation and policy, supply, distribution, human resources, consumer demand and accessible design. We present eight diverse articles that address various aspects of the AT ecosystem.

Cognitive support technologies for people with TBI: current usage and challenges experienced.

Purpose: We investigated the current use of off-the-shelf cognitive support technologies (CSTs) by individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI), the challenges they and their caregivers face when using these technologies, the functional areas where support is needed, and their current experience in learning new technologies.

Method: We conducted two focus groups with participants with TBI and their caregivers. Focus group interactions were captured using recordings and a court reporter.

Implementing technology-based embedded assessment in the home and community life of individuals aging with disabilities: a participatory research and development study.

Purpose: The goal of the study was to investigate the accuracy, feasibility and acceptability of implementing an embedded assessment system in the homes of individuals aging with disabilities.

Method: We developed and studied a location tracking system, UbiTrack, which can be used for both indoor and outdoor location sensing. The system was deployed in the homes of five participants with spinal cord injuries, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis and late effects of polio.

Using the NIH Toolbox in special populations: considerations for assessment of pediatric, geriatric, culturally diverse, non-English-speaking, and disabled individuals.

Background: In order to develop health outcomes measures that are relevant and applicable to the general population, it is essential to consider the needs and requirements of special subgroups, such as the young, elderly, disabled, and people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, within that population.

Methods: The NIH Toolbox project convened several working groups to address assessment issues for the following subgroups: pediatric, geriatric, cultural, non-English-speaking, and disabled. Each group reviewed all NIH Toolbox instruments in their entirety.

Conducting systematic evidence reviews: core concepts and lessons learned.

A systematic review (SR) is an essential component of evidence-based practice, because it synthesizes information on a particular topic that is necessary to inform health-related decision making. The purpose of this article is to document the process of producing a high-quality SR within the field of rehabilitation in contrast to other fields (eg, pharmaceutic research). We describe the notable methodologic challenges to producing high-quality SRs for rehabilitation researchers.

Realizing the potential of accessible ICTs in developing countries.

Purpose: To raise the awareness of policy makers, economic development practitioners, and service providers about the importance of making information and communication technology (ICT) based international economic development in low- and middle-income countries inclusive of people with disabilities and to discuss the role and importance of addressing the complete ICT and assistive technology (AT) ecosystem to ensure sustainable, scalable, and affordable access to ICTs and ICT-based programs.

Method: This commentary piece draws upon recent literature and practice cases to examine the role of accessible ICTs in international development.

Results: Accessible ICTs can enhance economic participation and prevent exclusion from participation in international development programs.

The development of a clinical outcomes survey research application: Assessment Center.

Introduction: The National Institutes of Health sponsored Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) aimed to create item banks and computerized adaptive tests (CATs) across multiple domains for individuals with a range of chronic diseases.

Purpose: Web-based software was created to enable a researcher to create study-specific Websites that could administer PROMIS CATs and other instruments to research participants or clinical samples. This paper outlines the process used to develop a user-friendly, free, Web-based resource (Assessment Center) for storage, retrieval, organization, sharing, and administration of patient-reported outcomes (PRO) instruments.

Information needs of people with spinal cord injuries.

Background/objective: To determine the information needs, level of Internet access, and current and preferred formats and sources of information of adults with spinal cord injuries (SCIs). Individuals with SCIs have a high lifetime risk for medical complications and other health conditions secondary to their injury. Many secondary conditions can be prevented or mitigated through appropriate self-care and/or self-management.

Indoor wayfinding: developing a functional interface for individuals with cognitive impairments.

Purpose: Assistive technology for wayfinding will significantly improve the quality of life for many individuals with cognitive impairments. The user interface of such a system is as crucial as the underlying implementation and localisation technology. We studied the user interface of an indoor navigation system for individuals with cognitive impairments.

Considerations for developing interfaces for collecting patient-reported outcomes that allow the inclusion of individuals with disabilities.

PROMIS (Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System) is developing a set of tools for collecting patient reported outcomes, including computerized adaptive testing that can be administered using different modes, such as computers or phones. The user interfaces for these tools will be designed using the principles of universal design to ensure that it is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. We review the rationale for making health assessment instruments accessible to users with disabilities, briefly review the standards and guidelines that exist to support developers in the creation of user interfaces with accessibility in mind, and describe the usability and accessibility testing PROMIS will conduct with content experts and users with and without disabilities.

Impact of the design of U.S. history textbooks on content acquisition and academic engagement of special education students: an experimental investigation.

We used randomized controlled trials to compare the impact of the designs of 2 United States history textbooks on the content acquisition and behavior of 8th-grade students identified for special education services or identified as low achieving. We also investigated whether teachers differed in their use of instructional activities and questioning strategies based on the type of text used. Our findings suggest that students learned more history content, were more actively engaged, and answered more questions correctly when using the experimental textbook.