Assistive Technology (AT)

There are many kinds of assistive technologies and there are also many definitions. I like this one from the US National Multiple Sclerosis Society:

"A term used to describe all of the tools, products, and devices, from the simplest to the most complex, that can make a particular function easier or possible to perform."

Note that it doesn't mention disability at all, and I think this is also important. We don't really think of our spectacles or our TV remote controls as assistive technology, but they are. I like the idea of technology that can be used by many different people regardless of their abilities; technology that is not just used by people with disabilities but by the ordinary user who doesn't think of themselves as being disabled, but is just using a technology because it works really well. This takes AT out of the 'disability only' sector and makes it more inclusive, or at least our perception about it.

Note

For a humourous and fun introduction to AT check...