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Purpose
The purpose of this statement is to clarify the role and describe the distinct perspective of occupational therapy practitioners (occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants)1 in providing ethical, competent occupational therapy services using assistive technology (AT) as an intervention to improve clients' performance, enable participation, or maintain their meaningful engagement in occupation. This document also may be used to inform recipients of occupational therapy services, the public, and other health and education professionals about the process, expertise, and professional reasoning used by occupational therapy practitioners related to the application of AT.
Background
Occupational therapy practitioners have a long-standing, documented expertise in providing client services that incorporate technology, even before the U.S. government provided a legal definition of assistive technology.2 In the early 1900s, technology was embedded in occupational therapy practice. Floor looms, human-powered saws, and jigs to hold therapy projects were used extensively and managed expertly by practitioners. After World War II, adaptive technologies appeared prolifically in the occupational therapy literature. In her Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecture, Muriel Zimmerman (1960) articulated a "basic philosophy and technical approach [to the] selection, design . . . and methods of fabrication" of AT to enable occupational performance by occupational therapy practitioners (p. 17). Since the passing of the TechnologyRelated Assistance Act of 1988 and its subsequent reauthorizations, the literature has actively described AT use by occupational therapy practitioners (American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 2010; Angelo & Smith, 1993; Gitlow, Dininno, Choate, Luce, & Flecky, 2011; Gitlow & Sanford, 2003; Goodrich, 2003, 2004, 2005; Goodrich, Gitlow, & Schoonover, 2009; Hammel & Angelo, 1996; Hammel & Smith, 1993; Kanny, Anson, & Smith, 1991) and provided references to the evolution of occupational therapy knowledge and skills with regard to AT (Goodman, Tiene, & Luft, 2002; Goodman et al., 2012; Lenker, 2005; Lenker, Scherer, Fuhrer, Jutai, & Deruyter, 2005; Rust & Smith, 2005; Watson, Ito, Smith, & Andersen, 2010).
Educational standards for entry-level occupational therapy practice now mandate training in the use of AT to enhance occupational performance (Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education® [ACOTE®], 2012). Furthermore, ACOTE (2012) mandates that entry-level occupational therapists should be able to evaluate, design, fit, and fabricate ATs.
Definitions
Occupations are "daily life activities" (AOTA, 2014b, p. S4) in which individuals engage for their purpose,...