Assistive Technologies: Principles and Practice.

Cook AM, Hussey SM. St Louis, MO 63146-3318, Mosby-Year Book Inc, 1995, hardback, 712 pp, illus, $47.95.

The use of assistive technologies has mushroomed in the past several years because of rapid technical developments. Despite this increase in technological advancement, there are mounting fears that the professional population primarily involved in recommending use and training users are falling behind in their understanding of the technologies and their potential uses. This book addresses the need for a formal text in the field of assistive technologies to aid rehabilitation professionals in the appropriate use of assistive technologies.

The fundamental unifying concept in the text is "a framework that describes the consumer participating in activities together with the assistive technologies and their contexts of use in a Human Activity Assistive Technology (HAAT) Model." The HAAT model holds that assistive technologies represent someone doing something, somewhere, with someone, through the use of assistive technologies. This book also attempts to provide the basis for discussion of current practice and descriptions of the major technological advancements currently in use.

The book consists of four main parts. Part I presents information on the assistive technology industry and develops the HAAT model from basic considerations of human performance and occupational science. The human is discussed in terms of the "operator" of the system with a certain level of skills and abilities. The activity is viewed in terms of performance areas that are determined by life roles and broken down into specific tasks. The assistive technology is described as "extrinsic enablers" that provide the basis by which human performance is improved in the face of a disability. Part 2 focuses on the consumer of assistive technologies. This section discusses the physical components of disability and how services can be distributed to the human user. Part 3 is devoted to general purpose assistive technologies that apply across a wide range of areas. These general uses include seating and positioning systems, control interfaces, computers, and electronic outputs. Part 4 involves a discussion of specific areas of application for assistive technologies. Specific areas include augmentative and alternative communication systems, mobility aids, manipulation and control aids, and sensory aids.

The strength of this text is that concepts are unified through the use of the HAAT model and reinforced as each specific application is presented. For each specific technology application, the authors discuss assessment and training of the consumer, devices that are available, and strategies for their use and evaluation of outcomes. Learning objectives, key terms, study questions, and references are included for each chapter, and case examples are included throughout the text. This book, however, does not serve the role of being a compendium of the latest and greatest technologies.

This textbook should be of great use to physical therapy students and to physical therapists who wish to acquire an up-to-date foundation for understanding major concepts in the field of assistive technology. Because this field is rapidly changing, and because physical therapists may play a primary role in the assessment and distribution of new technologies, this book can serve as a starting point. The budding "techno-therapist" should supplement the information in this book with more current literature supplied in research and technical journals.

Dr Brown is a research health scientist specializing in research designed to further understanding of movement deficits that result from brain injury and to develop new interventions that can improve functional movement. He is also a consulting assistant professor at Stanford University Medical School, and is visiting assistant Professor at Samuel Merritt College.