1. Assessing the Match of Person and Assistive Cognitive Technology Measure Conclusions Acknowledgments Gratitude is extended to participants, interviewers and collaborators of the Institute for Matching Person & Technology. This work was supported by Grant number HD052310 from the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research/NIH. Marcia Scherer, Ph.D 1, Daniel K. Davies, M.A. 2, and Steven Stock, M.A. 2 1. Institute for Matching Person & Technology, Inc., 2. AbleLink Technologies, Inc. Problem Help get more CST to consumers who can benefit from them. One way to help achieve this is by discovering, and then meeting, their cognitive support needs. To discover consumer CST needs and preferences, the goal was to develop a pre-prototype measure for use by persons with cognitive disabilities that addresses: 1.Characteristics of the CST user 2.Characteristics of the social and physical environments of CST use, 3.Characteristics of the most desirable CST. Goal In spite of the fact that the provision of assistive technology (AT) to people with cognitive disabilities is encouraged in a succession of U.S. statutes, rehabilitation professionals state that they do not have an effective process for matching consumers who have cognitive disabilities with the most appropriate cognitive support technologies (CST) for their use. The lack of CST is often associated with less independence, safety, help-seeking, health and participation in education, work, and community life. Methods The methods involved: (a) recruiting professional experts to assist in the development of the content of the measure, and (b) obtaining professional, consumer and caregiver feedback on the process of completing the pre-prototype measure for assessing and matching consumers with appropriate CST. Institute for Matching Person & Technology 486 Lake Road Webster, NY 14580 USA http://members.aol.com/IMPT97/MPT.html 1. Psychosocial factors underlie many instances of device non-use, partial and inappropriate use. These factors need to be more thoroughly explored and attended to in order to achieve improved outcomes. Participants unanimously agreed that the CST PA has potential to provide this key information. 2. CST utilization is important for activity and participation outcomes. 3. CST assessment and person-device matching requires appropriate questions and methods of assessment. 4. As a result of this Phase I study, the CST PA is now ready for further development, testing and validation in Phase II. 5. The respondents (professionals, consumers, and caregivers) were highly positive towards the CST PA. They especially liked the way the forms (a) engage the consumer in the process of technology evaluation and (b) structure the discussion to include key considerations that might be missed otherwise (such as topics in which the professional might have some discomfort in raising, personal and social/environmental influences). Sample Multiple Select Question - After Response Sample Multiple Choice Question - After Response Sample Multiple Choice Question - Before Response Log-In Screen Cognitive Support Technology Predisposition Assessment (CST PA) The CST PA is divided into four primary sections:  Consumer ratings of functional capabilities (5-point Likert scale),  Quality of life/ subjective well-being in the context of the ICF domains of Activity and Participation (5-point Likert scale),  Consumer personal and psychosocial characteristics (yes/no).. This section is comprised of eight subscales as follows: Mood, Self-Esteem, Self- determination, Autonomy, Family Support, Friend Support, Therapist and Program Reliance, and Motivation to Use Support.  Consumer ratings of their past technology/support use and their expectations of use of the CST under consideration. Participants The project convened a group of 11 individuals nationwide with expertise in CST, assessment, and cognitive disability and they represented the disciplines of Neuropsychology, Rehabilitation Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Rehabilitation Engineering, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Speech- Language Pathology. Twelve stroke survivors and their caregivers at the University of Rochester Medical Center/Strong Memorial Hospital and twelve persons with brain injury (BI) and their caregivers at the University of Rochester/Unity Health System completed the measures. Results Consumer Participants= 24 Primary Diagnosis: stroke = 49%; TBI=46%; other neurological= 5% Age Group: adult= 83%; geriatric= 17% Gender: females = 29%; males = 71% Ethnicity: Hispanic/Latino = 23%; Asian = 1%; Black/African American = 35%; White = 41% Technologies used most often (in order of frequency mentioned) = cell phones, mobility aids (wheelchairs, canes), memory aids (notebooks, planners) computers Caregiver Participants= 19 Relationship: spouse: 81.8%; parent: 9.0%; child: 9.0% Gender: females=80.9%; males=19.1% Ethnicity: Hispanic/Latino=23%; Black/ African American = 35%; White = 42% Key Comments from National Experts Experts agreed that no items on the version of the CST PA that they reviewed should be eliminated. They also unanimously agreed that there needs to be an option to use the CST PA as an interview protocol for those who prefer not to use, or cannot use, the computerized version. A suggestion made was to have a brief assessment before the questionnaire to determine what kind of format the consumer should receive based on his or her capabilities and preferences (e.g., computer, paper, read out loud). More results will be discussed at our platform presentation