AT assessments
Assessment of what assistive technology is required always involves at least the client - the AT end-user - and an AT provision expert. But typically a carer of the client and at least one other care professional are also involved in the process. The flow diagram below gives a simplified number of steps showing what happens during the whole provision process from the point of view of a professional service based in the public health or social care sectors.
Usually a client will identify for themselves a need they have, but sometimes a third party will assist in this. A carer may realise there is a need, then they and the client agree it, and decide to take action. But if it is a school child, much of this initial activity may be pushed along by the need to educate him or her.
In the next step typically a care or educational professional becomes involved, reviewing the decision to request AT with the client - to ensure it is what the client wants and that it seems appropriate to request the help from the expert service. There may for example be an alternative local solution.
Assuming a referral arrives at the desk of the AT expert, they have to review the request and what might be needed. Often the client is some distance from the AT expert and travel will be involved, so before any meeting occurs or the review finished they make further enquiries with the client, any appropriate carers and/or professionals involved - also looking at case history notes if appropriate. The aim is to meet with the client as well prepared as possible - not least, to make the first meeting as useful as possible.
If an assessment meeting is decided as appropriate then all the people and the AT technology have to be organised and a date and time agreed.
At the latter meeting (in the next step of the diagram) the AT expert assessor will observe the client during a question and answer chat between them and when needed involving other people present. The goals of the client and the AT are identified. Client preferences, cost and available support to the client are taken into account in proposing any AT that might be suitable. If suitable AT has been brought then the technology will be demonstrated and then the user may try it - i.e. trial the AT. The process of trialling specific AT devices or systems may further inform the assessor of better solutions. This trialling may be repeated with a number of arrangements of the AT already presented to the client or indeed involve introduction of other alternatives. By the end of the first meeting the people involved in funding the needed technology will identify what is needed and likely levels of cost, and therefore expected sources of funding to cover that cost. Actually its often at second and subsequent meetings with the client that trialling of other AT alternatives will occur, especially if at the first meeting no suitable AT was brought.
In the latter step the client may find that they need to practice with the AT they tried while the assessor was present. AT equipment is always loaned for this purpose. This is an important step as it allows everyone, but especially the client, to see if this is actually a good solution. So at this step sometimes the final solution is quickly identified and supplied, and that's it. But it could be that working towards a solution involves many trials and delays in purchasing/delivering AT that isn't already available to the AT expert to loan at the early assessment meetings. And occasionally it is found that there is no AT technology that will do what is necessary.
The next step is essentially just the final confirmation of what AT is required and how effective it is as a solution. In general those involved in making a case to obtain the funding will get together and create any required paperwork. At this point the loaned AT is given to the client permanently and the funding being sought will actually refund its cost.
The final step is one where after a lengthy time, e.g. 6 months, if no problems have been raised by the client or one of their carers in the meantime, the AT expert will contact and visit the client to confirm that everything is Ok. If its not this will mean returning to one of the earlier steps of assessment.