Overview

This part of My Technology Space provides tools that can be used to:

• measure outcomes
• show how and where assistive technology is helping
• check changes over time.

Outcomes are the results people get from the supports and services they use.

Why it is important to measure outcomes

There are 3 reasons why it is important to measure outcomes.

Measuring outcomes helps to:

• check progress towards goals
• show how and where supports and services are working well
• understand if other supports and services are needed to help give better outcomes.

The success of supports and services should be measured by the positive change for you.

Some outcomes may take longer to see change.

Tools to measure the success of assistive technology

There are tools that you can use to think about the assistive technology you are using. The tools can help you check to see what:

• is working well
• needs to be better.

We looked at tools that are considered ‘best practice’ for measuring the success of assistive technology.

Best practice means the tools are:

• valid - the tool measures what it is meant to measure
• reliable – the tool can measure progress of goals
• responsive – the tool can measure changes over time
• acceptable – the tool is suitable for people with acquired brain injury and their supporters to use.

We found 3 tools that can be used by people with acquired brain injury and their supporters:

• psychosocial impact of assistive devices scale
• user experience questionnaire
• user satisfaction evaluation questionnaire.

These tools are free for you to download and use.

You can find out more about the tools below:

You can also talk to your assistive technology advisor about other tools that they can help you use. Some of these tools cost money to download and use.

An assistive technology advisor could be an:

• occupational therapist - they can help you find ways to do everyday tasks
• physiotherapist - they can help you with ways to move your body
• speech pathologist - they can help you with how you talk, communicate and swallow
• psychologist - they can help you with the way you think and feel about things
• rehabilitation engineer – they use technology to create things that help you with your disability.

What if you have a problem with the assistive technology you use?

Measuring outcomes can help you see what:

• is working well
• needs to be better.

You can ask for help to fix any problems with the assistive technology you use. For example:

• your family or other key supporters
• a friend
• your support coordinator
• your assistive technology advisor
• an advocate - someone who speaks up for people with disability.

You should not be made to feel bad because you said something is wrong with the assistive technology you use.

You might want to look at other supports and services to help give you better outcomes.

Select here to go back to My future supports. There is information to help you think about supports that:

• meet your needs
• are right for you.

Next steps

You should think about which goals you want to:

• keep working on
• change.

You should also think about if you have any new goals that you want to work towards.

Select here to go back to About me and my goals