Rehabilitation counsellors: incorporation of assistive technology device selection and referrals into professional practice

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine how well graduates of a rehabilitation counselling master programme were prepared to work with clients in assistive technology (AT) device selection or referral of resources. Specifically, inquiry was conducted as to how graduates have incorporated AT into their professional practice, their level of comfort with exploring AT solutions, and whether they felt additional training was needed.

Methods. The methodology used was an online survey of multiple choice and text boxes sent to rehabilitation counselling graduates. Descriptive statistics and cross tabulations were used to provide the range of responses. Trends were analysed to highlight differences between various factors.

Results. Responses indicated that graduates did find the dedicated AT course helpful in learning about the AT process. However, a number of respondents were not comfortable in participating in the AT process and were not incorporating the AT process into their work.

Conclusions. Future studies should explore the role of AT acquisition from the perspective of rehabilitation counsellors and also examine why graduates are not incorporating the AT process. Respondents indicated the need for continuing education and professional development in this area.

Keywords:

• Assistive technology
• AT acquisition
• rehabilitation education
• knowledge of AT
• comfort with AT

Acknowledgements

The co-authors would like to acknowledge all graduates who participated in the study and contributed to efforts to gain knowledge about the incorporation of AT device selection, recommendation and referral in the field of rehabilitation counselling and related.

Declaration of interest:

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.