Purpose

When matching person and technology, you become an investigator, a detective. You find out what the different alternatives are within the constraints.

---From Living in the State of Stuck: How Technology

Impacts the Lives of People with Disabilities

The Institute for Matching Person & Technology was formed to better match users of technologies with the most appropriate devices for their use. The Institute works to enhance the situation of technology users through research, assessment, training and consultation.  Do you know persons who avoid the use of technologies? Persons who have abandoned them? Do you want to prevent or minimize this in the future?

Do you worry that you haven't considered all the important factors affecting a person's optimal technology use?

Do you wonder if technology use will really result in an improved situation?

Technologies are meant to make our lives easier and better. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out this way. It is important that individuals feel comfortable with technologies and know how to use them to their benefit. While a user must adapt to the unique features and demands of a technology, a technology must be adjusted or adapted to accommodate the individual needs and preferences of the user. This is true regardless of the type of technology: 

• Assistive Technologies – products for persons with physical disabilities designed to enhance independence and functioning  (examples are wheelchairs, adapted utensils, communication devices).

• Educational Technologies - used to help students learn in classroom settings or at a distance (examples are multimedia delivery systems, self-instructional software programs).

• Workplace Technologies - designed to enhance job performance and productivity through multi-tasking, networking, telecommuting, and so on (examples are electronic scheduling devices, telecommunications software).

• and General, Everyday, Technologies to make our daily activities easier, more efficient and pleasurable (examples include automatic (bank) teller machines, VCR’s).

The Matching Person and Technology (MPT) assessment process is one means for providing a more personal approach to matching person and technology. 

What is the Matching Person & Technology Model (MPT) and Assessment Process?

The Matching Person & Technology Model emerged from dissertation research and was funded by the National Science Foundation.  The model is depicted  and described in the "Assessment Process" section of this website.  Out of the theory came an assessment process and matching person and technology measures that are used internationally and have been translated into 9 languages.

In a nutshell, the Matching Person and Technology process is a person-centered resource used to foster user engagement and guide a  person-provider team in the selection of the most appropriate assistive technology or "support solution" for that individual's functional gain and life quality.  It addresses assistive and educational technologies as well as those used in the workplace, school, and home.  It includes devices for mobility and for performing daily activities. Specialized devices for hearing loss, speech, eyesight and cognition as well as general or everyday technologies are also included.

Research shows that although a technology may appear perfect for a given need, it may be used inappropriately or even go unused when key personal preferences, psychosocial characteristics or needed environmental support are not considered. The MPT process identifies influencing factors in these domains. The use and non-use of technology as conceptualized in the Matching Person and Technology model has been validated by many researchers and authors representing the fields of occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech language pathology, psychology,  rehabilitation engineering, and others.

Next: Background / Expertise