Research Brief: Accessing Technology
Technology that supports people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD) enhances their independence at work, in school, and in the community, but significant barriers keep many of them from accessing the technology they need, a new report from the Institute on Community Integration shows.
The Policy Research Brief by ICI’s Research and Training Center on Community Living, in collaboration with The Arc , the nation’s largest community-based advocacy organization for and with people with IDD, found that some adults may be having difficulty affording the same technology products they accessed while in school.
“There appears to be a gap in assistive technology services between children and adults,” said Emily Unholz-Bowden, an ICI post-doctoral associate who worked on the policy brief. “When a child turns 18 and is no longer in school, that transition from K-12 services may serve as a barrier to further accessing assistive technology. This may be due to people being on a waiting list for government services or not yet applying for adult services.”
On November 13, the Institute facilitated a policy forum to discuss the report’s findings. Paul Sanft, director of the PACER Center’s Simon Technology Center, joined ICI’s Lynda Lahti Anderson, Brian Abery, Unholz-Bowden and Zoe Pan (MNLEND 2023-24) for the forum, which was moderated by Julie Bershadsky, director of ICI’s Research and Training Center on Community Living.
A 2023 Family & Individual Needs for Disability Supports (FINDS) survey asked about the experiences of 3,113 caregivers of U.S. individuals with IDD. Using data from this survey, The Arc-ICI team examined technology access and other needs of people with IDD.
The brief includes several policy recommendations to address the survey results, including helping students transitioning from school to adult life make a plan for meeting their technology needs after graduation.
It also calls on policymakers to fund technology for people on waiting lists for long-term services and supports and asks them to encourage states to invest in technology for all people with IDD, including those with limited economic resources and those from diverse cultural communities.
“Future research should explore the facilitators and barriers in both K-12 and adult services for promoting access to technology and meeting individual needs,” Unholz-Bowden said.