Why Study Mastery of Assistive Technology

Figure 2. Stages of AT Mastery

These stages and constructs and characteristics were incorporated into an instrument known as the Continuum of AT Mastery (CATM). The CATM is a tool to help assess an individual’s current position and identify progress on their journey toward AT Mastery (Satterfield, et al., 2021; Satterfield, et al., 2024a). A second study explored the applicability of the CATM to education, including a field test of the CATM in four K-12 settings (Satterfield, et al., 2024b). It is the fourth construct, the personal connection to AT, that appears to set the CATM framework apart from traditional views of technology literacy and other perspectives on measuring the outcomes of AT use. Through these two studies, our focus groups and field test participants continued to affirm that AT users who achieve mastery come to see the AT they use as an extension of themselves. As we explored these questions related to mastery of AT, it became clear that we were also addressing questions related to personal mastery. Personal mastery refers to the sense of agency or control that an individual feels they have over the circumstances and decisions that affect their lives. Physical limitations, cognitive challenges, and environmental barriers can constrain choice- making for people with disabilities (Pearlin and Schooler, 1978). Individuals with disabilities frequently perceive themselves as “not being in control” in the midst of things happening around them (Schieman and Turner, 1998). Thus, the development of personal mastery may be an uphill struggle for many. Improvements in personal mastery have been associated with better heart health, improved mental well-being, and a reduced likelihood of serious illness (Pearlin etal., 1981; Schieman & Turner, 1998; Roepke & Grant, 2011; King et al., 2018; Moreira et al., 2022). The development of a sense of personal mastery contributes to the maintenance of functional ability and enhanced participation and activity in people with disabilities (Kempen et al., 1999; Cuskelly et al., 2013; Martin Ginis, et al., 2017). With these insights in mind, we wonder how the development of mastery of Assistive Technology might impact the sense of personal mastery for people with disabilities? How might the sense of agency emerging from such control influence individual health outcomes over time? Our study of the AT Mastery in K-12 education suggests that the CATM instrument could be very useful for tracking individual progress of their use of AT. The CATM was seen as potentially

contributing to Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings by helping make abstract discussions about AT use more concrete. The capacity to quantify questions around AT use - to which many other individual IEP goals are often related – may help clarify the source of student learning challenges (i.e. Is the problem related to intellectual capacity or instructional approach - or do we have an issue with the AT that has been provided?) The team has recently launched its third study on the topic. This comes as part of a 5-year Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). The overarching grant is called Accommodations, Employment Supports and Success for People with Physical Disabilities, or ACCESS-PD. In this study, we are asking questions about the role of the CATM in the workplace. How might Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) counsellors, job coaches, employers, and job candidates use the CATM to overcome barriers and to improve workplace outcomes? We also want to explore how factors such as the employee’s work tasks, level of disability, and types of AT used might impact the application of the CATM? There are many such questions that have been raised in the course of our studies into Mastery of AT. Our research team is holding as tentative any specific conclusions about positive applications of the CATM as we expand our studies to see how the CATM applies to other disabilities and the broader range of technologies. For now, the CATM provides a framework for deeper discussions about AT Mastery. The instrument also provides a means to quantify mastery of AT in such a way that relative improvement might be monitored and noted. Our research team hopes to encourage a dialogue among those in the field who are exploring outcomes of AT use. We welcome use of the CATM in a variety of situations and encourage feedback. Those who would like to explore the CATM further are invited to do so by visiting: https://cidi.gatech.edu/research/ ATmastery . We welcome your feedback and comments. We trust and expect that constructive critique of the CATM will strengthen this instrument. These discussions will result in new questions for further research and lead to a deeper understanding of what is happening in the process of mastery of AT. Most importantly, this is all about individuals growing and developing – and reaching their full potential. We hope that the CATM will

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