AT-Info-Map taxonomy; A tool for increasing AT awareness
31 December, 2017
One of the goals of the Assistive Technology Information Mapping
(AT-Info-Map) project is to bridge the information gap that exists
within the many communities in Southern Africa in terms of people
getting to know where they can find ATs, at what cost, supplier
location, and such relevant information.
However, one of the key issues emanating from the consultations the AT-Info-Map partners carried out in Botswana
relate to lack of awareness of what constitutes AT in the first place,
even before we think of identifying where AT exists.
For this reason, moving forward, one of the strategic interventions
the AT-Info-Map was trying achieve was to raise general awareness about ATs. Thus, the
AT-Info-Map App would be rooted within the framework of awareness raising
initiatives, if its uptake or usage was to make any impact in the target
communities. For example, a person with disabilities requiring AT to
help him/her improve certain day-to-day functions may not find the App
useful if he/she doesn’t understand exactly what types of ATs exist out
there.
Ordinarily, this is often the job of the rehabilitation officer, to
assess and advise those who do not have adequate information about what
AT they need. But what the AT-Info-Map project seeks to achieve is
increased uptake within the communities for all types of AT – both AT
that require rehabilitation professionals to obtain and AT that
community members can get on their own. In some cases, community members
should be able to, on their own, identify their AT needs and locate AT
without having to go consult the rehab professional. They should be able
to understand the basic categories of ATs that one can look for. Then
they would definitely find the App handy if at least they already have a
basic idea of what they are looking for.
It is on this basis that AT-Info-Map partners have, therefore,
consolidated a draft list of 17 AT categories that will guide not only
community members in need of ATs, but everyone concerned with ATs (Rehab
officers, Government procurement officers, suppliers themselves, etc).
It is going to be an advocacy tool for raising awareness about AT in
general. In so doing, we hope that our stakeholders will find the
AT-Info-Map App relevant as they will be able to link what’s in the App
with the information/knowledge the taxonomy intends to impart.
.