Factors associated with assistive technology discontinuance among individuals with disabilitie

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that were associated with discontinuance of assistive technology by individuals with disabilities in the state of Colorado who received assistive technology through Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act grant funding. Research hypotheses were examined utilizing the following statistics: descriptive, logistic regression and t-tests.;Procedure. The sample of this study consisted of 115 individuals with disabilities who were provided with funding for 136 assistive technology devices. A telephone survey that took approximately 10-20 minutes to complete was utilized to collect data for this study.;The research question examined the independent variables (device performance/operation--relative advantage, support, consumer involvement, trialability, changes in consumers, re-invention and compatibility) to determine if they were associated with assistive technology device discontinuance among individuals with disabilities.;Findings. Analysis of the results suggests the following: (1) The variables of relative advantage and consumer involvement had a significant influence in predicting the criterion variable. (2) Significant differences existed between individuals who discontinued use of their technology and those who continued to use their technology in relation to relative advantage, consumer involvement and compatibility.