Assistive Technology is a term that has been generally accepted to refer to devices, and to a certain extent, strategies used by people with disabilities to do the same things that other people do. As you will learn in the section on Accessibility Issues, this phrase has specific legal meanings. According to the Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988, An AT device is any item or system "that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities."

Assistive devices, access technologies, rehabilitation equipment/technology, adaptive materials, adaptive technologies, and Electronic and Information Technology are some terms associated with, or sometimes used interchangeably with the term assistive technology. There are different meanings and word choice preferences depending on the users frame of reference.

To illustrate, K-12 educators may use Access Technologies to describe devices that adapt the tools or activities used by general education students. These have been designed with features making them accessible to students with physical, cognitive and/or sensory disabilities. A keyboard with a modified overlay or a device that turns pages at the flip of a switch are good examples of this type of technology. They would use the term Adaptive Technologies when referring to customized systems that are designed specifically for persons with disabilities and seldom used by non-disabled persons, for example, a wheelchair.

An information technology person or a designer trying to make a web site accessible might use the term Adaptive Strategies when referring to ways of using standard operating systems and programs to make content more accessible, such as using large fonts and different background and text colors, for easier reading. When used in referring to computers, Assistive Technology is also called Adaptive software and usually means a specially designed devise or program.

Electronic and Information Technology is a term that is being used in a lot of government documents and studies. It refers both to modern mainstream technology and the add-on or modified assistive technology because of its use needed to use it.

Rather than attempting to memorize definitions, just stay focused on what you want to do and what barriers are keeping you from doing it. You want a solution for a problem. There is usually a range of options that vary in cost, availability, suitability and effectiveness. Because technology is driven by innovation, new products are introduced on a daily basis and some complicated gadget (like a cell phone that doubles as a digital camera) becomes an essential part of the workplace landscape, and new solutions must be found to allow everyone to use it.