Best Practice Guide –Supporting staff with Assistive Technology

Assistive Technology (AT) can refer to any kind of device, software or system that helps people with disabilities perform tasks with greater confidence, accuracy and independence.

In the workplace, AT embraces solutions that give assistance to employees with a range of physical or cognitive challenges – whether it’s dyslexia, visual/auditory impairments or difficulties using a computer keyboard and mouse.

Investing in AT can be a very smart decision for corporate companies and public sector bodies alike by:

• creating the opportunity for employees to achieve their potential, be more productive and become more engaged.
• broadening the recruitment pool to embrace a wider, more diverse range of talent. For example, people with dyslexia are no more or less likely to have a lower IQ than someone without the condition. For many people with dyslexia, they can have the added advantage of making them great problem solver and creative thinkers.
• minimising the legal, reputation, and efficiency risks of not making job roles available to people with certain disabilities.
• sharing the benefit of an adjustment considered for one employee with a specific requirement with a larger number of employees with a wide range of needs.
• There are lots of AT solutions out there, from no-frills screen readers to powerful multi-function productivity suites. But which is the right one for your own organisation? And what’s the best way to implement it for maximum returns on any size of AT budget?