RAatE 2011 is delighted to announce this year's keynote speaker as Dr. Roger Smith.

Roger O. Smith, PhD, OT, FAOTA, Fellow of RESNA is Professor of Occupational Science and Technology in the College of Health Sciences and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 

His Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, his M.O.T., from the University of Washington and his B.A. in Psychology and Communications, from Goshen College has prepared him for highly interdisciplinary practice, education and research related to disability.

Dr. Smith has published and presented widely in the area of disability access, assistive technology and functional performance measurement, and has secured and directed more than $8 dollars of grants supporting research and demonstration projects defining issues, measures and interventions related to disability and rehabilitation.

At RAatE 2011, Dr Smith will be talking about measuring the impact of AT, asking whether it works. He says...

 "As the need for Evidenced Based Practice looms as more of an everyday reality in the field of assistive technology, we must be more vigilant and robust in our outcomes measurement. Additionally, as we drive to decrease the unwanted discontinuance of assistive technology devices in practice, we must continue to better understand the phenomenon and document its true etiology.

My presentation will discuss key issues underlying the challenges of measuring the outcomes of assistive technology interventions and as well as present specific strategies and instruments for improving our measurement procedures. The presentation will also update some of the latest research findings at the R2D2 Center around assistive technology outcomes measurement.

This keynote targets five goals for the presentation, helping delegates to:

• Underscore the importance of measuring assistive technology outcomes in the research laboratory and in daily practice.
• Explain new challenges for measuring the outcomes of assistive technology interventions in both the laboratory and the practice environment.
• Find and describe resources for measuring assistive technology outcomes.
• Apply usable methodologies and specific new assistive technology measurement instruments.
• Define where device "abandonment" fits into the overall field of assistive technology outcomes measurement.

I look forward to engaging conference participants in the discoveries, conversations, and debates that we have encountered in the R2D2 Center about these important topics."