Matching Person and Technology (MPT): An Assistive Technology Assessment and Service Provision Model

Assistive technologies (AT) and products are important supports for people who have functional needs due to disability, age, illness, and environmental barriers or challenges. AT service delivery models, systems, and practices differ globally. Yet, there is a rising and united call to adopt a person-centered focus and engage the user in the process of AT selection. Technology users have unique, individualized needs and preferences that need to guide the process of matching a person with an assistive technology; otherwise, there is an elevated risk that the outcome will be technology avoidance or non-use with the consequent disappointment, lack of functional gain, and waste of resources that come with a poor match. This paper is a summary of the Matching Person and Technology (MPT) assessment process that was developed for matching a person with the most appropriate technology or other form of support and which is tailored to their unique situation, functional goals, and personal preferences. The MPT process has good reliability and validity, is used globally, has been translated into multiple languages and is available online at no cost. It has good potential for serving as a global model for user engagement and assessing the realization of benefit from use of the selected technologies.