Assessment

An assessment determines what is needed to allow a person who is blind or visually impaired to perform a task or job function.

An assessment may be informal or formal. Either way, the result of the assessment is a list of recommendations for the products and services necessary to provide access that is limited due to blindness or visual impairment, or any other conditions that prevent the end user from performing a function.

Formal assessments are documented with results and recommendations. These reports are provided to the employer and/or agency requesting the assessment.

Purpose of the Assessment

The assessment will determine some or all of the following, as needed:

• Assistive technology (AT) needs: hardware and software.
• Accessiblity of applications and resources.
• Customization required for AT products or application software.
• Training needs of the end user.
• Any "work arounds" needed, such as job carving, or other mitigation for inaccessible functions.

What we do

1. Interview appropriate people to determine tasks that are required for the job or function that are difficult or impossible due to visual impairment.
   • This may include the end-user, support personnel, supervisor or manager, and any other persons involved.
   • During the interview, a rehab engineer will list document each task that must be performed as part of the job or function. This may be a task at work, in school, or at home.
   • Each task that is difficult or inaccessible is discussed to determine what mitigation is possible.
2. Determine assistive technology available to perform each task or function.
   • From the task list, the rehab engineer will determine the appropriate AT products available to make each task accessible.
   • The products are described in terms of capabilities, not specific manufacturers or devises.
   • At your request, we will provide information concerning specific devises, manufacturers and vendors. Often we can provide product literature, or refer you to the appropriate representatives. OSET does not sell any AT products.
3. Determine AT/software customization needed for the end-user to be able to perform the task.
4. If the end-user is selected and available, determine AT/software training needed for the end-user to be able to perform the task.
5. Provide assessment feedback.
   • For informal assessments, feedback is provided immediately to the end user or the employer/agency contact.
   • Formal assessments are concluded with a report submitted to the employer/agency who ordered the assessment.