A paper by eight past and current presidents of the Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe (AAATE) offers a unique window into the evolution of assistive technology (AT) through their personal experience spanning over four decades. Rather than presenting a traditional historical account, the authors provide intimate reflections on breakthrough moments that shaped both their careers and the field itself.

Paradigm Shifts and Personal Revelations

The contributions reveal several fundamental shifts in how the field conceptualizes disability and technology. Renzo Andrich, drawing from his 40+ years in the field, identifies two critical paradigm shifts: the move from working “for” to working “with” persons with disabilities, and the transition from a charity-based “helping” approach to a human rights framework. His 1985 insight came when people with disabilities questioned why professionals received training opportunities while those living with disabilities 24/7 did not – leading to innovative peer-led educational programs.

This rights-based perspective appears consistently across contributors. Gerald Craddock emphasizes how his early work at Ireland’s first AT Centre, combined with involvement in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, reinforced his belief that Universal Design principles must be embedded from the earliest stages of any development process.

Technology Evolution and Implementation Challenges

Christian Bühler’s account traces the field’s technological journey from the early 1990s TIDE projects, which produced “big, heavy, with limited capacity and expensive” solutions, to today’s AI-powered smartphones that deliver previously impossible capabilities. His experience highlights both the remarkable progress in technical capabilities and the persistent challenges in translating innovation into accessible, practical solutions.

The recurring theme of implementation gaps emerges strongly in Luc de Witte’s reflection. His transformative experience in Indian slums – encountering people with severe disabilities who had “clearly never received any support” – shattered assumptions about European progress and highlighted global inequities. The story of Krishna, whose life was transformed by a wheelchair provided by a chance encounter with a Japanese tourist, illustrates both the profound potential of AT and the arbitrary nature of current access systems.

Emerging Themes: AI, Accessibility, and Integration

Pedro Encarnação’s contribution centers on artificial intelligence’s promise and peril for people with disabilities. He envisions AI-powered assistive technologies that can “observe”, “listen”, and provide contextually appropriate support, but emphasizes that ethical implementation requires meaningful participation from people with disabilities throughout development processes.

Klaus Miesenberger explores the “twinning” of assistive technology and accessibility, tracing how legislative measures and technical standards have evolved from architectural accessibility to digital inclusion. His technical perspective reveals how digitization has created unprecedented opportunities for customization and adaptation while highlighting the crucial role of standards and legislation in driving mainstream adoption.

Educational and Systemic Change

Katerina Mavrou’s educational focus demonstrates how AT perspectives have broadened beyond individual accommodation to encompass digital literacy, social equity, and inclusive curriculum design. Her involvement in the ENTELIS project marked a shift toward understanding AT as both a tool for access and a means of developing digital competencies that address broader social inequalities.

The Bologna Declaration: A Call for Collective Action

The paper concludes with reference to the Bologna Declaration, launched at the 2019 AAATE conference. This document synthesizes many of the personal insights into a comprehensive action agenda addressing awareness-raising, legislation, research priorities, technological innovation, service provision, education, collaboration, quality assurance, stigma reduction, and barrier removal.

Implications for the Field

Several key insights emerge from these personal narratives:

The Power of Personal Experience: Many contributors’ most significant insights came from direct encounters with people with disabilities, suggesting that meaningful engagement remains central to advancing the field.

Persistent Implementation Gaps: Despite remarkable technological advances, access to appropriate AT remains limited globally, indicating that technical solutions alone are insufficient.

Rights-Based Evolution: The field has matured from charity-based approaches to rights-based frameworks, though implementation of this perspective remains uneven.

Interdisciplinary Integration: Modern AT challenges require collaboration across disciplines, sectors, and geographic boundaries, moving beyond traditional rehabilitation models.

User Participation Imperative: All contributors emphasize that meaningful involvement of people with disabilities is essential—not just in testing, but in defining problems, setting priorities, and shaping policies.

These personal reflections provide valuable context for understanding how the field of assistive technology has evolved and suggest directions for future development. They remind us that behind technical innovations and policy frameworks are human stories of transformation, challenge, and persistent advocacy for inclusion. For academics and practitioners entering the field, these narratives offer both inspiration and sobering reminders of the work that remains to be done.

The authors conclude that AT represents “a field in constant progression influenced by technological, social, demographic, and cultural developments,” while acknowledging that many people worldwide still lack access to appropriate solutions. Their collective call to action challenges readers to consider their own potential contributions to advancing the field’s mission of unlocking human potential through technology.

Hoogerwerf et al. (2024): Changing Perspectives on Disability and Technology: Events, Trends and Personal Choices. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.17877/DE290R-24366.