Assistive Devices and Adolescents with Spina Bifida

This project is funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (grant number AUCD RTOI 2003-04-02). This project represents a collaboration between the Center for Human Development and Disability (CHDD), and the Departments of Rehabilitation Medicine and Public Health. Kurt L. Johnson, Ph.D., is the principal investigator and will be joined by Dagmar Amtmann, Ph.D., Brian Dudgeon, Ph.D., Fred Connell, M.D., and Jeff McLaughlin, M.D.

People with spina bifida may confront a variety of barriers ranging from limitations in mobility to learning disabilities. Very little is actually known about the use of AT by people with spina bifida, but there is every reason to believe that AT should play an important role. This project will estimate how widely AT is used by adolescents and young adults with spina bifida, and how much it costs. A survey of adolescents and young adults with spina bifida will ask them about their use of and satisfaction with AT and their unmet AT needs. Finally, exemplary case studies of the use of AT will be developed to serve as models for individuals with spina bifida, their families, and health care workers.