What is Rehabilitation Engineering?
As defined by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Amended 1998
Rehabilitation engineering is the systematic application of engineering sciences to design, develop, adapt, test, evaluate, apply, and distribute technological solutions to problems confronted by individuals with disabilities in functional areas, such as mobility, communications, hearing, vision, and cognition, and in activities associated with employment, independent living, education, and integration into the community.
Rehabilitation engineers are key to the development and delivery of ‘assistive technology’, a term which refers to technologies and principles that meet the needs of and address the barriers confronted by individuals with disabilities in a range of life areas. Assistive technology is often associated with education, rehabilitation, employment, transportation, independent living, and recreation.
