About Us 

The Consortium for Assistive Technology Outcomes Research (CATOR) was established in 2001 as a program designed to advance the field of AT outcomes measurement.  CATOR's research and development is dedicated to improving measurement science for AT, reducing barriers to the use of AT outcomes measures, understanding the processes of AT adoption and discontinuance, and identifying new methods for collecting and capturing AT outcomes data.  Funding has included several sources including the United States Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).  The CATOR goals are being addressed by an array of outstanding contributors – associations, agencies, industry, and academic institutions – in the AT measurement and outcomes research field. 

CATOR activities are designed to directly benefit:

• Consumers (device users) - by learning to better understand how consumers use their devices so that their unmet needs can be identified and addressed through meaningful measurement.
• AT service providers - by developing recommendations for reliable, valid, and practical ways of measuring outcomes, as well as for systems for managing outcomes information and communicating it effectively.
• Decision-makers - by empowering them to base their decisions on the best available scientific evidence. Decision-makers may be consumers who want to advocate effectively for AT services, service providers wanting to improve their professional practice, service managers who need to allocate scarce resources, funders who want to competently evaluate the programs they fund, or government agencies who need to analyze policy relating to AT.
• Researchers - by joining with them to advance the AT field by pushing the frontiers of theory and methodology.