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Topic · Occupational Therapy

Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility

Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility is a research topic within Occupational Therapy. Science Explorer counts 17k research works in it since 1950. 10.0% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers focuses on the impact of assistive technology, particularly augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), on individuals with disabilities. It covers topics such as the usability and accessibility of AAC devices, the role of the home environment in aging in place, and the effects of mobility devices on quality of life for individuals with disabilities.

  • Assistive Technology
  • Augmentative and Alternative Communication
  • Disability
  • Aging in Place
  • Home Environment
  • AAC Intervention
  • Usability
  • Accessibility
  • Mobility Devices
  • Quality of Life
Research works
17k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
1.7k
per year above
Top-10% rate
10.0%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+34%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
United States
40% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility

This ranks research output and citation impact. It says nothing about the quality of diagnosis, treatment or care.

Which countries lead Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility research?

By volume, the United States and Brazil publish the most (1.3k and 321 works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 United States 1.3k works
  2. 2 Brazil 321 works
  3. 3 United Kingdom 297 works
  4. 4 India 284 works
  5. 5 Canada 236 works
  6. 6 Australia 217 works
  7. 7 China 193 works
  8. 8 Italy 145 works
  9. 9 Japan 134 works
  10. 10 Spain 112 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 39.8%Brazil: 10.0%United Kingdom: 9.2%India: 8.8%6 others listed: 32.2%40%largest
United States1,280 · 39.8%Brazil321 · 10.0%United Kingdom297 · 9.2%India284 · 8.8%6 others listed1,036 · 32.2%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility research?

By volume in 2022-now, University of Toronto publishes the most Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility research, followed by University of Washington and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 University of TorontoCanada 28 works
  2. 2 University of WashingtonUnited States 21 works
  3. 3 University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignUnited States 21 works
  4. 4 Pennsylvania State UniversityUnited States 20 works
  5. 5 The Ohio State UniversityUnited States 19 works
  6. 6 University College LondonUnited Kingdom 19 works
  7. 7 University of PittsburghUnited States 19 works
  8. 8 Alphabet (United States)United States 19 works
  9. 9 Vanderbilt UniversityUnited States 18 works
  10. 10 Monash UniversityAustralia 17 works

Who are the leading researchers in Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility include Luigi Ferrucci, John C. Morris and Mayowa Ojo Owolabi.

  1. 1 Luigi Ferrucci United States 281k citations
  2. 2 John C. Morris United States 241k citations
  3. 3 Mayowa Ojo Owolabi Nigeria 224k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

What are the most cited papers in Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility?

The most cited paper in Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility is "Older Adults' Reasons for Using Technology while Aging in Place" (Sebastiaan Theodorus Michaël Peek, Katrien Ger Luijkx, M. D. Rijnaard et al., 2015), with 19,753 citations. Next come "Which terms should be used to describe autism? Perspectives from the UK autism community" (1,981) and "World guidelines for falls prevention and management for older adults: a global initiative" (1,695).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Older Adults' Reasons for Using Technology while Aging in Place Sebastiaan Theodorus Michaël Peek, Katrien Ger Luijkx, M. D. Rijnaard et al. · Gerontology Open access 4 Jun 2015 19,753
2 Which terms should be used to describe autism? Perspectives from the UK autism community Lorcan Kenny, Caroline Hattersley, Bonnie Molins et al. · Autism Jul 2015 1,981
3 World guidelines for falls prevention and management for older adults: a global initiative Manuel Montero‐Odasso et al. · Age and Ageing Open access196 authors 26 Aug 2022 1,695
4 Increasing walking Billie Giles‐Corti, Melissa H. Broomhall, Matthew William Knuiman et al. · American Journal of Preventive Medicine Open access Feb 2005 1,526
5 Avoiding Ableist Language: Suggestions for Autism Researchers Kristen Bottema‐Beutel, Steven K. Kapp, Jessica Nina Lester et al. · Autism in Adulthood Open access 3 Sep 2020 1,258
All 100 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility research done?

The largest centres of Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility research in 2022-now are London (United Kingdom), São Paulo (Brazil), Melbourne (Australia) and Seoul (South Korea).

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 LondonUnited Kingdom 68 works
  2. 2 São PauloBrazil 54 works
  3. 3 MelbourneAustralia 50 works
  4. 4 SeoulSouth Korea 46 works
  5. 5 TorontoCanada 44 works
  6. 6 New YorkUnited States 42 works
  7. 7 TokyoJapan 40 works
  8. 8 SydneyAustralia 39 works
  9. 9 MontrealCanada 36 works
  10. 10 BrisbaneAustralia 35 works
See Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility on the map

Where is the best place to study Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility?

Among universities, judged by research, University of Washington, Pennsylvania State University and Vanderbilt University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%10%20%mean 17.97%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →Pennsylvania State U…University of Washin…Vanderbilt UniversityThe University of Sy…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1University of WashingtonUnited States 76.719.8%4.4×21 +37.2%
2Pennsylvania State UniversityUnited States 72.320.7%4.3×20 -15.2%
3Vanderbilt UniversityUnited States 69.919.8%6.0×18 +4.3%
4The University of SydneyAustralia 67.418.9%3.1×16 +26.9%
5University College LondonUnited Kingdom 67.321.6%2.8×19 -8.2%
6University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignUnited States 63.712.4%5.8×21 +82.1%
7University of TorontoCanada 63.612.2%3.3×28 -9.7%
8McMaster UniversityCanada 61.416.1%4.5×11 +60.3%
9Johns Hopkins UniversityUnited States 60.121.3%1.6×10 +48.7%
10La Trobe UniversityAustralia 60.016.9%8.8×11 +33.5%

Universities only. The score blends excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility, country by country

Is Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 34% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility.

still counting19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.019% in 2024.

still counting0.010%0.020%0.030%Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility0.023% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year.

still counting5%10%15%Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility10.1% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

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