Payers save thousands of dollars by investing in a Comprehensive Worksite Assistive Technology Assessment by purchasing the correct technology the first time for the lowest cost. Assistive technology can be very inexpensive and low-tech or extremely costly with electronic controls and complex mechanical features. What does a farmer or tradesman with a disability really need to continue gainful employment? How do you know? Do insurance adjusters understand agriculture or tradesman’s tools? Not usually. An Indiana farmer with a spinal cord injury had convinced the vocational rehabilitation counselor that he needed a new 8-row corn planter. The assistive technology professional clarified that it had nothing to do with his disability. How much would that have cost the funding agency if they had not acquired a professional assistive technology assessment? Of course the goal is not to get the cheapest assistive technology and push the worker out the door. The goal is meaningful and gainful employment for a person with a disability. If lower cost is effective, then simpler is always better and less likely to fail. However, high-tech solutions are often the best option. In that case, it is critical to specify and order the correct items to make sure they are not abandoned by the user. One farmer received an $8000 lift instead of a $16,000 option to allow him to access his harvesting equipment, but refused to use it because it was too difficult to operate. In that instance the lower price was actually a higher cost because a second lift ultimately needed to be purchased. This highlights the value of a comprehensive worksite assistive technology assessment. Ned provides detailed reports that ensure lowest-cost yet most effective assistive technology to help people with disabilities to find and keep a job. Vocational Rehabilitation professionals, workers compensation adjusters, auto insurance companies and other funding agencies may feel quite bewildered about the assistive technology requirements of a skilled trades worker, farmer, or rural resident with a disability. Ignorance of necessary tasks and tools opens these agencies to the risk of being persuaded to wrongly purchase high-cost assistive technology that is neither practical nor effective for the person. Beyond the emotional and physical challenges of adapting to a disability, working families often face financial challenges and uncertainties about the future of their careers. Ned helps these workers manage disabling conditions, such as, arthritis, chronic back pain, joint injuries, amputations, spinal cord injuries, hearing loss and any other condition that may limit their ability to work. By comprehensive worksite assistive technology assessment Ned helps both the person with disability and the funding agency to increase the likelihood of success. This is the process: 1. A rehabilitation engineering technologist or assistive technology professional visits the worksite to learn the operation, what equipment is being used and what physical limitations hinder the work. 2. After the worksite visit, a summary report is provided regarding the tasks, barriers observed, and relevant solutions. The professional and the worker research solutions and develop new ideas for overcoming those barriers. 3. A recommendation report for funding agencies is drafted describing history and potential of gainful employment, medical impairments, functional limitations, barriers to employment and specific recommendations for assistive technology required for gainful employment including competitive price quotes from three vendors on items costing over $5000. 4. Assistive technology set-up and training of how to use adaptive equipment will be provided, and then follow up several months later to ensure everything is operating as intended and helping the worker adequately.