Assistive technology prescription from the principles of social technology: the Occupational Therapy students view

Introduction: Social Technology (ST) is seen as a set of multidisciplinary social interventions seeking improvements in the population living conditions and participative, simple and inexpensive solutions to problems encountered in different layers of society. Occupational therapy is a profession that aims to socio-economic inclusion, health and well-being, using the Assistive Technology (AT) to allow people with disabilities to perform activities. Therefore, both occupational therapy and AT can be inserted in ST projects, as they seek to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities, considering their subjectivity and the context in which they live. Objective: to compare and discuss the different students speeches regarding the concepts of ST and AT and the construction of AT from the principles of ST. Method: we conducted a qualitative research with semi-structured interview, using the Discourse of the Collective Subject as a methodological technique for organizing data. Results: interview data generated six central ideas, low-cost social technology; joint actions developed and made based on a demand; resources, adaptations, assistance equipment to ready people/product; technology that seeks to help people considering the context; prescription using low-cost equipment found in the community and projects made with the character in an interdisciplinary way. Conclusion: we observed that, in general, important issues have not been discussed involving the ST and AT concept, indicating the need to think about teaching strategies that encourage discussion of these issues.