AT Passport 2.0 is a user-centred digital platform that empowers individuals, particularly those not engaged with formal disability services, to independently manage their assistive technology (AT) journey.

This innovative tool supports:

• Self-identification of AT needs
• Creation and sharing of personal AT profiles and reports
• Trial, feedback, and rating of AT solutions
• Navigation of available funding options
• Ability to request support from local AT services when needed

The platform also includes a dashboard interface for funders and service providers, enabling aligned, transparent, and user-informed workflows. Most importantly, the project repositions AT users as active participants and decision-makers in their support journey.

This presentation will be co-delivered by Patrick Fitzgerald, an AT Passport 2.0 user and co-designer, who will share his firsthand experience using the platform to access technology and direct his support, and Sarah Boland, Project Tech Lead and Assistive Technology Facilitator at SJOG Liffey Services.

CHAT (Community Hub for Accessible Technology) is Ireland’s established Community of Practice: a multi-stakeholder platform for advancing inclusive assistive technology (AT) dialogue, policy, and practice. Fostered and developed through the FreedomTech initiative, a partnership between Enable Ireland and the Disability Federation of Ireland, CHAT brings AT users, service providers, researchers, policymakers, and technology innovators together to shape a more equitable and coordinated national AT ecosystem.

Since 2018, CHAT has hosted 26 national events, offering:

• A trusted space where AT users are invited to share their lived experiences of how AT impacts their lives, often including practical hacks and creative solutions many wouldn’t discover on their own
• Open conversations exploring barriers and opportunities in the AT ecosystem
• CREATE project showcases, providing visibility and shared learning from HSE-funded AT project pilots
• Strategic collaboration with WHO, HSE, DPOs, and global AT leaders
• The co-development of impactful tools like the AT Passport and a National AT Training Network

CHAT’s model is rooted in inclusion, trust, and learning. It continues to grow and adapt, welcoming new stakeholders and building connections across sectors to ensure that lived experience, evidence, and innovation are integrated into AT development.

The Inclusive Co-Research Resource is a practical, accessible framework that enables people with intellectual disabilities to take meaningful leadership roles in real-world research. Supported by Assistive Technology (AT), including screen readers, audio-to-text tools, interactive Easy Read templates, and AI-supported summary tools like ChatGPT, the toolkit transforms research from a service-led activity into a peer-led, participatory process.

Co-developed as part of the Inclusion4EU project and the Team Co-Designing Personal Plans initiative, the toolkit was created in partnership with TU Dublin and St. John of God Liffey Services. It has been successfully used to support inclusive co-design of digital personal plans, facilitate focus groups, analyse data, and co-author academic outputs.

Patrick Fitzgerald, a co-researcher and co-designer, used the toolkit to lead local workshops and will co-present the findings at AAATE 2025, demonstrating how inclusive research can amplify voices and shape future practice.

It is structured in six areas, including:

1. Understanding Research & Reviewing What Others Have Done
2. Planning and Running Focus Groups
3. Listening & Understanding – Supporting Peer Analysis
4. Coding and Making Meaning Together
5. Finding Patterns & Linking to Other Research
6. Telling the Story – Sharing What We Found

This presentation will showcase how AT tools (tablets, AI interfaces, screen readers) enhance memory, confidence, and communication, making complex research processes more accessible, meaningful, and fun