A grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research is funding the development of the world’s first clinical assessment tool to evaluate user satisfaction of internet-connected assistive devices – such as smart phones, tablets and related apps – that assist persons with disabilities as they perform everyday tasks such as banking and shopping.

The $600,000 grant will lead to the psychometric validation and field testing of Electronic Instrumental activities of daily living Satisfaction Assessment (EISA), the world’s first clinical assessment that would enable persons with disabilities to use cutting-edge internet-connected assistive devices, referred to as iCADs, that meet their needs. It will also help build capacity for state-of-the art research in assistive technology at CSUSB.

The initiative will also open new employment opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students and Inland Empire residents, including those from underrepresented backgrounds and individuals with the greatest support needs.

The grant’s principal investigator is Abbas “Bobby” Quamar, associate professor of special education, rehabilitation and counseling at CSUSB. As an individual with a disability, blindness, Quamar uses smart and AI-based technology like screen readers and virtual digital assistants on a daily basis to assist with everyday activities.

The use of iCADs have become more essential in everyday life, especially for persons with disabilities, who use iCADs for banking and shopping – both of which can be done online versus in person – and communicating through apps such as Zoom and other video conferencing and telecommunications software.

Devices such as smartphones and tablets are the most commonly used assistive technology devices that assist persons with disabilities to live independently by promoting, maintaining and enhancing the quality of their lives.

A former airline captain, Quamar lost his eyesight in a mid-air accident. What opened doors for Quamar into education and employment was smart- and AI-based technology. Consequently, he is motivated to use this cutting-edge technology to help turn around the lives of students with disabilities. 

Always Making Progress held a Bowling Night at the Santos Manuel Student Union North in November 2024.
Always Making Progress held a Bowling Night at the Santos Manuel Student Union North in November 2024. The group, guided by Abbas "Bobby" Quamar (fifth from left), provides students with disabilities a platform to advocate for their rights, foster professional growth and build community.

Apart from technology, Quamar is a strong believer in advocacy for students with disabilities. He guides a support group, Always Making Progress, for students with disabilities, which he founded in the spring of 2024. Always Making Progress provides students with disabilities a platform to advocate for their rights, foster professional growth and build community.

Always Making Progress provides its student members the opportunity to come together and address their needs, rights, and preferences relating to education and their professional and social development. It also provides students with opportunities to serve in leadership positions at CSUSB as they advocate for the needs and rights of students with disabilities. The group has organized events ranging from an accessible technology services open house to social gatherings such as bowling night and a wellness coaching session.

While the group has until recently operated within the James R. Watson and Judy Rodriguez Watson College of Education — Always Making Progress’s officers are students in the college’s rehabilitation counseling program — Quamar has now expanded its reach university-wide. Quamar also is working on organizing an annual Accessibility Summit to promote awareness about the state-of-the-art accessibility at CSUSB, helping to determine what works to facilitate independence, as well as act as barriers, for students with disabilities.