This book suggests a fresh perspective upon a topic that will be of interest to a wide range of stakeholders concerned with how the benefits of an ageing population and the contribution of those with disabilities in society might be realised. Such groups include designers and commissioners of products and services, providers of health, social care and other services, and researchers. The author promotes the notion of inclusive design as a rehabilitation strategy which emphasises both usability and social inclusivity, stating that this been hitherto overlooked. The target audience is stated to be rehabilitation professionals who are later defined as being rehabilitation engineers and design and building professionals.

The text is divided into three sections. Part 1 is entitled ‘Form, Function and Functionality’ and includes chapters on the links between design and rehabilitation, disabling design and universal design as enabling. Part 2 is concerned with design for the ages with two main foci: ageing in place and ageing in the workplace. The final section brings the text together to promote universal design as a rehabilitation strategy. It has been written in an engaging and accessible manner with a good number of visuals and it presents a reasonable summary across a range of domains.

However, the text is somewhat limited by an almost exclusive focus upon American/North American policy/research and practice in this area which by the author's own admission can be restricted: one cited example is that of accessible design policy being just to meet the needs of younger people with disabilities. There has been little attempt to embrace the understandings and developments that have taken place in other contexts and cultures. For example, I did not locate any references to the large body of internationally recognised work into inclusive design that has taken place in the United Kingdom and has been widely reported – in particular, the freely available inclusive design toolkit produced by University of Cambridge. This greatly limits the value of what is presented to an international readership.

The text is also limited in that it takes examples of existing environmental modifications and assistive devices, using these to illustrate how they are rehabilitative. This is something that rehabilitation professions have worked with for decades, and possibly reflects a recent increased awareness on the part of other disciplines. More recent thinking seeks to involve users in improving design, making devices both aesthetically desirable and functional. I found some of the provided examples of innovation, particularly of assistive technology for the toilet, to be questionable. Also the relatively established viewpoint that everyday devices can become assistive is argued for but there is nothing new in this. There is a notable lack of examples of radical design innovations, which can negate the need for assistive devices by people with substantial disability and also promote the participation of other users.

In summary, this is a well-written text that provides a reasonable overview of the topic areas for those new to the subject matter. However, it does not give the depth of discussion with which those engaged in this area would seek to engage.