This text contains papers presented at the 1998 conference of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America held on June 26-30, 1998, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Papers are divided into the following sections: (1) service delivery and public policy, including papers addressing independent literacy, integrating technology into a new occupational therapy assistant curriculum, and optimizing the use of assistive technology by people with multiple sclerosis; (2) personal transportation; (3) augmentative and alternative communication; (4) quantitative functional assessment, including a paper on strategies for promoting vocal development in young children relying on augmentative and alternative communication; (5) special education, including papers evaluating software, evaluating a math processor, and presenting a computer-based solution for making science experiments accessible; (6) technology transfer; (7) sensory loss and technologies; (8) wheeled mobility and seating; (9) electrical stimulation; (10) computer applications, including a paper on the Learn-Ed Distance Teaching System; (11) rural rehabilitation; (12) assistive robotics and mechatronics; (13) job accommodations; (14) information networking; (15) the Tech Act; (16) universal access; and (17) cognitive disabilities and technology. The last two sections present papers from the Student Scientific Paper Competition and the Paralyzed Veterans of America Student Design Competition. (Papers include references.) (CR)