Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Assistive Technology - Making Good Decisions for Your Student

Excerpt from: National Center for Learning Disabilities (click for full article)

 

What Is Assistive Technology?

Assistive technology refers to any item, piece of equipment, or product that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the ability of individuals (with a disability) to perform specific tasks. AT products help users become more independent in school, on the job, and in activities of daily living. These products range from very low tech (e.g., colored highlighters) to hi-tech (e.g., optical scanners and speech synthesizers), and can cost little or be very expensive. They also vary considerably in term of whether they require training to get started or are “plug-and-play.” Keep in mind the following:

 

• Does every student with special learning needs require the same types of learning accommodations? No.
• Will all students with LD benefit equally from assistive technologies? No.
• Is there a definitive body of research that tells us which students will benefit from what types of assistive technologies? No.

How then do we make good decisions? The answer is to be an informed consumer. Think about the learning disability, understand the features and limitations of each AT product, try them out (and be sure to ask for help if needed), and personalize the application to address your specific LD-related needs.

2012 Annual Report of Michigan Assistive Technology Program

The Michigan AT Project is ready and able to work with your organization and the people you serve to increase access to tools for people with disabilities to do what they want to do.

Download Michigan Assistive Technology Program 2012

7th Annual Life without Limits through Assistive Technology

Download UCP Detroit 2013 AT Conf Brochure

Above is the brochure for UCP of Metro Detroit's annual "Life without Limits through Assistive Technology" Conference.

It will cover technology like:

• iPad
• Universal Design for Learning
• Home Modifications
• Lego
• Assistive Technology Vendor Expo

Gadgets for people with disabilities

Global News (click for more information)

 

Video is available at the link above.  U of S students are making the lives of people with disabilities easier through innovative technology. Emily Fitzpatrick reports.

Annual Life Without Limits Assistive Technology Conference

UCP of Metro Detroit (click for more information)

The goal of the  Annual “Life without Limits through Assistive Technology” Conference is to provide access to information and resources to families and individuals with disabilities and to professionals.

This year's conference will be held on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at the Double Tree-Dearborn (5801 Southfield Service Drive, Detroit MI 48228).

Expo

The Expo will include vendors that can either provide assistive technology products or help you learn to navigate the process of obtaining assistive technology products.

On the webpage, vendor forms, presenters forms, and corporate sponsor forms can be found.

 

Assistive Technology Promotes Independence for People in Nursing Facilities

Excerpt from: Disability Blog (click for full article)

 

 Many people with disabilities living in nursing facilities cannot operate a manual wheelchair or communicate through speech.  However, people in these facilities can gain independence through Medicaid-funded assistive technology, such as power wheelchairs and augmentative communication devices.  This independence can help support their transition back into the community.

According to the Assistive Technology Act of 2004, 29 U.S.C. § 3002, an assistive technology device is “any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially, modified or customized, that is used to increase, maintain or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.”  This includes durable medical equipment (DME) and an unlimited range of other items that people with disabilities use in their daily lives.  Assistive technology services include evaluation, adaptation, training, repairs and maintenance.

"Cold, getting warmer, hot": New app helps blind people find each other

Excerpt from: Ouch! It's a Disability Thing (click for full article)

 

People Finder has a very basic but accessible interface. Like mainstream products with similar aims, such as Grindr for the gay community and Spotme for networking at conferences, you have to have the app running if you want to meet up with people in your circle.

It alerts a user, via a vibration and a noise, when someone else with the app comes within 50 feet. It uses Bluetooth to detect people.

As you search for your friend, the app will let you know how close you are, by saying "near" or "cold" as you walk around.

To aid social niceties, There's the option to message the person through the app to say you've clocked them, before descending on them.

Mike May is The brains behind People Finder, which is being developed by his company Sendero Group. They have 13 years experience of making accessible satnav solutions for blind pedestrians but Mike says he has wanted to make a people finding app for a long time.

Can Assistive Technology Stop Demographic "Time Bomb"?

Excerpt from: Planet of the Blind (click for full article)

 

Many countries are heading for what is commonly known as the Demographic Timebomb. This means an increasing proportion of their populations falling into older age-brackets.

A combination of longer life and lower birth rates mean an early retirement - or even a normal retirement - may just not be on the cards. Even if your sector or nation is lucky enough to be awash with workers, falling pension returns mean you will probably want to stay on anyway.

Of course, there is already technology available that will solve many of the problems associated with older workforces. These are often designed with disability in mind, rather than age.

"Scan and read applications are becoming increasingly popular," says Glenn Tookey, chief executive of Sight and Sound Technology. "This technology makes printed or electronic text accessible by speaking text aloud."

"In addition, the software gives users the ability to write and edit documents as well as including features for note taking, summarising content, and outlining text," he adds.

But there's plenty more on the way.

Work, Assistive Technology and State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies

Work, Assistive Technology, and State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies -- The VR Agency’s Obligation to Fund AT to Support Employment Preparation, by Ron Hager of the National Disability Rights Network, is now available here .  This 44-page publication fully updates and replaces a similar publication done by Ron Hager in 1999 when he worked with Neighborhood Legal Services.

New bionic hand prosthesis called first to give amputees sense of touch

Excerpt from: Media dis&dat (click for full article)

 

In what some are calling a bionic hand breakthrough, scientists in Switzerland reported the development of a "smart" artificial hand that lets amputees feel what they're touching or holding.

The experimental prosthesis connects directly to an amputee's nervous system, providing realistic sensory feedback -- giving amputees "dexterity and the sensation of touch," according to a written statement.

"We could be on the cusp of providing new and more effective clinical solutions to amputees in the next years," lead researcher Dr. Silvestro Micera, head of the Translational Neural Engineering Laboratory at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale in Lausanne, said in the statement.