UATP is a federally-funded program serving individuals with disabilities of all ages in Utah. We provide assistive technology devices and services. We also train university students, parents, children with disabilities and professional service providers about AT. Our goal is to increase independence and quality of life for people with disabilities. Learn more at www.uatpat.org.
Roland and his sevice dog, Danny. Roland is on the ramp leading to his cargo van.
Roland Bringhurst’s search for a van that could transport
his wheelchair was a long one, and it hit some roadblocks. But in the end, the
Utah Assistive Technology Foundation was able to help him get a low-interest
loan for a van, fitted with a ramp.
“I never would have been able to secure a loan without the
help of the Utah Assistive Technology Foundation,” he said.
UATF helps Utahns with disabilities secure low-interest
loans, small grants and small business loans, all with the goal of enhancing their physical and financial independence.
The van has two front seats and a cargo area for his
wheelchair. “This is going to do for what I really need, which is to do things
with the family that require a lot of walking,” he said.
His walking without his wheelchair is limited to about half a block, so if the
family wanted to go longer distances without a car, Bringhurst had a hard time
participating.
He lives in Logan, but most of his family is outside of
Cache Valley. He used to either rely on his son to take him to family events in
a truck (with the wheelchair riding in back) or else take a shuttle service to
Odgen. “Every once in a while they’d send a van that wasn’t accessible,” he
said. Then he would have to wait for another van to arrive.
Having a van of his own makes it possible for Roland to maintain independence,
do things with friends and see his family—all of which are good for his mental
health. “Being able to see and associate with my family is very important,” he
said.
For more information on the low-interest loans available through
the Utah Assistive Technology Foundation, visit our website.
While you’re shopping for gifts this holiday season, why not
give the gift of independence?
When you use Amazon Smile, .5 percent of your eligible
purchases will go to support the Utah Assistive Technology Foundation, which links
people with disabilities up with small grants, loans and even small business
loans to help them be more independent.
It’s easy to do: just click on "shop Amazon Smile" in the box to your right. Or you can visit our giving page,
scroll down to the “Shop at Amazon Smile” box and click on “get started.” You can also find us at smile.amazon.com when you search for “Utah
Assistive Technology Foundation.”
If the assistive technology labs, CReATE or the Utah
Assistive Technology Foundation have given to you, this is your chance to give back. If you just want to help
other people access the assistive technology that could help them be more
independent, this is a way to pay it forward.
If you live in the Uintah Basin and have a disability--or if you are close to someone who does--you should watch for Cameron Cressall at the Holly Fair on the USU-Uintah Basin campus in Roosevelt this Friday and Saturday.
Cressall coordinates the AT lab in the Uintah Basin, and he loves to help people with disabilities find a way to reach their goals for independence. "It's not hard to be passionate about my job," he said. "I'm building, creating, doing fun things, making people happy."
The event runs Friday, November 4 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday, November 5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
But in case you can't make it to Holly Fair, here are some quick answers frequently asked questions:
Q: What is assistive technology?
A: Any device, high- or low-tech, that helps people with disabilities be more independent. Q: Does the Assistive Technology Lab help people of a specific age group?
A: If you are between the ages of 0 and 150, you are in the right age range.
Q: I see you're on campus. Does that mean you only work with students and faculty?
A: Nope. We work with everybody.
Cameron Cressall
Q: What if I can't afford the technology that I need?
A: The Utah Assistive Technology Program includes a foundation that helps people with disabilities purchase the technology they need. It even facilitates small business loans for people with disabilities.
But you might be surprised at how many inexpensive, low-tech options are available.
Q: I purchased some assistive technology, but it's not quite right for me. What should I do?
A: The AT Lab specializes in finding customized solutions for people with disabilities. We can help bridge the gap between an off-the-shelf product and your specific situation.
Q: How can I find out more about the Utah Assistive Technology Program, and assistive technology in general?
A: Visit our web page. You can also find lots of ideas on our Pinterest boards. We're also on Facebook, Twitter (@utahATprogram) and YouTube.
Norma shows of the new rolling seat from outside the Assistive Technology Lab in Logan.
What do you get when you combine a tiny bathroom, two conscientious parents and growing young man with multiple disabilities who uses a wheelchair?
Unfortunately for the Martinez family, it was an injury waiting to happen. It was important for them to bathe their son daily, but getting him in and out of the small bathroom space was dangerous for them and for him. Norma Martinez said they tried chairs designed for the bath for her son Gabe, but they were still unable to make it work for him in the space that they had. So they turned to the Assistive Technology Lab on the Logan Utah State University campus for a customized solution.
AT Lab employee Dan O'Crowley puts on the finishing touches.
The AT Lab specialists designed a rolling seat that could be used to transport Gabe down the hall to a larger room with a Hoyer lift--a piece of equipment that lifts people into wheelchairs. They use towels to lift him out of the tub--an arrangement that spares them back strain.
"The chair worked out great," she said after giving it a test run. "We have more ideas to make it even better."
That's what the AT Lab does: find customized solutions for people with disabilities--usually for the cost of materials. You can find out more on the Utah Assistive Technology Program website. UATP is part of the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University.
The Utah Assistive Technology Program welcomes Caroly Hulinsky to CReATE in Salt Lake City. (Citizens Reutilizing Assistive Technology Equipment is UATP's reutilization program; we take used and donated mobility equipment, refurbish it and transfer it at a low cost into the hands of people who need it.)
Carolyn Hulinsky
Here is a quick Q & A with Carolyn.
Q: What do you do at CReATE?
A: I have a variety of tasks and don't do the same thing every day. I am responsible for maintaining the database by processing all of the transfers and purchases. I do any other office work that may be needed. I also schedule for delivery and pickup of chairs.
I am also very busy organizing, sorting and counting all of our inventory and entering it into the database. I am working to take the administrative work over from [CReATE Coordinator] Tom Boman so that he can have the time to work on and turn out more chairs. In time I will also begin to learn how to refurbish a chair... I feel like there is so much I can do and I want to learn.
I like working here at CReATE. I think it is so important to help individuals regain their mobility and facilitate their independence. I also think the volunteers and Tom are so fun to hand around as we work.
Q: How did you hear about CReATE?
A: I am a teacher in the morning, and I am co-teachers with Tom's wife. She told me about Tom and what he does. She later mentioned he was hiring someone to work in the office and help out with various things in the shop. It sounded like a really worthy place to work. I like helping others.
Do you have a background in disability?
I have a friend that has some experiences with disabling injury. My friend Chris Santacose is a paraglider. He had a traumatic injury that required him to do rehabilitation for a year before he was able to walk again. As a result he created project airtime.
I do have some background working with an individual with a disability. My sister-in-law had a major stroke when she was 35. I cared for her in my home for two years. I am still her guardian.
Carolyn, thanks for your time, and welcome to UTAP!
Meet Aaron. He has a ready smile and a love of light and sound, but he was also born with a condition that gave him low muscle tone. He spent a lot of time on the floor until a walker brought him closer to the level of his family.
"I bought it with the intention of hoping it would help him learn to walk, to help him with his core strength and give him another option besides lying on the floor," said his mother, Kimberly. The walker, which was a simple purchase from Amazon, was a great improvement--it helped him interact more with his family and he soon learned how to work its bells and whistles. Aaron also progressed from needing to be propped up with towels to sitting by himself in the walker.
He enjoyed it, but as time went on, Aaron kept growing. He is now two and a half. His legs were so long, it was like he was sitting on the floor with his knees bent.
He is not walking yet. He and a physical therapist from the Center for Persons with Disabilities are working on it, and they've made a lot of progress, but meanwhile he needed some modifications to keep himself upright.
His mother, Kimberly, went to the Up to 3 program for help--and Up to 3 turned to Assistive Technology Lab in Logan. (Up to 3 and the AT Lab are both part of the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University.) The people at the AT Lab attached a wooden mount and some tall, after-market wheels to the walker, adding inches to its height. With the help of his modified walker, Aaron was standing again.
He looks happy in his walker, and Kimberly looks happy watching him in it. "He can move around," she said. "He's not strapped to a chair."
Dan O'Crowley is the newest addition to the Assistive Technology Lab family. It's good news for the Logan lab--which has been remarkably busy--and for Dan, who is working toward a career in prosthetics.
"Growing up I've always loved engineering," he said. He nurtured his own interest in inventing and problem-solving throughout high school and has since gravitated toward prosthetics--a field that will require him to earn a master's degree.
In the meantime his working on a bachelor's degree in biology at Utah State University, and working part-time at the AT Lab. He learned about the lab from his wife Marcy, who did work there as part of her special education coursework.
"When I got married and I started school here, she said, 'Dan, you should go volunteer at this place I know.'"
She knew of his love of tinkering. He was a mechanic for a summer with his brother. He built a wooden fridge--patterned after an old-fashioned ice box--for his dad in wood shop during high school. And when his parents decided to build a house while he was in high school, he drew up the blueprints.
"That was a big learning curve," he said.
Marcy was right when she introduced him to the lab--he enjoyed it. After volunteering for a semester, he received an invitation from lab coordinator Clay Christensen to work there part-time. Now he is there, helping the lab handle an ever-growing workload.
Thanks to help from KLCY's Aggie Report in the Uintah Basin, we offer this quick look at the new Utah State University-Uintah Basin Assistive Technology Lab in Roosevelt. Come see us if you're in the neighborhood!
“The vote is the most powerful
instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the
terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.” –
Lyndon
B. Johnson
Voting
is an immensely important act. Democracy
relies on each and every citizen using their vote as their voice. Since democracy relies on every citizen, it
is also very important that every citizen have access to the polls. Thankfully, the Help America Vote Act of 2002
(HAVA) did a lot to ensure that polling places meet the needs of everyone.
However,
because voting is also an incredibly personal act, access alone is not
enough. HAVA says that each person must
be able to vote as privately and independently as any other person. That is why HAVA requires each polling place
to have an immensely important piece of assistive technology, an accessible
voting machine.
Now,
some of you may have already received a notice about voting by mail this election
season. At this time, 21 of Utah’s 29 counties
have moved to vote by mail this year. So
what does this mean for those who may require an accessible voting machine to
vote independently and privately?
The
counties that have moved to vote by mail usually have a few polling places
available on Election Day. Contact your
county clerk for more information on this.
If
you happen to live in a county that does traditional voting rather than vote by
mail, you will also have the option to vote early at some polling
locations. These locations will also
have an accessible voting machine. For
more information on early voting contact your county clerk’s office.
If
you need help finding your polling place, go to vote.utah.gov.
If
you experience any problems with voting on Election Day, whether by mail or
traditional means, the Disability Law Center (DLC) will have a voting hotline,
(800) 662-9080, to answer your questions while polls are open.
In
addition, if you have any questions or concerns about voting prior to Election
Day, please do not hesitate to contact the DLC at the same number or at disabilitylawcenter.org.
Utahns, are you looking for a place to serve? We have three!
The Utah Assistive Technology Program has long taken pride in its volunteers, who have helped us serve Utahns with disabilities for years. We have enjoyed the help of people who have retired but not stopped working; of students and community members; and, most recently, LDS missionaries fulfilling a service requirement.
AT Lab Coordinator Clay Christensen has two messages for those who donate their time to the AT Labs or CReATE: Thank you. And please don't stop.
Lately Christensen has been swamped with wheelchair maintenance requests--perhaps because insurance doesn't always cover the need, maybe because it's hard for patrons to find someone who can do it. He is grateful for the volunteers who help him keep up with the demand while still tending to other aspects of the AT Lab mission: demonstration, training, research and the development of prototype devices that help people with disabilities become more independent.
"It makes a huge difference," he said while two missionaries worked on moving and disassembling wheelchairs. "The labor these guys did today would've taken me five hours." (The two missionaries worked there for two hours that day.)
"It's fun," said Elder Weston, who has been coming twice a week. "It's hands-on, I get to tear things apart, and I help people change their lives."
"It's good to stay busy, and know something good's going to come out of it," said Elder Weston, who worked in the lab at the same time.
They are examples of what CReATE Program Coordinator Tom Boman said is ideal volunteers, because they come in on a regular basis. Boman, too, has benefited from volunteer help, which has eased the demands on his time. The program, based in Salt Lake City, refurbishes used mobility devices and transfers them to people who need them at an affordable cost. CReATE now transfers more than twice the number of devices as it did in 2014.
Volunteers help Boman keep up with the demand and deliver record numbers of mobility devices into the hands of people who need them. CReATE has enjoyed 30 to 50 hours per week of donated time in recent months, but Boman said they could always use more. "Volunteers who are willing to come in on a regular basis can really help us out," he said.
The new AT Lab at USU-Uintah Basin in Roosevelt is already feeling a similar pinch: lots of donated devices that could use some tweaking, lots of need, and not enough hours in a day. Lab Coordinator Cameron Cressall said volunteers would be welcome.
To find out more about volunteering with UATP, contact:
Clay Christensen, Logan Assistive Technology Lab, 435.797.0699
Tom Boman, CReATE, Salt Lake City, 801.877.9398
Cameron Cressall, USU-Uintah Basin AT Lab (Roosevelt) 435.722.1714
By Dr. Emily Lund Post-doctoral Fellow, Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Boston University 2016 Robins Award Winner, Graduate Researcher of the Year, Utah State University
“Sport doesn’t care who you are,” a 2012 advertisement for
Samsung announces, showing video of Paralympic athletes doing pushups, lifting
weights, swimming laps, and otherwise training intensely for the upcoming
games. The ad is one of many that has come out in recent years from Olympic
sponsors, promoting not just able-bodied athletes, but their
often-under-recognized Paralympic peers. During the 2016 Olympic games, it was
not uncommon to see Paralympians like ten-time wheelchair racing medalist Tatyana
McFadden featured alongside Olympians in ads supporting Team USA. As the 2016
Paralympic games start in Rio, increasing recognition, public interest, and
media coverage is being given to Paralympians.
Also encouraging is the increasing acknowledgement in the media that Paralympic athletes are just
that—world-class, talented, and extremely hardworking athletes. The inspiration
narrative of the coverage is shifting from one that focuses solely on
impairment to one that acknowledges the extraordinary skill of these
competitors.
The increasing and changing media coverage of the Paralympic
games in recent years represents a shift, however gradual, in how disability is
represented in the media. Historically, people with disabilities have often
been portrayed in a one-dimensional manner, seen solely as objects of pity or
passive inspiration. Telathons portrayed children with disabilities as people
who were incapable of living a good, rich, and meaningful life, and TV shows
often cast characters with disabilities for “special episodes” where the person
with a disability existed only to teach the main characters a touching life
lesson and then to disappear again.
Lost in these portrayals was an
acknowledgement of people with disabilities as complete people, with rich and
varied hopes, dreams, and experiences. Much like the narrative of Paralympic
games, that is now changing, as characters with disabilities become more
dynamic parts of the television landscape.
The new ABC comedy, “Speechless,” which premieres September
21, focuses on the life of a teenage boy with cerebral palsy, JJ DiMeo, and his
family. The ads for the show don’t sugarcoat the experience of disability—JJ’s
mother is shown fiercely advocating for her son’s rights to full inclusion in a
public school—but they don’t shy away from portraying JJ as a full person, one
who is opinionated, adventurous, and very much a teenage boy. He is shown to be
as much of a complex and involved character as any other one in the pilot,
despite the fact that he is non-verbal and uses a letter board to communicate.
Rather than being someone who merely watches the action unfold, JJ participates
in it actively. He is more than a plot point—he is truly a part of the
narrative.
“Speechless” represents one example of the new disability narrative that is seen on television. Another such example is the popular HBO show, “Game of Thrones,” which features Tyrion Lannister, a man with dwarfism, as a main character. Throughout the show, Tyrion is given substantial character development, both positive and negative, and while his disability and other people’s reactions to it are an important part of the narrative and his character, he is very much portrayed as a dynamic, complex, and complicated character. Although “Game of Thrones” and Speechless” are very different shows that are aimed at very different audiences, they both represent the increasing willingness of writers to embrace disability and characters with disabilities as central aspects of their shows. Additionally, both Tyrion—played by the Emmy-winning Peter Dinklage—and JJ—played by relative newcomer Micah Fowler—are portrayed by actors with disabilities, thus embracing the “nothing about us without us” aspect of the disability rights movement.
Similarly, the Emmy-nominated reality TV series, “Born This
Way,” on A&E follows the lives of seven young adults with Down Syndrome.
Their experiences of disability definitely influence the narrative of the show,
but much of what the subjects experience—questions of love, friendship, family,
school, and work--is familiar to anyone who’s gone through young adulthood,
regardless of disability status. In their willingness to show people with
disabilities as fully human, these portrayals allow people with disabilities to
be active participants in their own stories.
The changing portrayal of people with disabilities in the
media, be it Paralympic athletes, characters in scripted TV shows, or reality
TV stars, invites the public to see people with disabilities as people whose
stories should be told in full. Furthermore, it allows people with disabilities
and their family members, both as participants and viewers, to be part of a
richer, more complete conversation about what it means to live with a
disability.
This adapted saddle is one of many examplesof assistive technology used to help a person with disabilities meet his goal.
Utah State University-Uintah Basin and the Utah Assistive
Technology Program celebrate their new AT Lab with an open house on September 7.
The event takes place from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Multipurpose
room of the Roosevelt Campus, 987 E. Lagoon St., and it will feature
information from many different service providers for people with disabilities.
The Assistive Technology Labs in Roosevelt and Logan help
find customized solutions—both high- and low-tech—for people with disabilities
to meet their goals in employment, education and living independently. They
work in partnership with Options for Independence in Logan and Active Re-Entry
Independent Living Center in Eastern Utah.
Many different service providers for people with
disabilities will participate in the open house. Look for representatives
working in early intervention; assistive technology; Agrability (assistive
technology for people in agriculture); educators; independent living; alternative
communication; services for children with special health care needs (including
autism); a low interest loan and small grant program; and CReATE (which
provides affordable, refurbished mobility devices to Utahns who need them).
A number of vendors specializing in products and services
for people with disabilities will also attend.
For more information, contact: Clay
Christensen, lab coordinator in Logan, 435-797-0699
Cameron
Cressall, lab coordinator in Roosevelt, at 435-512-6121.
Thanks to the Assistive Technology Lab at USU-Logan, a friendly cashier can see eye to eye with her customers.
Diane Young of Logan worked through Vocational Rehabilitation to find a job with a large retailer, but her short stature made it hard for her to reach the keypad and interact with shoppers. She needed a platform.
The project was referred to the Assistive Technology Lab, part of the Utah Assistive Technology Program within the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University. From there, Lab Coordinator Clay Christensen and Mike Stokes, a volunteer, set about assessing the need.
When they looked for a ready-made platforms online, they decided those options were significantly less customized and more expensive than what they could build on their own.
Stokes and Christensen visited Young at work. They went with her to an empty cash register where they could take measurements and find the right height for Young's work station floor. Then Stokes made a platform that would not only raise the level of her work station, but also fill the work space without leaving any gaps that could be a safety hazard.
Stokes said the finished product was made of lightweight corrugated packaging material and covered with non-slip padding. He built handles into it to make it easier to move.
"It's working really well," Young said. "It's very lightweight. You can move it easily."
"After she got comfortable with it she was cashiering," Stokes said. "This was a great project. It was simple, quick and it makes it so she can work."
The AT labs at USU help find customized solutions for people with disabilities who want to meet a goal. Projects are usually done for the cost of materials, though donations--either monetary or of used equipment--are encouraged. More information is available on the lab's webpage.
Jose Morales receives a wheelchair from CReaTE in Salt Lake City. Soon, people in the Uintah Basin will have access to CReATE devices.
For years, CReATE has been putting equipment into the hands--and smiles on the faces--of people who need mobility equipment on the Wasatch Front. Now, refurbished mobility devices can roll out to new parts of the state.
An exchange of devices between CReATE in Salt Lake City and the Uintah Basin can now begin, thanks to the opening of the Utah Assistive Technology Program's new USU-Uintah Basin AT Lab and the addition of a big trailer.
The new trailer was purchased through a grant from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, and it's an important part of UATP's goal to make services mobile in the Uintah Basin.
UATP staff can now to pick up donations from the USU-Uintah Basin AT Lab and deliver them to the CReATE program in Salt Lake City. There, they can be refurbished and transferred at an affordable cost to people who need them. The CReATE program can also transfer wheelchairs, walkers and other mobility-related assistive technology back to people in the basin.
"We want people to know that this is part of the Roosevelt Lab," said Clay Christensen, the Logan AT lab coordinator. "{Roosevelt AT Lab Coordinator] Cameron will represent CReATE in the basin area."
That's good news--and it's sure to bring more smiles to people with disabilities in rural Utah.
Join us as we celebrate the opening of the new USU-Uintah Basin AT Lab in Roosevelt on Wednesday, September 7 from 4 to 7 p.m. in the multipurpose room of Utah State University's Roosevelt campus. We will introduce our new director as well as services available from the AT Lab.
We are inviting other service providers to join us and set up a table at our open house.
If you provide services for people within the Uintah Basin in Utah and you are interested in setting up a booth, please email JoLynne at utahatp [at] gmail [dot] com.
Daemon Wabel had outgrown his wheelchair. “He’d had the same
wheelchair since he was three, and he’d outgrown it,” said his mother, Stacey.
It was too narrow, and it was falling apart. But replacing
it would mean paying a $4000 deductible, and that price was awfully steep.
So Stacey found an ad on KSL Classifieds that mentioned the
CReATE program. Based in Salt Lake City, CReATE takes used mobility devices and
refurbishes them, then transfers them back to people who need them at a low
cost.
She contacted Tom Boman at CreATE. Tom asked for some
measurements, then searched the inventory for a chair that would work. CREaTE
doesn’t normally stock pediatric chairs, but they did find a smaller chair for
Daemon. “It was like finding a needle in a haystack,” Stacey said.
That was just the first step. Boman needed to refurbish
Daemon’s new chair, so he did some welding on the old one to help it hold
together until the refurbished one was ready. “He’d gotten a lot of use out of
that old chair,” Boman said.
Boman also modified the new chair so that it could accommodate
Daemon as he grows.
When Daemon received his new chair, it was a joyous moment.
He does not talk, but he still communicated. “When we changed him out of his other chair,
he screamed with delight,” Stacey said. “I’m not exaggerating. He was just
bouncing around in there. … It was very obvious that he loved this chair.”
Boman said CReATE helps people—like Daemon—who have needs
that cannot be met. Often, insurance programs only pay for a wheelchair every
five years. Many chairs don’t last that long.
Fortunately for CReATE, other
chairs do outlast their owners’ need. Some of those are donated to CReATE,
where they are refurbished and transferred to those who need them at a low
cost. CReATE (Citizens Reutilizing Assistive Technology Equipment) is part of
the Utah Assistive Technology Program within the Center for Persons with
Disabilities at Utah State University.
The AT Lab in Roosevelt will offer services similar to those out of the Logan AT Lab.
People with disabilities in the Uintah Basin will soon have
more help meeting their goals for independence, thanks to a grant from the
Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and the new Assistive Technology Lab at
Utah State University in Roosevelt.
The lab and the $73,925 High Impact Innovative Assistive Technology grant from the foundation will open
up new possibilities. People in the Uintah Basin will have expanded opportunities to obtain and learn about assistive technologies
that could make a difference to people with mobility,
communication, vision, hearing or other disabilities.
“We have a physical presence over there in the Uintah Basin
now,” said Alma Burgess, the grant’s principal investigator. “That allows us to do something similar to
what the AT Lab does in Logan now.”
The funding will support the Roosevelt lab’s services.
It will also enhance the device loan bank already operating there. The
loan bank allows people to find out if a piece of assistive technology—which
can sometimes be costly—will truly work for them before they make a purchase.
The Roosevelt AT Lab will also provide training on how to
use assistive technology; build, modify and maintain devices; and work with people with disabilities. In addition, it will perform services
similar to those already offered in the CReATE program in Salt Lake City, offering affordable refurbished devices to people
who need them.
Technology
is constantly improving. This includes
assistive technology, as I am sure many readers have seen. At the Disability Law Center, we advocate for
people with disabilities to get the assistive technology they need. Rarely have we been able to advocate for the improvement
of technology. Over the last few months,
however, we received such an opportunity.
Here
at the DLC, we are aware that people who use wheelchairs have little access to
taxicabs and similar services. As we
were looking into options to try to force their hands at providing some access,
we were put in touch with the folks at Uber.
We were aware that Uber has been operating their Uber Assist program, an
option for Uber riders that is able to provide more assistance for people with
disabilities, in Utah for quite some time.
While this program can help certain people in wheelchairs, it did not
provide access to people who use power chairs.
The
DLC and Uber worked together to find vehicles, and drivers, that were equipped
to provide riders to people who use power chairs. After a few months and several meetings, we
were able to get a vehicle provider on board to get Uber WAV (Wheelchair
Accessible Vehicles) up and running.
Last
month, Andrew Riggle, DLC Public Policy Advocate, and Ms. Wheelchair Utah,
Eliza McIntosh, took
the inaugural Uber WAV ride to the Utah Center for Assistive
Technology in Salt Lake City.
In
order to request a ride, once you have the Uber app, you just select “Access”
on the vehicle icon slider and select WAV.
Unfortunately, vehicles may be limited at this time, until we get more
providers and drivers on the app.
However, Uber is aware when rides are requested, and an increased demand
will help us get more vehicles on the platform to ensure more access.
Do you need an assistive technology device? Do you have a goal for independence and you need to figure out how to meet it? Do you already know of technology that could help you gain independence--or even income--but you don't know how to finance it?
This is for you!
This video offers a brief introduction to the Assistive Technology Lab, the CReATE reutilization program (at 19:09) and loans available through the Utah Assitive Technology Foundation (at 36:31).
An IDASL student works on a wheelchair for client Gordon Richins.
The IDASL program has trained students on addressing
disability issues since 2001. Starting in Fall 2016, it will be an option for
Utah State University students in the Uintah Basin.
The IDASL (Interdisciplinary Disability Awareness and
Service Learning) class is a two-semester, one- to three-credit course
available to juniors, seniors and graduate students of all disciplines. Its
purpose is to help people from all academic fields work together to find
solutions to disability-related issues. The number of credits available depends
on the student’s level of involvement.
Cameron Cressall, an alumnus of the program who is now the
Assistive Technology Lab coordinator in Roosevelt, took the class when he
returned to school after years in construction work and furniture building.
“Of all the classes I’ve taken at USU, that one class had
more impact, hands down, than any other,” he said. “It led me to what I do
today.” It made his work experience in building relevant in his chosen
field: Social work. (As the lab coordinator, Cressall helps people meet their
goals for independence by using technology to move, eat or enjoy a favorite
activity.)
His lab experience also provided him with a career option
that felt right. “I’m building, creating, doing fun stuff and making people
happy. … It’s not hard to be passionate
about my job.”
Cressall worked in the AT lab as part of the service
learning the IDASL program requires of all its students. Now, the lab he leads
will provide similar opportunities to students in a whole new part of the
state. Other service learning options in the Uintah Basin are pending.
In addition to service learning experiences, the class
requires its students to attend seminars and presentations where they learn
about disability in a collaborative, solution-focused approach.
Stipends are available for long-term trainees. For more
information, contact Alma Burgess, the project coordinator.
Communications app training will especially benefit children and adults on the autism spectrum
A free webinar will address teaching communication skills. It takes place June 23 from 3 to 4 p.m. Many people make the false assumption that learners/candidates for augmentative and alternative communication have two-way, turn-taking conversational skills in place. Most times, this is not true. The learner must be explicitly guided through the conversational process.
For example, we assume everyone knows that asking someone, "How are you?" would result in the conversation partner replying, "Fine, thanks. How are you?" Most times, early or young AAC candidates do not reciprocate the conversational segment.
Further, in the case of people with autism spectrum disorder, the learner is often not even aware that they must take a turn in the conversation. Often, false conversations between a person without disabilities and a person with disabilities devolves into a game of 20 questions in a one-way conversation. This is also the case for almost all AAC conversations.
RJ Cooper
RJ Cooper, longtime developer of assistive technology and AAC, has developed an app that guides such persons through a conversation. At the conclusion of applied therapy, generalization might even be possible. RJ will be showing video, presenting research, and finally taking questions.
This webinar will be presented by RJ Cooper of RJ Cooper and Associates.
In order to participate, you will need a computer with high speed internet access.
RSVP
If you are interested in joining please RSVP by Tuesday, June 21 by contacting Lois Summers. Participant instructions
will be emailed to you.
If you are a screen reader user, or need any other accommodations in order to participate in the training, please contact UATP Program Director Sachin Pavithran no later than Tuesday, June 21 to make arrangements to participate via phone. Please feel free to pass this information on to anyone that might be interested.
CReATE lab coordinator reflects on success in Salt Lake City
Recently, the people at CReATE in Salt Lake City finished a month for the record books by providing 25 devices to people who need them. We asked Tom Boman, the CReATE coordinator, to tell us more.
You had a record-breaking month. Tell me more about it: were
the 25 devices you transferred to clients mostly electric wheelchairs?
There was a variety of
mobility devices transferred: five power wheelchairs, one scooter, 14 manual
wheelchairs, four wheel walkers (rollators), and a wheelchair carrier. In past years CReATE has almost exclusively
focused on power wheelchairs, but we’ve tried to slowly expand our offerings
and it’s worked out much better than we’d expected.
How does this compare to the volume of devices transferred a
year ago? Two years ago?
In 2015 we transferred
an average of 13.1 devices per month, and in 2014 it was 9.8. Our 2016 monthly average is 20.4.
What difference do these devices make to the people you
serve? Is there a recent example that stands out to you?
It’s quite common for
some of the mobility devices we transfer to almost become an extension of
people’s bodies. It can become part of
their identity and an integral part of their independence. We
recently refurbished a power wheelchair for a lady that enabled her to continue
her work on a medical assembly production line.
The power seat on her previous chair stopped working and she spent
months not being able to change her body position for her 10-hour shifts. The power wheelchair we worked on for her has
power rehabilitation seating that enables her to elevate herself up to the
correct height, and to vary her body position throughout the workday to help
eliminate fatigue and injury. Seeing
that type of direct impact on people’s lives makes this work very rewarding for
all of us.
Have you had to make changes in the shop to do this much
more business?
Wow, where do I begin…? There have been a lot of changes in the past
three years I’ve been here. If you’d
seen the shop before then and saw it again now, the thing that would probably
strike you the most is the level of organization. We have more than doubled the warehouse
racking and added a lot of special parts racks, storage bins, totes, and
cabinets to store all the wheelchair parts.
You’d also probably notice that we have a lot more wheelchairs
and other mobility devices packed inside the shop. There’s just not much open space at all, and
we have to resort to storing some devices outside. We also have a lot more tools than we used to,
and we’ve worked hard to keep them organized and readily accessible. New workbenches with a custom-built
wheelchair hoist have also helped us get the devices at a comfortable level for
the work we do. A custom-developed MS
Access database has enabled us to consolidate all of the information on our client
contacts and the all of the devices we have in inventory. Finally, and most importantly, is the
addition of the eight different volunteers that help us out to the tune of
30-50 hours each week. Our volunteers
are the best, and they make a big difference in what we are able to provide the
community.
What role do those volunteers play?
Volunteers are absolutely
critical to our work here. Our ability
to provide this level of service is due in large part to them. They come from
different backgrounds and offer us their unique perspectives on the challenges
that we face here at CReATE. They help
at almost every level of work we do here; from refurbishing complex power
wheelchairs to scrapping out wheelchairs to cleaning the shop and organizing
parts.
How could the public help you carry on CReATE’s mission?
We can always use more
donated devices and more volunteer help.
We have a lot, but are always in need of more devices and parts to be
able to help our clientele. Their need
is constant so ours is as well. Volunteers that willing to return on a regular
basis can really help us out. People can
also help spread the word about CReATE.
Occasionally we have clients that cannot cover the cost of our modest
service fees and cannot secure funding through normal channels. If someone would like to help cover those
costs, that would not only help our clients but would also help us to “keep the
lights on” and to continue to serve the community.
Cameron Cressall is the new AT Lab coordinator in the Uintah Basin.
There is a new face in the
assistive technology scene in Roosevelt—and he’s ready to get people rolling.
Cameron Cressall is the
coordinator of the new Assistive Technology Lab on Utah State University’s
Roosevelt campus. Assistive technology is used to help people with disabilities
achieve independence. The new lab will
work in partnership with other providers, including the Active Re-Entry
Independent Living Center in Price, to provide customized assistive technology
to Utahns in the Uintah Basin.
“It’s not hard to be
passionate about my job,” Cressall said. “I’m building, creating, doing fun
things, making people happy.”
While the lab is just getting
started in Roosevelt, Cressall is not new to assistive technology. He worked in
the AT Lab in Logan, where he regularly helped people meet their goals for
independence.
Both AT labs are part of the Utah Assistive Technology Program in
the Center for Persons with disabilities, and they do more than just repair
equipment. They also customize it to ensure it works for individuals with disabilities. "We look forward to working with Cameron to continue meeting the needs in the Uintah Basin," said Nancy Bentley, Active Re-Entry's director. "Now we can involve the community even more, because the lab can take used devices, give them another life and put them into the hands of the people who need them." "The AT Lab on USU's Logan campus has provided services that have helped a lot of people in Northern Utah," said Sachin Pavithran, the UATP director. "We're excited to bring those services to the Uintah Basin, and to provide them in a mobile format to reach people in rural settings."
Before getting involved in the
disability field, Cressall worked in construction and building. Eventually he
found himself back in school at Utah State University, taking the Interdisciplinary Disability and Service
Learning (IDASL) class offered through the CPD and completing a bachelor’s degree in social work. The IDASL class teaches people from
all fields of study about disability issues. It also gives service learning
opportunities to students, including an option to gain experience in
the Assistive Technology Lab on the Logan campus.
“It totally changed my life,”
Cressall said. “Of all the classes I’ve taken at USU, that one class had more
impact, hands down, than any other. … It led me to what I do today.” It also provided a good blend of tinkering, building, customizing and serving people.
How you can help
Both the Logan and Roosevelt labs need your
donations—especially of used assistive technology equipment like wheelchairs,
scooters, lifts and power wheelchairs. If you have devices you would like to
donate, please call 1-800-524-5152.
This summer, JoLynne Lyon will be blogging, Facebooking,
tweeting, Google-plus-ing, and communicating with the media and the public for the Utah
Assistive Technology Program.
She is a freelance storyteller with expertise in public
relations and marketing, and she’s excited to work again with people from the
Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University (she was its PR
specialist years ago). “I love the CPD,”
she said, “and UATP is such a vibrant program. It’s doing a lot to change the
lives of people with disabilities in Utah, and those efforts are growing
throughout the state.”
If you want to get the word out on assistive technology
issues—especially in Utah—you can contact her via multiple social networks, or
through email at gemcache1[at]gmail.com.
The Center for Persons with Disabilities is decorated with farewell graffiti. It is scheduled for demolition this month, but UATP's services to clients will remain the same.
If you’ve been on the Logan campus of Utah State University lately,
you’ve probably noticed some changes. The building that houses the Center for
Persons with Disabilities was recently covered in graffiti in one last,
affectionate gesture of farewell. It is now fenced off from the public and will
soon be demolished.
Construction will begin this summer on the new Center for
Clinical Excellence, which will house many Center for Persons with Disabilities
programs.
Here’s how these changes will affect the people served by
the Utah Assistive Technology Program: They won’t.
Though UATP is a program of the Center for Persons with Disabilities,
it is not expected to relocate to the new center, which is scheduled for
completion in late fall of 2017.
Some administrative UATP offices have moved physically, but they
are still located in the Human Services Research Center on the Logan campus,
and email addresses and phone numbers remain the same.
By Nate Crippes Utah Disability Law Center As a new semester progresses, it is helpful to remember what higher education institutions must do to aid students with disabilities. In particular, it is helpful to know what higher ed must do to aid students with assistive technology. While law and regulation on this topic is complex, the U.S. Department of Education has a useful Q&A on these issues.
As the department notes, an institution may be required to provide “auxiliary aids and services” to students with disabilities: [Auxiliary aids and services] include note-takers, readers, recording devices, sign language interpreters, screen-readers, voice recognition and other adaptive software or hardware for computers, and other devices designed to ensure the participation of students with impaired sensory, manual or speaking skills in an institution’s programs and activities. It is important to keep in mind, however, that institutions would not be required to provide these auxiliary aids and services, or assistive technology, for personal use or study. They would also not be required to provide every aid a student wants. Institutions are not required to provide an academic adjustment that would alter or waive essential academic requirements. They also do not have to provide an academic adjustment that would fundamentally alter the nature of a service, program or activity or result in undue financial or administrative burdens considering the institution’s resources as a whole. In addition, an institution is not required to make modifications that would result in undue financial or administrative burdens. Public institutions are required to give primary consideration to the device or service that the student requests, but can opt to provide alternative aids or services if they are effective. If a student with a disability is in need of assistive technology, or any other accommodation, their institution will have a procedure in place. Each institution’s procedure will be slightly different, but they will have an office that can help with accommodations for assistive technology (links to the major Utah colleges and universities accessibility offices are below). While not all accommodations will be provided, a student who is provided assistive technology as an accommodation is not expected to pay for it. As the department states: Once the needed auxiliary aids and services have been identified, institutions may not require students with disabilities to pay part or all of the costs of such aids and services, nor may institutions charge students with disabilities more for participating in programs or activities than they charge students who do not have disabilities. Institutions generally may not condition their provision of academic adjustments on the availability of funds, refuse to spend more than a certain amount to provide academic adjustments, or refuse to provide academic adjustments because they believe other providers of such services exist. In many cases, institutions may meet their obligation to provide auxiliary aids and services by assisting students in either obtaining them or obtaining reimbursement for their cost from an outside agency or organization, such as a state VR agency. Such assistance notwithstanding, institutions retain ultimate responsibility for providing necessary auxiliary aids and services and for any costs associated with providing such aids and services or utilizing outside sources. The department provides much more information. In addition, if you have questions regarding accommodations, including those involving assistive technology, you can contact the Disability Law Center. More information can be offered, and, if necessary, legal consultation to help you resolve the issues with the institution. Please visit our website, or call us at 1-800-662-9080.
