AgrAbility National Training Workshop

The annual AgrAbility National Training Workshop is coming up in April, and will be held in Minneapolis. Professionals and consumers are welcome. A limited number of scholarships are available to farmers and ranchers. Learn more at the AgrAbility website.

UATP Highlights for Dec. 2012 and Jan. 2013

What has UATP been up to? Here's a few highlights from the past two months to show how we serve the Utah public.
 
1. Storee, UATP public relations specialist, presented a training on assistive technology for children to the Davis County Up to 3 program on Jan. 25^th. Twenty professionals attended.
2. Monica, minority outreach specialist, provided a demonstration to the Options for Independence low-vision group. Eleven individuals attended. She will provide another demonstration on January 17th. 
3. Clay, AT Lab coordinator, has been charged with moving the Smart Apartment forward. This is a project that will assist with research and creating new assistive technology systems. He will be wiring and running sensors in cooperation with the Energy Dynamics Lab. 
4. Clay reported that three PEER students are utilizing the AT Lab, along with one student from the Employability Clinic. Approximately 60 students from the USU SPED 5530 class will be working on projects at the Lab.


Emma Ward was one of CReATE's
2012 wheelchair recipients.
5. CReATE (Citizens Reutilizing Assistive Technology Equipment) refurbished, recycled and repaired 102 donated mobility devices in 2012, saving consumers $83,960.
6. The Utah Assistive Technology Foundation approved 11 loans in December and three small grants to individuals with disabilities to buy assistive technology.

Rep. Ed Redd visits AT Lab

In January, Utah State Representative Ed Redd of Legislative District 4 (Cache Valley), visited the Assistive Technology Lab to learn more about what the UATP does to serve the community. Rep. Redd is a physician by trade, and has experience in disability issues. Thanks for your support Rep. Redd!

 

 

Rep. Ed Redd (2nd left) with UATP staff in the Assistive Technology Lab.

Rep. Redd is was elected to the Utah Legislature
last November, and UATP is looking forward to his service.

Rep. Redd admires the AT Lab's welding station.

Clay and Ed conversing about what the AT Lab
does to help Utahn's with disabilities.

AT Lab Coordinator Clay Christensen (back left) shows Rep. Redd (front)
a project he's working on for a community member.

AT Reuse in January

UATP's Assistive Technology reuse program, CReATE (Citizen's Reutilizing Assistive Technology Equipment), helped several Utahn's obtain power wheelchairs in January, including Juana Apaza (pictured below). To see the available inventory of mobility equipment at CReATE, visit http://www.uatpat.org/create/CReATE_Inventory_webpage.pdf. CReATE is an initiative of the UATP, and is available to Utahns with disabilities.




Power chair recipient, Juana Apaza, tries out her device from CReATE.

Meet Your Elected Official on Jan. 17th

The Northern Utah Coalition on Disability (NUCD) will host a “Meet Your Elected Official” event on Thursday, January 17 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Jim Bridger Room at Logan City Library, 255 North Main Street. Legislators from Cache, Rich and Box Elder counties have been invited.

The NUCD includes representatives from the Utah State University Center for Persons with Disabilities (CPD), OPTIONS for Independence and the Grassroots Advocacy Partnership (GAP) of Utah. This event, in preparation for the upcoming session of the Utah Legislature, offers elected officials an opportunity to talk about their legislative priorities and committee assignments, and how these relate to individuals with disabilities and their families living in Cache Valley. Attendees also may submit questions.

One of the issues being discussed in the upcoming legislative session is funding for the Utah Department of Health’s Baby Watch Program. This building block request will directly impact the CPD’s Up to 3 program and its ability to provide services to families of children up to age 3 who have developmental delays or disabilities.

For more information, contact Cherissa Alldredge, regional organizer with the Grassroots Advocacy Partnership (GAP) of Utah, via e-mail at cherissaalldredge@hotmail.com.

Logan Herald Journal 'USU employee appointed by Obama to national board'

Read about UATP's program director's appointment by President Obama to the U.S. Access Board in an article in today's Herald Journal newspaper:

Dec. 5, 2012
By Kevin Opsahl

An employee at Utah State University's Center for Persons with Disabilities has been appointed by President Barack Obama to a top federal government board charged with writing technical standards for policies for disabled persons.
 

Sachin Dev Pavithran, the program director of the Utah Assistive Technology Program at the center, was appointed to the U.S. Access Board on Tuesday, according to the board’s website.

Read the rest of the story here.

Utah Assistive Technology Program director appointed to Access Board by Pres. Obama

More key administration posts were announced by the Obama Presidency Friday. Among them was Cache Valley resident Sachin Pavithran. 
 
The appointment makes him a member of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, also known as the U.S. Access Board, which is in charge of writing technical standards for various policies relating to people with disabilities. The board consists of 13 appointed members who work in conjunction with the staff of the board in drafting standards.

Sachin Pavithran (center), a Utah State University
grad, will serve on the U.S. Access Board.

Pavithran said, "These are the kinds of things I've been working towards, but I didn't think it was going to happen this quick - I was surprised when I got the call."
 
Seven months ago, Pavithran received a call from the White House after being highly-recommended for a position on the board. Since then, he has undergone multiple and various background checks to verify Pavithran "as a person" rather than his qualifications - something he's not lacking in.
 


Pavithran with his former
guide dog, Barstowe.

The Utah State University graduate serves on the Committee of the National Federation of the Blind, the Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs National Board and is also currently the director of the Utah Assistive Technology Program at the Center for Persons with Disabilities (CPD) at USU.  

"I'm really excited. I know I'm going to learn a lot about policy," Pavithran said.
 
Some of the key issues the board will be dealing with include web accessibility, education, ADA issues, and policy that impacts people with disabilities.

One issue he hopes to especially contribute to is accessibility for the blind. Pavithran, who is blind, has 12 years of experience in accessible websites and training others in assistive technology.

While the position will require Pavithran to spend time in Washington D.C., he will continue to pursue his Ph.D at USU in disability disciplines with a focus on rehabilitation, while working at the CPD.
 
"I know it's going to be a lot of work. This is not something I just sit back and listen," Pavithran said. "There are a lot of expectations from me and I hope to live up to them and learn and contribute."

In January, he will be sworn in to the position, which is not dependent on the term of the president. Rather, it is an ongoing appointment.

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For more information about this story, contact UATP's Public Relations Specialist, Storee Powell, at storee.powell@usu.edu or 435-797-7412.