From the elderly at the grocery store struggling to read labels, to those paralyzed through an accident, individuals with disabilities are not uncommon and federal laws mandate special adaptations for their needs. When individuals need adaptations to technology for their disabilities, the Assistive Technology Center (ATC) at Signal Centers is a valuable resource.
The Signal Centers ATC uses a team approach with clients to do an evaluation with the technology of the center that the client may or may not need, says Mitzi Davenport, an assistive technology professional with Signal Centers. Clients get to try each device to fit their needs in a hands-on way, and then the ATC staff makes recommendations. The ATC does not sell the devices, but once an item has been approved by vocational/rehabilitation of Tennessee or purchased out of pocket by the client, it will be shipped to the ATC where they configure the device to meet the client’s needs, train them to use the device and get them set up and off to a good start.
Steve Powell, the coordinator of vocational/rehabilitation services, says training is just as big a part of the process as the assessment, because once clients find the technology solution for them, the training allows them to move forward with the technology so it is not forgotten because a client doesn’t know how to use it. The ATC also does technology reutilization and loan. This means that the center refurbishes donated equipment and gives it to people with disabilities. Their lending library has a range of adapted toys, equipment and computers available for all ages and the center also adapts toys to be used by children with disabilities.
For example, children who have cerebral palsy may not have the dexterity to press the button to activate a singing toy. They can have the toy adapted by the ATC to work via a switch that can easily be activated. “It’s great because then the child can play with the toy just like any other child does,” Powell says. “They get the positive reinforcement with the song that plays when the switch is pressed, and they see when they push the button, they get a reaction.” This switch adaptation can further be used to plug into a communication device and, with the right software, this switch can hook up to a computer and run the entire computer with one little button.
“A child who can just move their head or slap a switch can do all these other things that everyone else can do simply through that switch access,” Powell says. Another part of this program is design reutilization. The ATC design specialist has built devices to serve those as young as four months up to those 100 years old, for every disability imaginable. Davenport says, “If we bring the individual in, try some things and there’s not a good fit ‘off the shelf’ where you can purchase it, then our design specialist gets his juices flowing and he creates, adapts, or builds something that will meet the needs.”
For example, the designer built a device similar to a joystick mouse that sells for more than $500 in catalogs for $50 with arcade parts, and was able to make the device voice feedback adapted to fit the client’s needs. Because this was part of the reutilization program, the ATC was able to give this to the client at no charge. The ATC constantly asks for computers and technology that people may be looking to get rid of and would donate, so that the center can refurbish these items and give them back to those with disabilities.
For those with age related disabilities, the ATC has many different assistive devices. For hearing loss, there are all kinds of amplification devices that can either enhance what the hearing aid does or just amplify sound, Davenport says. There’s also all kind of low-tech things like large print measuring cups and other things to use in daily living, Davenport says.
The Signal Centers ATC has a partnership with UTC, which allows engineering students to design specific technology for children in school with disabilities. One such project was a walker adapted for a little boy. The boy had refused to use a walker because it didn’t look cool, but when he got the walker with the body of a Hot Wheels car around it, he took to it immediately and walked more in 30 minutes with the walker than he had his whole life.
“Another great part of this program is that engineering students get to interact with the child, which is good for empathy, understanding disabilities, and determining what this child needs to be more successful,” Davenport says.
The ATC at Signal Centers is open to serve anyone, and has had people literally walk in off the street and ask for help, Powell says. There are no limits to who they can help, he says.