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AT Success Stories News and Events

Despite School Closures, Switch User Doesn’t Miss a Beat!

Written by Stacy Fulton, EASTCONN Assistive Technology Specialist, ATP, OTR/L, CAPS

When school buildings closed in mid-March due to COVID-19, I joined the ranks of Connecticut’s educators, therapists and AT providers who were forced to find creative, alternative ways to provide direct services. One of my biggest challenges was how to provide appropriate services for a student with significant physical and visual impairments who required assistive technology in order to participate in his educational programming. Because this young man would need to work from home, EASTCONN’s AT team decided to offer a crash course in technology to the student’s mother. She was excited and eager to learn how to use his extensive array of equipment; once it was delivered, we established a training schedule that suited her needs.

Every Monday, we presented one new “device” with our student’s mom. We shared videos to reinforce the technology set-ups and functions and taught her how to connect and use them. With this training she was able to support her son’s progress in communication, cognition, participation in virtual class meetings and leisure activities.

EASTCONN Training VideoThe devices that were presented include an access switch, iPad/talker with GoTalk Now for making choices through auditory scanning, Powerlink to participate in functional home activities, All-Turn-Spinner to increase his participation in virtual class meetings, Step-by-Step Communicator to share novel information during virtual class meetings, a laptop computer with switch access for accessing auditory books and switch websites, and a switch-adapted Uno Attack game for social interaction and leisure. The student’s mom quickly mastered each device and was able to utilize them at home with her son on a daily basis. Mom successfully

adapted to holding the switch for the student, since he was awaiting the arrival of a new switch mount. Mom happily shared his success with the devices at home by sending videos to our team. If you’d like to see how well this student used his assistive technology, click on the following link to view one of the videos (and see his priceless smile) while using the Powerlink to participate in a food-prep activity with his mom.

Click here to see Video on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cjghuber/videos/1127137150956057/.

Student helping mom using switch/Powerlink to activate the blenders

 

Categories
General News and Events

Free CRISKids Resources During COVID-19

CRISKids Audio Library

CRIS is offering free, temporary log-in credentials to educators, parents and students to access the CRISKids Audio Library during the pandemic. The CRISKids Audio Library is quite extensive, with more than 1,000 recordings, nearly all requested by teachers in Connecticut. Access to the recordings will be free and available on any Wi-Fi connected device or smartphone, as well as through our CRIS Radio mobile app.  Contact Laura Boogaert at lboogaert@crisradio.org to receive free login credentials and instructions on how to access the service.  

Categories
General News and Events

Independent Living Centers Use Virtual Strategies to Offer Critical Support

Republished  from Connecticut Association of Centers for Independent Living (CACIL)

As an Independent Living Advocate, Katie Smolinsky supports and guides people with disabilities through finding ways to live life in the community, such as learning how to use transportation, applying for benefits and finding affordable housing. She also helps with day-to-day living skills, like budgeting.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic closed Connecticut’s five Independent Living Center (ILC) offices, Katie met with consumers in-person to establish their goals and plan to help them reach maximum independence.

Today, Katie can’t meet in person, which is especially challenging when working with deaf consumers and more important than ever for every consumer during this crisis. But through video phone and other conferencing technology, where she utilizes her fluency in American Sign Language, Katie is able to maintain a connection.

Katie Smolinsky “I’m the person who stands behind them, cheering them on with encouragement and accountability,” Katie says. “Working as an advocate is an incredible way to empower individuals to live independently.”

Connecticut’s ILCs are one of the state’s most cost-effective programs, making it possible for thousands of people to live in their communities. Katie is just one of dozens of ILC staffers across the state who continue to work every day to provide essential services.

Thank you for your continued support of Connecticut’s Independent Living Centers!

 

You can reach out to the Centers Independent Living in your area

  • Independence Unlimited, Hartford, 860-523-5021
  • Independence Northwest, Naugatuck, 203-729-3299
  • Disabilities Network of Eastern CT, Norwich, 860-823-1898
  • Access Independence, Stratford, 203-378-6977
  • Center for Disability Rights, West Haven, 203-934-7077

For more staff spotlights and information on CACIL visit their page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/cacil.net

Categories
News and Events Product Spotlight

Featured Item: The GrandPad

Written by EASTCONN, Where Learning Comes to Life, Assistive Technology Library

During these uncertain times our reliance on technology to stay connected with family and friends is more important than ever.  Designed with seniors in mind,  the GrandPad simplifies the interface to the basic features offered in many other tablets.  With it’s large buttons and intuitive interface the GrandPad is a functional tablet for seniors.  The GrandPad can help seniors to stay connected by easily viewing family photos and videos, playing games, listening to music, checking emails, making phone calls, video chatting, and much more!

Interested Consortium Member districts can borrow this item by contacting any member of the AT Team or by emailing Carol Magliocco at cmagliocco@eastconn.org.

Categories
Events News and Events

March 4, 2020 National Assistive Technology Awareness Day!

Written by Arlene Lugo, Program Director, CT Tech Act Project

The U.S. Senate has designated Wednesday, March 4, 2020, as National Assistive Technology Day to raise awareness about Assistive Technology devices and services used to increase independence and allow for inclusion of individuals with disabilities, as well as older adults in their communities,
schools, homes and workplaces. This special day also commends our nation’s Assistive Technology specialists and program coordinators for their dedication to serving individuals with disabilities and older adults.

In honor of this day, the CT Tech Act Project would like to express its gratitude to its community partner agencies who provide such depth and breadth of Assistive Technology services to the residents of Connecticut every day.

Word Cloud of Thank you in many different langauges

Many thanks to our partners at:

CREC: www.crec.org/at

Berkshire Bank: www.CTtechact.com/loan

EASTCONN: www.eastconn.org/assistive-technology-home

The Eastern CT Assistive Technology Center at WRCC:
(860) 423-4534 ext. 319

The NEAT England Assistive Technology Center (NEAT):
https://assistivetechnology.oakhillct.org

SERC: (860) 632-1485 ext. 319

SCSU Center for Educational and Assistive Technology:
https://inside.southernct.edu/ceat

UCP of Eastern CT: https://ucpect.org/assistive-technology-at

The Western CT Assistive Technology Center at WCAAA:
https://wcaaa.org/programs/assistive-technology-center

#ATAwarenessDay

Categories
ICT Accessibility News and Events

Accessibility Tip: Everyone Uses Captions!

Written by Adam Kosakowski, M.Ed., ATP, Assistive Technology Specialist at New England Assistive Technology (NEAT), an Oak Hill Center

If you’re deaf or hard of hearing or know someone in that population, you likely know about captioning and how it’s needed on videos in order for them to be accessible. But, did you also know that 80% of people who use captions are not deaf or hard of hearing? I am part of that 80%, and although I do not identify with deafness or being hard of hearing, I always turn on
subtitles/captioning when available because it improves my comprehension of dialogue and increases my engagement with the video.

I love captions!
What I’m saying is, captions are used by a huge audience!
(For this statistic and more, check out this link: captioning statistics article by 3PlayMedia)

Quick fact! Captioning and subtitles are technically different. Subtitles are displayed during a video that includes spoken dialogue. Compare this to captioning, which includes spoken dialogue as well as non-dialogue noises like laughter, coffee pouring, explosions, etc. But, the two terms are often used interchangeably nowadays. This article will use the term captioning in
this flexible way.

So, nearly everyone wants captioning, whether or not they have a disability. But, captioning on videos in social media is rare, especially when you consider how many videos are posted every day. The good news is that you don’t need to be a video editing expert to add captions to your videos. There are a myriad of ways to add captions to your videos and my favorite is Clipomatic on Apple devices.

Clipomatic costs $4.99, but it is so worth it. When you start up the app, you press the big red record button and start recording, just like you would in other recording apps. While you record, the app automatically hears what you’re saying and adds captions to your video. When you’re done, press the stop button. Before you save your video, you can even tap a caption it created and then edit it, which is great when the app makes a rare mistake in its word recognition.

Using apps like this, you can seamlessly add captioning to your videos and post to social media. Taking this small, extra step can help you make a statement as an accessibility advocate!

Contact Adam at Adam.Kosakowski@OakHillCT.org and follow him on Twitter: @NEATwithAdam

Categories
AT Success Stories News and Events

Working Together to Support Independence

Written by Stacy Fulton, ​EASTCONN Assistive Technology Specialist, ATP, OTR/L, CAPS

In the Spring of 2019, Connecticut’s State Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education, made available an opportunity for one-time funding for “Individuals with Significant Cognitive Disabilities.” Eastford Public Schools, in collaboration with EASTCONN’s Woodstock Academy Cooperative, proposed and received an award to further independence in an Eastford student, along with her peers in the program, and to improve their Activities of Daily Living (ADL) skills. One facet of the program added the support of EASTCONN’ S Occupational Therapy and Assistive Technology professionals, first to identify tools and resources to support independent performance; and second, to embed training and consultation to support both staff and students in strategies and practices that support increased independence in ADL’s.

Student practicing vacuuming as part of learning day to day tasks that will support their independence after graduation.

EASTCONN’s staff worked with the team to identify skills to be incorporated into the program: making a bed; laundry, including sorting; use of the washer and dryer; folding and hanging clothes; vacuuming and cleaning routines; hygiene; dressing; and meal preparation, including following recipes and cooking. Grant funding was used to establish an independent living room and to purchase specialized adaptive equipment to support skill development and independence in project activities. The independent living room allows students to practice independent living skills tasks on a daily basis, such as the vacuuming and folding tasks pictured below. These and other daily living activities are supported and reinforced through the use of an iPad for learning new tasks, such as videos, and step-by-step visual supports.

The iPad has also enabled students to be more independent in their meal preparation tasks through the use of text-to-speech and step-by-step directions for recipes in apps, such as Storybook Creator. The adaptive cooking equipment has increased students’ ability to manage a variety of tasks needed for meal preparation in a more independent, efficient and safe manner. See the illustration below where students are working on a Smoothie recipe. Directions are provided with visual and auditory support on an iPad. If necessary, the blender can be operated by using a switch, which allows students of all abilities to participate.

Students in kitchen using Text-to-speech devices and recipe apps enable students to experience increased independence as they prepare meals.

 

Categories
News and Events Product Spotlight

Smartwatches as Assistive Technology

Written by Nicole Natale, MS, CCC-SLP, ATP, CREC Resource Group

There is no denying the rise in popularity of wearable technologies, especially smartwatches. The market is saturated with many devices that have a multitude of features. Smartwatches provide many benefits to people with disabilities and can be used as part of anyone’s Assistive Technology toolkit.

Many smartwatches operate either from a connected cell phone or they stand alone with a separate data plan. The Best Reviews website has a comparison listing of the five most popular smartwatches on the market. Available across the most popular, most robust smartwatches, the features that can help anyone include:

  • Benefits for executive function issues, such as auditory and haptic reminders, some with video as well; calendar and appointment reminders; alarms; visual schedules and prompts; and curation and capturing of information for later (using voice commands or memos).
  • Health rewards, such as fall detection, heart monitoring and mindfulness.
  • Expressive communication rewards, such as speech-to-text messaging, text-to-speech content reading, and 3rd-party apps for communication, such as Proloquo2go and Proloquo4text for iOS.
    Location tracking with GPS and auditory/haptic maps information when walking.

There are many third-party apps to choose from for smartwatches, including Fantastical 2 for Apple Watch (combines Reminders and Calendars information), Just Press Record (voice memos), and Google Keep (a cross-platform with tools for reminders, lists and storage of information, including website curation). Check out Dr. Luis Perez’s webinar on wearables as assistive technology for an excellent overview of wearables and their uses.

While many of these options are geared more toward adults and older children, younger children and people with intellectual disabilities may also benefit from more simplified smartwatch technology, particularly if a cell phone is not an option. Some popular options include the Kidizoom Smartwatch from VTech and the Doki. T3 has a current article on wearable technology for children. Many of these smartwatches and fitness trackers can voice and/or video call; message; provide GPS locators and safe zones (caregivers can set up an acceptable range for individuals to roam and if they leave the area, the caretaker will be notified); calendars; reminders; photo-taking; fitness information; and emergency SOS alerting.

Smartwatches and wearable technologies have opened up a host of possibilities for many people. They can help any individual become more independent and achieve their potential. This article only touches on the capabilities of these devices. The possibilities of further feature improvements are endless!

Categories
Events News and Events Product Spotlight

Gift of Technology

Written by Shannon Taber, Assistive Technology Specialist, United Cerebral Palsy of Eastern CT

In November of 2019, United Cerebral Palsy of Eastern Connecticut asked local schools to nominate students with disabilities for the “Gift of Technology.” We are happy to announce that we were able to select 18 individuals to receive this gift in the form of iPads, reader pens and more.

This event was funded by UCP through the Bellows Grant. TheE lsie S. Bellows Fund was established in 1995 to provide Assistive Technology equipment to individuals with disabilities to help them achieve new levels of independence. Students from Kelly Middle School in Norwich and New London High School were among some of the individuals selected, as well as students in Plainfield, Canterbury and Griswold. Most of the devices requested will be used for communication by Speech and Language Therapists in the school systems.

In the nomination form, each nominator was asked to identify how the technology would help their student, consumer or loved one. One of the nominations was for a C-Pen Reader. This portable, pocket-size device reads text aloud when scanned along a line of print and will significantly benefit the user, who is a young mom with an 11-year-old child. The consumer is not able to read and has struggled with helping her daughter complete her schoolwork. This simple device will help address this family’s challenge and
decrease barriers to independence in more ways than one.

When individuals with disabilities use technology and tools designed to remove barriers to school, community and employment, it helps to level the playing field.

At UCP we believe everyone should have access to solutions that help people with disabilities lead more independent and fulfilling lives.

Categories
General News and Events

Guidelines for Article Submissions

Want to share your articles, information and/or upcoming event?

We would love to hear from you & include your contributions in the next CTTAP News e-newsletter and on our blog! Article Submission Guidelines are:

  • One feature article of 1,200-2,000 words
  • Several general articles of 600 words max
  • Digital Accessibility Tip Column
  • Preference is given to articles that include pictures with alt tags provided by the author
  • Upcoming events must include information regarding target audience, location and cost of the event

Want to discuss your ideas? Feel free to use this link Contact Us to send us an email.

Who We Are

The Connecticut Tech Act Project (CTTAP) operates out of the CT Department of Aging and Disability Services. We help people with disabilities, family members, employers, educators and other professionals with access to Assistive Technology devices and services.

© CT Tech Act Project 2023. All rights reserved.

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