Group items tagged

The purpose of the Wisconsin Accessible Media Productions (WAMP) website is to assist the local school districts in obtaining accessible education materials in specialized formats. The site is designed to assist Wisconsin educators in locating K-12 textbooks in accessible formats. The WAMP provides many resources including an equipment loan program and a link to the NIMAC (National Instructional Materials Access Center).

RESNA's Position on Wheelchairs Used as Seats in Motor Vehicles. This document is designed to assist practitioners in decisions regarding the use of a wheelchair as a seat in a Motor Vehicle. It sites research indicating a high rate of both crash and non-crash related injuries to vehicle occupants seated in a wheelchair and makes recommendations for proper restraints.

Disability Resources, inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization established to promote and improve awareness, availability and accessibility of information that can help people with disabilities live, learn, love, work and play independently. They serve thousands of individuals with disabilities through a multidisciplinary network of service providers and consumers. In order to reach as many people with disabilities as cost effectively as possible, they target our services and publications to libraries, disability organizations, independent living centers, rehabilitation facilities, educational institutions, and health and social service providers. They are a small group of volunteers (with and without disabilities) who work professionally in library, communications, and disability-related fields. They monitor hundreds of publications, audiovisual materials, on line services, and other information resources every month. They review and report on worthwhile materials in their newsletter, Disability Resources Monthly (DRM), and other publications. They also maintain an extensive database of disability-related resources in order to perform customized searches, and an on-line guide to disability resources on the World Wide Web. They are proud of the many awards and positive reviews they have received for this work.

Short video describing switch use in the classroom to create an interactive classroom tool, which can be changed easily to reflect current classroom need. I thought that this was a neat example of some of the things we've been discussing in class. Designed by Early Child Special Educators in Grand Rapids, MN.

The purpose of the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Wheelchair Transportation Safety (RERC WTS) website is to "make measurable improvements in transportation safety, usability, and independence for people who remain seated in their wheelchairs when traveling in public, school, and private motor vehicles". The RERC WTS website provides information regarding the WC-19 voluntary industry standard on crash-tested wheelchairs and seating systems and has links regarding this information for consumers, prescribers, manufacturers, and transporters. The website also contains information and links regarding research, news, and knowledge translation for this area!

The Disability.gov website is the federal government web portal whose purpose is to provide comprehensive information on disability programs and services nationwide in order to connect people of all abilities to the resources they need to fully participate in their communities. It achieves this purpose by providing over 14,000 links to federal, state, and local government agencies, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations. The Disability.gov website is managed by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) which reviews web content and links voluntarily. I found Disability.gov to be a valuable website full of reliable and unbiased information in the areas of benefits, civil rights, community life, education, emergency preparedness, employment, health, housing, technology, and transportation for individuals with disabilities, their families, Veterans, caregivers, employers, educators, and others. The Disability.gov website scored a strong "5" on the Discern Instrument and also performed well on the Hoss and Hansen (2008) website review.

User Interface Preferences in the Design of a Camera-Based Navigation and Wayfinding Aid. This article describes a survey of users with vision impairments and their preferences in an electronic way-finding (GPS-type) system.

Provides information on ANSI/RESNA WC-19 in relation to wheelchairs as seats in motor vehicles.

PACER Center is an organization in Minnesota which serves a multitude of purposes, including working with families to advocate for student needs in the school system and on the IEP.

Nice resource to share with families regarding the adaptive driving process - the evaluation and behind the wheel process. Separate pages for many midwest states. When I worked at the high school level I could have seen sharing this with some of my student's families.

Company in the mid-west (Wisconsin and Illinois) specializing in driver evaluation and training for individuals with disabilities.

Information on assistive technology in education through the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Provides information about what AT is, AT resources, and AT lending library.

MassMATCH stands for Maximize Assistive Technology (AT) in Consumer's Hands and is Massachusett's state-level AT initiative. Their mission is to promote the use of assistive technology and assistive technology services so that people with disabilities can live, work, study, play, and participate independently in all aspects of their communities. The MassMatch website provides resources regarding assistive technology which include a community blog, a newsletter, funding information, and much more.

The Maine CITE web site that is committed to "helping Maine citizens with disabilities increase access to and acquisition of Assistive Technology (AT) when needed to participate in Education, Community Living, Employment and Information Technology/Telecommunications". It achieves this goal by providing information and links regarding items ranging from AT Laws and Policies to Accessible Web Design to Training. The target audience of the Maine CITE includes people with disabilities, their families, and the general public. The information presented in regard to apps on their Apps as Assistive Technology page is basically the name of the app and the developer. Maine CITE recommends that the reader go to the appropriate "app store" to review ratings and comments regarding the app. The Maine Cite webpage regarding apps has a "Buyer Beware" notice that indicates that "consumers need to do their homework and examine the quality of each purchase/download carefully". The Apps as Assistive Technology page also has a set of links to articles reviewing apps.

This site is maintained by a Speech Language Pathologist who shares her experiences and reviews of apps used in working with a variety of students. The reviews are subjective, and only from her point of view, but they do seem thorough and based in her actual experience working with the apps. The site is geared toward SLPs, parents and educators.

The AbleNet Website offers free online educational opportunities for professionals in the area of Assistive Technology through AbleNet University. These live and recorded webinars can be accessed on the AbleNet Website under the Professional Development tab and include training in Communication, Switch Mounts, iDevices, Computer Access, Electronic Aids to Daily Living, Universal Design for Learning, and Curriculum.

Nice resource for riding safely with a wheelchair in your vehicle. Provides a step by step guide explaining how to get wheelchair into your car and how to ride safely with someone in a wheelchair in your car. Nice resource section too.

I think this is a comprehensive guide that explains what Aging in Place is and how assistive technology can help you to do that. At the end of the PDF there are links to many assistive technology and aging in place websites.

I used the Discern handbook in order to rate this website. When I added up my scores and divide by 15, I came up with a score of slightly higher than '3' (out of 5), which through subjective measures and perusing of the website is probably where I would have placed it. I was initially very excited when I found this website because I thought it would be a great tool. It is why I initially chose it. However, upon careful examination and thorough investigation, I find that while it does have some great links, tools, and information, it remains incomplete. Using this website as a small starting point for AT in education would be a good thing; however, you would also need to look further for a well put together website and one that would score higher on the Discern checklist.

This site gives information about assistive technology products and rehabilitation equipment. You are able to view products available by disability or impairment, i.e. deaf or difficulty walking. There is also a resource tab in which you can find information on conferences, companies who make the assistive technology, information centers, and several other links. From this site you will be able to see able data's library of publications, AT Literature as well as news you can use. You are able to set up an account in which you are able to keep all information necessary in one location.

The Trace Research and Development Center is part of the UW Madison College of Engineering. Founded in 1979 it has been a leader in the field of of technology and disability.