http://www.closingthegap.com/lib/pdf/2005/June-July05/Generic_Tech.pdf
The article above shared information regarding a five year study that was being done by the Assistive Technology Research and Development Collaborative (the AT Collaborative). At the time the article was written, the study was not yet completed, but the researchers wanted to report some of their preliminary findings. Additionally, the article mentioned other work that is currently being done by the AT Collaborative. According to the article, the AT collaborative addresses the needs of those with intellectual disabilities or traumatic brain injury and their purpose is to assist AT practitioners by providing the research evidence they need so that the practitioners can best serve their clients’ AT needs.
I chose the article because the research was done with a type of AT device that is used by people of all ages, in any setting, and by those with and without disabilities, an electronic organizer. This particular study was with young people from 8-22 years of age. The premise of the study was that young people are uncomfortable using devices that make them stand out in a crowd and that they would be more comfortable using generic AT devices. Electronic organizers became the focus of the study since they are considered “cool” by the general population and because they are relatively inexpensive due to the fact that they are used by all people, not just those with disabilities.
The subjects, who had intellectual disabilities or traumatic brain injury, used memory and organization techniques employing both paper-based appointment books and hand-held PDA’s. One of the preliminary findings shows an interesting trend in the data. It appears that the success of the technology used is somewhat dependent upon the skillfulness of the support person who is working with the person who has the disability. This finding has direct implications for those of us who work with people who have disabilities. Our knowledge of the people we work with and the AT devices we introduce to them and the skills we have developed as practitioners can make the difference between a client successfully being able to use the AT they have been given or them failing and giving up on the AT.
We discussed the problem of AT that has been abandoned at great length in our 6701 class. The preliminary data of this study presents one of the reasons this abandonment occurs. As future AT practitioners, we need to be aware of the need to train those people who support our clients.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Introduction
Hi Everyone!
Just a little information about who I am. I graduated from Grove City College in 1982 with degrees in Business Administration and Psychology. After graduating I worked in the Mood Disorders Clinic at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of the University of Pittsburgh during the day and taught aerobics at night (those were the years of leotards and leg warmers...try not to be jealous!). I got married to Ken in 1983 (yep, we celebrate 25 years of wedded bliss this fall!). When Ken accepted a job in South Carolina, I decided to move with him since long distance relationships don't work for me. So thus ended our years in the North.
While in SC, I opened and managed two offices in two different cities for a temporary staffing company. One of my customers decided they couldn't live without me, so they were able to lure me away from the glamorous world of temporary staffing to the equally glamorous world of manufacturing. Thus began my career in human resources.
I worked for the Robert Bosch Corporation until 1992 when I delivered twins (a boy and a girl). At that point I determined that I didn't operate well in the workforce with an average of 3 hours of sleep a night, so I retired from the full-time, regular workforce.
For the next 14 years I enjoyed being a wife, a mom, a domestic engineer, and a teacher (I taught preschool and homeschooled my children). During those years we moved to NC and traveled to many cool places (skiing in Colorado, scuba diving in the Caymens, zip-lining in Belize, sunning in Cancun, waterfall climing in Jamaica, and touring through Ireland and London, England). Then the real thrills began when I entered the OT masters program at ECU in the fall of 2006! I never thought I would want to go back to school, but then I learned what Occupational Therapy was all about and my perspective changed. I am looking forward to graduating this December and entering the "never a dull moment" of the world of OT.
I am excited about this AT class since I really enjoyed the first one. I learned so much from reading the posts of others last time, I'm sure this semester will be even better.
Have fun!
Just a little information about who I am. I graduated from Grove City College in 1982 with degrees in Business Administration and Psychology. After graduating I worked in the Mood Disorders Clinic at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of the University of Pittsburgh during the day and taught aerobics at night (those were the years of leotards and leg warmers...try not to be jealous!). I got married to Ken in 1983 (yep, we celebrate 25 years of wedded bliss this fall!). When Ken accepted a job in South Carolina, I decided to move with him since long distance relationships don't work for me. So thus ended our years in the North.
While in SC, I opened and managed two offices in two different cities for a temporary staffing company. One of my customers decided they couldn't live without me, so they were able to lure me away from the glamorous world of temporary staffing to the equally glamorous world of manufacturing. Thus began my career in human resources.
I worked for the Robert Bosch Corporation until 1992 when I delivered twins (a boy and a girl). At that point I determined that I didn't operate well in the workforce with an average of 3 hours of sleep a night, so I retired from the full-time, regular workforce.
For the next 14 years I enjoyed being a wife, a mom, a domestic engineer, and a teacher (I taught preschool and homeschooled my children). During those years we moved to NC and traveled to many cool places (skiing in Colorado, scuba diving in the Caymens, zip-lining in Belize, sunning in Cancun, waterfall climing in Jamaica, and touring through Ireland and London, England). Then the real thrills began when I entered the OT masters program at ECU in the fall of 2006! I never thought I would want to go back to school, but then I learned what Occupational Therapy was all about and my perspective changed. I am looking forward to graduating this December and entering the "never a dull moment" of the world of OT.
I am excited about this AT class since I really enjoyed the first one. I learned so much from reading the posts of others last time, I'm sure this semester will be even better.
Have fun!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Getting started
Ok, I've got my blog started. Now I have to make a statement about how I want to use the blog and how I will make it meaningful to me. I'm really not sure what to expect of this assignment or how this blog will be of use to me. I don't journal and honestly don't have any desire to do so, but I am excited about the opportunity to try something new and I am confident that I will find answers to those questions in the near future.
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