Assistive Tech Resources

susiestar

Roll With It
I am putting this thread here because it applies to more than just our kids and I thought it might reach more of us.

I found out today that my state has an entire state office dedicated to providing assistive technology to people with disabilities. husband's job had a benefit fair and he brought some stuff home. Some of the little giveaways mentioned the office and I looked them up. They help provide a very wide range of assistive tech to schools AND EMPLOYERS and help the disabled with employment by providing technology assistance. I am pretty darn sure that this has been around for quite some time and that the school district does not mention it to parents. Our district is better than many at providing assistive tech but it is a real fight to get it for your child if your child looks normal or is just seen as a 'behavior problem' rather than as a child with a problem who needs help.

I found mention of a group that works for the SW United States that this group works with, and at least one other group that also might be helpful. You can search your state's website for info if your school and/or employer might benefit (or if you are an employer or work in HR). If you are in OK or want the name of the group for the southwest US, I will pm it to you as I don't know if it is okay to list it here. Just not sure of the rule for that.

I am FASCINATED by this as it covers tech for all ages, from toddlers to the elderly, and helps with equipment from scooters and crutches to blood pressure monitors to tablets to a cool gizmo that makes a special hat into your mouse if you cannot work a regular mouse or move your hands. VERY COOL in my opinion!!

Be sure to think about this and ask what sorts of tech would make your child's life better? I know that Wiz' education was HUGELY enhanced by the special laptop that he used for schoolwork. He couldn't put games on it, just schoolwork, and given his hand and handwriting issues, it made a real difference in his life. It only took me 2 years of fighting and nagging to get it for him, years where the work he did was light years below what he could have done if he did not have to write things out by hand. He left adjectives out of his sentences almost completely, to the point that some teachers (the idiots, in my opinion) thought he could not possibly be as smart as his test scores. He was so frustrated because he could either have hand cramps and hours or days of pain or he could skip communicating in writing. That is a huge challenge when it comes to school, just think about it.

Let me know if you want/need names of those groups. Pass on names of any groups to those teachers/sp ed teachers/IEP writers/etc... who truly care and work for kids. It could help other kids not just yours.
 
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