Assistive Technology Essentials is part of the Pennsylvania Tech Accelerator webinar series, Assistive Technology Basics. Recorded June 2024.

This video includes captions and ASL interpretation.

Transcript

TOM DIAGOSTINO: Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for attending this session. Today's session is called Assistive Technology Basics, where we will be discussing supporting and enabling technologies to empower all of us. This presentation is coming to you from TechOWL and the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University.

On the screen, I have three logos. I have the Pennsylvania Tech Accelerator logo through the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University. We also have the Temple University College of Education Institute on Disabilities logo, as well as the TechOWL logo on the bottom of the screen.

So an accessibility check before we get started with this session. We are going to be providing image descriptions of all of the images on the slide. We also have ASL interpreters who are making the session accessible to all of us with ASL. In addition, we have a CART captioner who is captioning.

So you're able to turn on your captions, and we have a CART captioner professionally captioning this session. And also if there's any other accommodation that you need during this session, please do let us know. You're able to message myself or Alanna in the chat with any needs that you might have or any questions.

On the slide, I have four images representing the four accessibility features that we have on this presentation. Image descriptions, ASL interpretation, CART, and other accommodations.

So why are we here? So we are here because of a program called the Tech Accelerator program. This is a program in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that is funded by ODP, the Office of Developmental Programs, and OLTL, the Office of Long Term Living. Because of these funders through-- or because of these programs, we are able to provide a really robust series of events and series of resources to the whole Commonwealth of Pennsylvania around supportive technologies.

So this Tech Accelerator first is providing robust training and resources to build capacity in the entire Commonwealth for people who work with those who have disabilities or are involved with those who have disabilities, or even disabled people themselves. So this is in the form of webinars as well as asynchronous learning modules, which I will speak on in the next slide.

There's also different evaluations and research going on on this theme of supportive technologies in the state. They're also going to be hosting technology summits in 2025. And again, this project is made possible by Pennsylvania Department of Human Services through funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.

To find out more information about the Tech Accelerator program, you're more than welcome to visit the Institute on Disabilities website for the Pennsylvania Tech Accelerator program. If you Google Tech Accelerator Temple University, you will easily find that link. It's the first link.

So the Tech Accelerator program's webinar series is a monthly webinar series for the next 18 months. So that starts this month, today, July of 2024, and it goes until December of 2025. We're going to be meeting monthly every third Thursday of the month from noon until 1:00 and from 4:00 until 5:00. So today, for example, we presented this exact same presentation from noon until 1:00, and we're presenting this exact same presentation right now from 4:00 until 5:00. So you can choose what time works best for you.

For all of our sessions, we strive to be as accessible as possible. Our presentations will be screen reader accessible, the slides that we send out afterward for your records. We also will have ASL interpreters every session. We will have CART captions every session. We will also verbally describe the images on slides. And you have the ability to request additional accommodations if needed. We will also be recording one of the sessions that day, and we will publish them afterwards with the transcript and the slides.

ALANNA RAFFEL: Tom, can you make sure that both the interpreters have co-host? I think you have to do it because you're the host.

TOM DIAGOSTINO: I believe they do.

ALANNA RAFFEL: Someone doesn't.

TOM DIAGOSTINO: Oh. One moment. Perfect. Awesome.

So the lectures that we're going to have for the Tech Accelerator, we have three confirmed for the next three months and some topics in the future that we're going to explore. So today is assistive technology basics. Next month in August, we're going to be talking about built in accessibility tools for everyday devices, things that we have. And the third session that's confirmed is in September.

We're going to have a panel discussion from a group of people who utilize ODP and OLTL services called A Day In The Life, Work, Home, and Community, where they're going to share about their experience using receiving services and getting assistive technology from OLTL, ODP, and resources like that.

Other topics that we're going to provide is augmentative and alternative communication, some remote support topics, topics around tools for specific needs and employment independence. Also some recreation and regulation in the community topics.

All right. So now that we've got through some of the PA Accelerator information, we're going to get into the session. So I would love to introduce myself and my co-presenter, Alanna. So my name is Tom. I've worked at TechOWL for the last five years. My title is Senior Assistive Technology Coordinator, and I'm incredibly passionate about accessibility, digital accessibility, and the work that I do here in assistive technology. And Alanna.

ALANNA RAFFEL: Hi, everyone, I'm Alanna Raffel. I'm an occupational therapist and assistive technology specialist here at TechOWL. Was an OT in lots of different settings, including rehab, hospital, outpatient, early intervention, schools. And so now I love thinking about my work as an OT in a different way. Here is a picture of Tom and I at a workshop with Swoop from the Eagles.

TOM DIAGOSTINO: Great. So this webinar is designed to help you. So first we're going to define the term assistive technology. We've talked about that term quite a bit. And we're going to then identify different assistive devices along a continuum to address a variety of options and needs. We're then going to identify a wide range of supportive technologies, and end the presentation talking about how you can utilize Tech Owl services and programs moving forward.

ALANNA RAFFEL: All right. So a little bit about us at Tech Owl. First, I'd also love to hear who has been involved with TechOWL before? Who has heard of TechOWL? Who's never heard of TechOWL? So just let us in the comments in the chat right now if you've heard of TechOWL, have used TechOWL services, never heard of it. We'd love to hear and see what everyone's level of involvement has been so far.

And while you let us know that, I'll tell you a little bit more about us. So TechOWL stands for Technology for Our Whole Lives. So owl is the mascot of Temple, of course. But we also say it stands for Our Whole Lives because we serve everyone across the lifespan. We are the state Assistive Technology Act program for Pennsylvania.

Every state and territory has a program. There's 56 of them across the country. And we all do some similar kinds of activities. So even though we're based at Temple University, we're based at the Institute on Disability, we're an outward facing program. That means we serve everyone across the Commonwealth. And that includes people at Temple, too.

This picture is from a project called Disabled And Here to increase authentic disability representation and stock photos. I'll put the link to that in the chat. It's always a great resource to have as well. And no one has let us in the chat whether they've heard of us yet or not, so I'm going to just assume you've all heard of us a little bit. Oh, someone says they say they love TechOWL. OK, great.

TOM DIAGOSTINO: Wait, we know Shelley. Hi.

ALANNA RAFFEL: Also assume most of you have heard of us a little bit maybe. But let us know. Maybe you've never heard of us before. And we're happy to share a little bit about what we do.

TOM DIAGOSTINO: Great. A little bit more about TechOWL. We're federally funded and state funded. We're a non-profit organization. We also believe or view disability through a social and holistic model. We believe that we can make our environment more accessible. We can incorporate technologies to make our environment more accessible.

But also the holistic model. We truly believe that pain is pain and sometimes we need to respect that. There are limitations and there are boundaries and barriers that we experience as people. And so we try to combine some of these different models of disability in our work. But most importantly, through these models, we are centering the disabled experience in everything that we do and everything that we promote. Genuinely, we are just here to educate, inform, and empower Pennsylvanians about all areas and all topics of assistive technology.

On the screen, there is an image of a person using a VR headset, Virtual Reality headset. I believe they were exploring a zoo. And a student who was interacting with this person is also modeling augmentative and alternative communication with the iPad that's sitting in front of them.

So this is a map of Pennsylvania. Oh, sorry. So this is a map of Pennsylvania. TechOWL, we serve the whole Commonwealth. Pennsylvania is a massive state, so we strive to make our resources localized. We have nine centers across the state with TechOWL staff. Our main office is in Philadelphia at Temple University. And this main office serves the five counties around Philadelphia. So that's Philly, Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, and Delco.

However, if you live in Pike County, which is where I'm from, that part of the state, you would go to your local resource at United Cerebral Palsy of Northeast PA. So I'd love to in the chat where everyone else is from in the state of Pennsylvania, if you are, what county you're from. And just know that wherever you are in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, you have a local representative in your region that will help you connect to tech owl and other resources in the area. We have a Delco. So you're our local. And if you're not in Pennsylvania-- yeah, absolutely.

ALANNA RAFFEL: While you're telling us where you're from, I'll share a little bit more about the AT Act programs. And I also popped a link in the chat if you're not from Pennsylvania, how you can find your AT Act program. Someone from [INAUDIBLE]. Great. So all 56 state programs do some of the same things. So no matter where you are in the country, your state AT Act program-- paused for a second for a swap.

Awesome. So no matter where you are in the country, you'll have access to some of these programs that all state programs do. So we all do device demonstrations. That means we meet with people either one on one or in a group or with their team or their family to show them different kinds of devices, help them problem solve, compare and contrast things, and just help people figure out what works best for them. There's a little graphic of a communication device there. We do a ton of device demonstrations with regard to augmentative and alternative communication, AAC.

All state programs do some kind of equipment lending. In Pennsylvania, we mostly do ours via UPS. So you go on our website, techowlpa.org/library. You browse our options. You can search things. Put them in your cart. Check out. It gets shipped to your house for free with a prepaid return label. And that's the way that we allow people to try things out in Pennsylvania. We also have some things on site here at our community space. If you're local to Philly or the area, you can come here and check things out and borrow things from here as well.

Every state program has some kind of equipment donation. So here in Pennsylvania, we have about 12 partner programs across the state that take in equipment. Things like walkers, wheelchairs, durable medical equipment, and other tools that we take and give back out to people in the community. Here in this region, in Philadelphia area, we have our stuff back in that room there. And so you can stop by our community space to drop things off and pick things up.

And we all do presentations, training, technical assistance. So things like this where we teach people about assistive technology. All the state programs are trying to educate people about assistive tech and all kinds of devices.

TOM DIAGOSTINO: Awesome. So we've been using this term assistive technology. So what is assistive technology? Also, it is known as supportive technology or enabling technology. There's a few terms that we can throw around. So assistive. Oh, you got this one, Alanna.

ALANNA RAFFEL: What are assistive technology devices? The technical definition that's used in legislation is an item or a piece of equipment that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capacities of individuals with disabilities. Basically, tools that make life easier, safer, or more independent.

So while we're starting to think about assistive technology and all of these kinds of devices, feel free to put something in the chat that you think is assistive tech. What's something that you think is assistive tech? Maybe it's something you've seen, something you use, something a client uses, a family member. Give us one example of supportive technology that you can think of.

It might even be like something you see in the room around you. I don't know. Take a guess. We'll give it a couple of seconds and then we'll tell you the answer. All right. Go ahead.

TOM DIAGOSTINO: Cool. So as you're thinking of some assistive technologies too, let's talk a little bit about why we're saying this term assistive technology. So really, the term assistive technology comes from legislation. So the Technology Related Assistance For Individuals With Disabilities Act of 1988, also known as the Tech Act, provided this term in a comprehensive definition in law of assistive technology, which promoted its development and dissemination. So that's why we have this term assistive technology.

And also, most funding streams like insurance, waivers, even the IEP and IFSP use this term and definition to financially support the purchase of assistive devices. So that's why this term assistive technology is so important.

However, in more common days and also as we kind of transform in our field, there are other terms as well that we're going to be using interchangeably. So those terms are adaptive equipment, assistive device, supporting technology or supportive technology, enabling technology, tools, gadgets, gizmos.

Language is a tool that we use to communicate meaning. So please use the term that feels best and most comfortable with you. Throughout this presentation, we're going to be using all of these terms interchangeably, but know that in a lot of cases, when you're looking for funding, the term assistive technology has a definition and also has a financial power to it.

ALANNA RAFFEL: All right. So when we're considering adaptive devices, we're really thinking about what the person wants or needs to do. So while it may be sometimes helpful to know someone's diagnosis, maybe that could help me understand what their prognosis looks like or it might help me reflect on other people I've worked with that have similar conditions, ultimately, that's not the most important information to me. I want to know what do you want to do? What do you need to do? What's working? What's not? What are the barriers? So it's really more about the functional need.

I always say Tom and will get messages on social media. Often that'll say something like, hey, I have ADHD. What should I do? What app should I get? Or something like that. Or my sister has cerebral palsy. What should I get her? Unfortunately, that's not enough information for us to share some ideas. I wish I had some magic answer, but I don't.

We really need to know what are you trying to do? What do you want to do? What do you need to do? And what's not working? What is the barrier? And there's some pictures here of all the kinds of activities that we might help with. A toothbrush, a t-shirt, getting dressed, playing tennis, using a computer, using a phone. So really want to know what's working, what's not, and how can I help you access this activity?

TOM DIAGOSTINO: Great. So now let's get the conversation going. Please get your chat box open. I would love to know in the chat if you believe that straws, plastic straws, would be considered supportive technology, using that kind of definition of assistive technology that we described earlier. Do you think that this could support a person with disabilities? Cool. We got a yes. Anyone think no? Two yeses. Yeah, absolutely.

So plastic straws very much can be assistive technology if you struggle maybe closing your lips around a cup. Maybe you struggle lifting a cup right to your mouth. And so a straw gives you more access to liquid. Maybe you struggle with the sensation or the sensation of cold liquid is overwhelming on your teeth or lips and you want to bypass that. There are multiple ways in which a straw can be assistive.

ALANNA RAFFEL: What about a fidget spinner or some kind of fidget tool? Is this considered assistive tech? Is this enabling? What do you think? You can put yes or no. I think all those responses are from before.

All right. Someone said yes. Awesome. So yeah, I think this can be assistive tech. We're really just looking for things that help a person with a disability do something that they maybe would have trouble with otherwise. So if you have trouble learning, listening, focusing, and this helps you do that, great. That's assistive technology.

TOM DIAGOSTINO: And the last one. So this one is a little interesting. This is a KitchenAid stand mixer. So this is something that you might see in a kitchen or really any place. Do you think that this could be assistive or is this more just a generic thing that we all have? Yeah, what do you think in the chat?

Yeah, we got a couple yeses. I agree. I think this could absolutely be assistive for a person who might not be able to hold a hand mixer, for example, or mix something like making whipped cream or meringue. If you need it for meal prep, this could absolutely be assistive. But for some people, this is generic technology.

So within this whole assistive technology field, we see the incorporation of generic devices that can really be assistive for someone. Thank you, Alana. So this is an example of a generic device that could really be assistive for a person, again. So that is something that we run into all the time. And so again, with straws as well, very generic, but could be assistive. So that's how we have to think in regards to adaptive technologies.

So now let's take this knowledge of assistive technology and apply it to this concept called the assistive technology continuum. This also is sometimes written as the continuum of considerations. So that's another thing that you might find this as well online.

So the assistive technology continuum is just a continuum of how we can conceptualize technology in low or light, medium, and high tech. So the first category in this continuum is light tech. Light tech is free or inexpensive. It's readily available. It doesn't require much training to utilize, and it's not really overly complex.

So on the screen, I have a pencil grip as an idea. Does anyone else have any ideas of some low or light tech devices that could help a person with disabilities? I always like to think of this as the types of devices that you can find at the dollar store, for example. And maybe the DIY hack. I know a few people on this call who are educators, so I'm sure you have some ideas.

Yep, clamps. You can find some clamps at the dollar store and use them to hold things. A reacher. I've actually seen reachers at CVS. I would consider that in this category as well. I always think too any DIYers, I'm a big DIYer, so built up pool noodle. You can cut some pool noodle and wrap it around a spoon so you have a bigger grip. Things like that is this category.

So moving into mid tech, this is a little bit more complicated. It's like a lower cost, but not dollar store level. It may require some training and ongoing support. And it's somewhat sophisticated. It's not 1,000% intuitive. On the screen, we have an image of an ergonomic keyboard. So yeah. So what other devices do you think might fit in this range? This is the harder of the three categories to fit, this big gray area. Yeah, maybe one or two examples of things that might fit in this category of mid tech.

Yeah, larger key pads. Absolutely. Larger buttons. That totally works. I think for me in this category, I like to talk about maybe noise canceling headphones, audiobooks, maybe even some apps on our phone could be really assistive and really helpful.

And then we get high tech. I feel like of the three, this is the easier one because these are things that are kind of very extravagant. So in the high tech, we're really thinking of expensive devices. We're thinking things that require a bit of training. And they're usually a little bit more sophisticated.

So on the screen, we have an image of Stephen Hawking. So Stephen Hawking is in a power chair that is very customized to his body. He also is using a communication device to generate speech. So what other devices have you might seen in your work or that kind of fit this category of high tech?

Yep, eye recognition keypad or eye tracking on the computer for sure. I think maybe in this category an accessible button for the door to open the door. That's very expensive. Yeah. Wonderful. So now let's put the principles to practice. I believe we're right at the 30 minute mark, so maybe our two interpreters want to switch. Wonderful.

So the AT continuum. So let's put principles to practice. So let's use these concepts of light, mid, and high tech to maybe generate some ideas around art making. So what are some kind of light tech ways in which we can make art, making art, more accessible?

AI art. Honestly, I'm going to save that for the high tech. I think AI art is a new, interesting concept. I love that. But I feel like that's very high tech. I don't know if anyone uses Paint, but I know Paint now has a really interesting AI tool, which is awesome. Yeah, built up crayons. Anything that you can build up with a foam or a pool noodle. Absolutely.

So I have some examples of low tech stuff here. So I do have, as Shelley mentioned, a foam thing, a foam roller that you get at the dollar store. I love cutting up pool noodles. I also have this interesting 3D printed paint brush holder. We 3D print those here at Temple. So happy to send that to anyone if they see use for that. There are also some ergonomic paint brushes you can purchase on Amazon. This is just an example of just ergonomic paint brush. There are also easy hold universal cuffs. It's a silicone cuff. Really intuitive, easy. It's pretty inexpensive.

And then we get mid tech. I think this is the harder of the three, again, categories. But mid tech, we have things like an easel. An easel set up for this person. This is actually the image is from a really great disabled business owner, Janey. She has a company called Paper By Janey and she creates stationery and other art that she sells online.

On the lower part of the screen, we have the Guided Hands device. This is a device out of Canada made by a college sophomore, which is super awesome. This device uses the larger gross muscles in your shoulder to write and to navigate a tablet, iPad, or painting, accessing art. Especially if you are a person that maybe doesn't have much strength or control or stability of your wrist and arm, this allows you to use your shoulder to navigate that plane where the paper is.

And some higher tech devices that we have here. Getting back to the AI art. So we have a head stick that's very customized. Speaking of AI and computers, Paper By Janey, her company, this is Janey and this is how she does her graphic design. So she uses something called a GlassOuse, which is a head tracking mouse.

So there's a little light that connects to that Bluetooth to the computer. And so she's using her head to navigate the mouse. And she has that attached to a bite switch. And so she's biting down on that little thing in her mouth, and that is the click function. So Janey uses that to do all of her graphic designs for her stationery company.

And then also on the bottom of the screen, we have a power chair which has a paintbrush attached to it, which just seems really fun, a little messy, but fun can sometimes be messy too. So this is just an example in practice of the AT continuum.

But really, regardless of where you kind of are falling on this AT continuum, the most important part is that the tool reflects your need. So it doesn't matter if it's light tech or if it's high tech. If the assistive device is fitting your need, that's all that matters. The image on the slide, the four images on the slide, is of two people using noise canceling headphones, one person using a earbud for noise canceling, and then the fourth image is of bone conduction headphones.

All right. So now we're going to be discussing examples of supportive technologies for people's specific needs. So all of the devices that you're going to see from here on out are all devices that you can request to borrow from our assistive technology lending library.

So the first category of device is moving and controlling the environment. So I have six images on the screen. I'm going to start from the top left, go over, and then I'm going to go bottom left to right. And this is going to be for the next subsequent slides as well.

So first, we have Guided Hands, like we showed in the continuum slide. Guided Hands is amazing. We have one on site. We have one or two in our inventory. It's a really empowering tool. The second image is smart home technology. We have smart home tech kits that people can borrow to test out if smart home tech can benefit them in any way.

We also have this Obi Dining Robot. It's a robot feeder. So there are four bowls you can set up with four different foods. And the first button that you press, there's two buttons, is the scan button. So that scan button scans the plate. So you can choose what bowl you want to pick from. And then the other button is the button where you select and then the arm comes down, picks up the food, and brings it to your face so you can eat. So if you don't have the ability to feed yourself, this is a robot that can feed you. Oops.

The last image on that top part is the Xbox adaptive controller. In our community space, we have the Xbox as well as the PlayStation and Nintendo Switch adaptive controllers. But in our inventory, we have the Xbox. This amazing kit also comes with an Xbox. So you don't need an Xbox to borrow this. And this is a really great tool and incredibly interactive and customizable. We also have some ADL stuff. So an adaptive nail clipper we have as well as different types of adaptive utensils. This is the Liftware level spoon, but we have other types of weighted spoons as well.

The next category we have is hearing technology. So on the top left, we have a pocket talker. It has a little microphone and it comes with a headset so you can have a one on one conversation. We have amplified doorbells that also flash. We have the Contego listening system. It is designed to have one speaker with multiple receivers. There's also headphones.

We have bed shaking alarm clocks. We have the BeHear personal amplifier, which bluetooths to cell phones. And we also have bone conduction headphones, which is really great for anyone that has internal ear hearing loss or inner ear hearing loss. Also, it's really great to multitask your ears. A lot of people who are blind actually like bone conduction headphones because they can hear their phone's directions as they're navigating the outside, but they also still have the ability to hear what's going on around them. So they can multitask their ears while using their phone as the directions. So again, this falls into both hearing and vision.

So speaking of vision, we have a bunch of vision tools. So the first two images on the left side of the screen, the top one is the Envision Glass, and the bottom one is the OrCam MyEye. Both of them use artificial intelligence as well as optical character recognition to read text, as well as identify objects and people in the space.

Interestingly, with the Envision glasses, the Envision glasses has an app that can attach to it where you can remote someone in to your camera so that they can see what's happening. And so you can remote someone into your glasses and they can see your surroundings and have a conversation and potentially act as a sighted guide.

We have many types of magnifiers as well. The top part of the screen, we have a handheld magnifier, digital magnifier. We also have larger ones that kind of can sit on a table. We have desktop magnifiers, which is the largest one. We also have different types of Braillers. So Braille label makers. We also have refreshable Braille displays. So the one we have down here is the BrailleSense.

We have a bunch of sensory tools. We have liquid motion bubblers, compression vests, noise canceling headphones, various fidgets, and different types of weighted lap pads. In our inventory, we have a kit that you can borrow a bunch of different sensory tools depending. Sometimes it's important because you don't know quite what tool is going to work best for you, since sensory can be so multifaceted. So we have this kit so that you can test out a whole bunch of different options.

And lastly, we have a ton of communication tools. We have some mid tech kind of single use devices like the GoTalk and the QuickTalker. These ones are really, really great, especially for just quick, easy, click one thing, it says one word type deals. We also have the talking buttons. The BIGmack switch is the one that we have on the slide. So this is a button that you press and then it creates speech. You can record multiple messages as well on the BIGmack.

And we have some very high tech devices. So we have the Accent 1,400. We also have the accent 1,000. We also have the iPad with Skyle on it, which is a eye tracking technology. In addition to what you see on the screen, we have a bunch of iPads and we're able to remotely launch most AAC apps. So we have subscriptions to most of the major competitors in AAC. So Lamp, Proloquo, TouchChat, GoTalk Now, CoughDrop, and those larger apps. Wonderful.

So now we're going to talk very specifically about all of the ways in which you can get, learn, and explore assistive devices with Tech Owl. So this is the program part of the presentation.

So let's talk first about exploring technology. So the best way, like the biggest way I think we can explore assistive technology is through borrowing from our lending library, our assistive technology lending library. This is amazing, because it gives you that hands on experience to know if that device is going to work for you or not. Our lending library, like all of the devices you just saw that I mentioned, you can borrow any of those on our website. The loans are between five and nine weeks long. So five weeks is for most everything in our library except for iPads and Chromebooks.

The reason why iPads and Chromebooks are nine weeks long is, one, we have a lot of them. So we don't really have any issues with inventory. And two, speech pathologists who are trying to apply for funding for an AAC app, they need an eight week long trial. And so to accommodate the need of the community, we allow nine week loans for our AAC apps for that purpose.

This is free for all Pennsylvanians. You just need a Pennsylvania address. We will mail you through UPS the item. And inside of that box is going to be a prepaid return label. So when you're done with your five to nine week long loan, you can even reuse the same box and you can just put that prepaid label on there and send it back.

If you don't have the ability to get to UPS store, we can schedule a pickup with you. And if you don't live in Pennsylvania, again, every single state has a lending program. So this is across the United States, all 56 programs. The image on the slide is of a person holding a box probably received by UPS.

So in our inventory, if you see that the item that you're looking for is not there, we do have a Suggest A New Library Item button. Sometimes the system might be difficult to use, and you might not have the right search terms, and that's totally fine. So if you put a suggest a new library item, we're happy to reach out to you to tell you stuff that we might have that could fit that need. But if it is something that is new and interesting, we're really excited to continue to expand our inventory.

Another way to explore assistive technology is through a community space. So Tech Owl was very fortunate to receive funding to open this amazing community space right on campus. It is at 1392 Cecil B. Moore Avenue. It's across the street from our main office, which is where I'm currently at. And it's also just outside of the Cecil B. Moore SEPTA stop. So if you're in Philadelphia, it's right off of a major Broad Street line SEPTA stop.

In this community space, we have a makerspace where we 3D print assistive technology. We have an accessible gaming station where we have a PlayStation, an Xbox, and a Nintendo Switch, all with adaptive controls. We have room to do demos. We have a ton of equipment there as well. Not as much as our inventory, our centralized inventory of devices, but we do have a lot of devices.

We also host many types of workshops and events. We have a sensory space for people to regulate in case they need to just come in and sit down and relax. In the back, we have our used equipment storage area where people can receive used equipment donations. People can also donate used equipment if they no longer have a need for the equipment that they have in their home. And we also have our mobility equipment lending. So we have wheelchairs, walkers, and things like that that people can borrow from us. We're just going to take a break to switch interpreters. Wonderful.

Awesome. So now we are going to talk about learning about technology with Tech Owl. So first, you received the loan from the lending library. How are you going to know how to use it? So Tech Owl provides consults and demonstrations of all things assistive tech. In these consults, we can talk about potential technologies that might work for you. We can talk about also different programs that we have. We can get you signed up for programs and things of that nature.

These demonstrations will also, you'll receive a written email kind of describing the visit, describing the different types of things you can borrow, and we usually will always give next steps. The image inside is of me demonstrating a 3D printed magnifier and the built in magnification feature on an iPhone with a group of people who had various levels of vision.

TechOWL also has AC services. So we are lucky to have four speech language pathologists here at TechOWL, and we provide general AAC consults and speech consults like that. We do not provide speech therapy through any of our programs. We are in addition to speech therapy. So we do have our general consults. We recommend to have those consults with the speech team. If possible, if at all possible. We have a birth to three EI program as well, where we provide consultations for like little, little ones.

And we have some adult programs which are through ODP. Specifically the Just SO speech services program, which is specifically for ODP consumers as well as the Philly IDS consumers program. To find out more information as well, we have a link on the slide. You'll be getting these slides soon, next week, with the transcript and the recording. So I will send all this information to you. Do not worry. We have on this slide, we have an image of a person attending a Zoom meeting.

We also provide technical assistance, which we help people just make things more accessible. So we can provide recommendations to improve accessibility on your website or potentially a flyer or any digital imprint. We also will do some physical space assessments. So the image on the slide is of a physical space assessment that we did for the Temple University's honors program. We can help people understanding emergency preparedness to be inclusive of those with disabilities and preparing for emergencies. We also can help with just general inquiries around being more accessible and how that looks.

And last but not least, getting devices from the TechOWL program. This is a really amazing part of our program. We're able to provide people with free devices and that's just wonderful. So the first program that I want to highlight is our used equipment program, which is now based out of our community space. This used equipment program provides people with used, secondhand equipment that works really well, typically.

We have 12 locations across the Commonwealth that also can facilitate this program. So you don't need to be located in Philadelphia to utilize this program. We accept donations specifically of mobility devices such as manual wheelchairs. We at Philadelphia don't accept power chairs. Some people do across the state, and we can recommend other programs.

We also accept walkers, crutches, and canes. There are DME, Durable Medical Equipment, that we accept, such as shower chairs and commodes, and other assorted assistive technologies. So these are all things that we accept as donations and that we also have. You can check out our most up to date inventory on our website.

We also have a robust 3D printing program called CreATe Together. This program, we have three pillars to this program, so we have an easy, quick device catalog that anyone can request a device from. There's about 30 items on that catalog. You fill out a form and say what of the 30 devices you would like. And we are able to send that out to you via mail. It's very easy for us, because we're able to stockpile and print when the demand is low so that whenever someone requests something, we're able to quickly get you the device you need.

We have capacity to do some individualized projects. On the screen, I have an image of a little girl walking with a PVC walker that we were able to make with some OT students. Commonly, our individualized projects are surrounded in augmentative communication, and so we make key cards, custom key cards for people's augmentative communication devices.

And lastly, we love having maker events. This is where we can get people in a room for about three hours and make a bunch of devices. Typically, we're making Switch adapted toys, which we give out throughout the year, but predominantly we do a big adapted toy drive around the holiday season where we give families with children who could use Switch adapted toys a Switch adapted toy for free. So we do about 150 to 200 toys a year around the holiday season. And this is an image of me leading a Switch adapted toy workshop.

The next program that I want to highlight is our free phone program, which is wonderful. It provides people with smartphones and landline phones that have the accessibility features needed for a person to use their phone if they struggle using their phone in a traditional way. The phones that we have in this program are notably iPhone 13, Samsung phone, Google Pixel phone. We have a MiniVision, which is designed for people with low vision. We also have many different adapted landline phones.

This is a program that we facilitate through the state, specifically funded through the PUC. So there is a lot of paperwork involved in this program since we facilitate it through the state. So we're able to help you walk through that application process. But there is an income threshold of 200% of the poverty threshold, which is around $30,000 for a single person. On our website, you're able to find more information about family size and income and see if you qualify. If you have any questions, you're more than welcome to also just reach out to us directly.

There is the iCanConnect program, which is the deaf blind equipment distribution program. We're very passionate about this program as well. This is a program we facilitate through the state. It is specifically for people who have both vision and hearing loss. There is an income requirement as well.

And basically, if you just know anyone who has both vision and hearing loss combined, send them our way so that we can get them connected to this amazing program. It provides one on one support and training with devices. It also allows a wide range of devices that we're able to fund for that person. On the screen, there is an image of a person who received equipment from this program. They're playing with an iPhone and a tablet.

And we have a scholarship through tech owl called the Del Sordo fund. This is a last resort funding source, which provides $400 of financial assistance for the purchase of assistive technology. This fund, we need to know that you also have tried other funding sources. So if waiver funding does not work, if insurance is not working, if other funding sources are not working, we need to know that you tried those avenues and then you can apply to us.

This is also a one time only so that you use this once and that's it. You're not allowed to use this a second or a third time. Some things that we were able to fund through this is a magnifier, a wheelchair battery, a sip and puff video game switch, which is also known as a quad stick, and a Roomba vacuum.

All right. So we made it to the end of the presentation. We are on time, thankfully. So now I just want to ensure that you have the ability to reach out to us and to continue to follow along on our journey, especially as we continue these presentations month by month.

So TechOWL's main office, we're at Temple University. We are a program of the Institute on Disabilities. And our main number is 800-204-7428. You can reach out to our general email at any time, techowl@temple.edu. Also on our website, there is a chat function. So during office hours, 8:30 to 4:30 Monday through Friday, you're able to talk to any one of us. We are always monitoring the website chat. So if you have a quick question, feel free to also chat us on the website. Our community space is located at 1392 Cecil B. Moore Avenue.

And the Institute of Disabilities, Their phone number is 215-204-1356. Their email is iod@temple.edu. And you can visit their website as well, disabilities.temple.edu. You can also follow us on social media. TechOWL specifically has a really robust program and a large, large following. So especially on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. So would love for you to follow along to learn more about assistive devices. Also follow the IOD, @IODtempleU.

And now that we are at the end, I do request that you please fill out this survey. There's a QR code on the screen as well as a bitly. I will put the link in the chat in one second. I'm going to let you all do the QR code. We are required by the state to prove that we do these presentations, and so it would be amazing if you could take one minute to give us your feedback on this presentation.

And if anyone has any questions, you're welcome to write them in the chat. Or if you would prefer to speak them, you're allowed to unmute yourself. I'm going to stop recording now so that our questions are not in the recording.

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