Contact Alli Upchurch at alli.upchurch@uscmed.sc.edu
or 803-935-5273 to make an appointment to pick up an item.
Also, don’t forget to check out the Assistive Technology Exchange
at https://scatpexchange.net/.
There are lots of items listed and new ones added every day!
The Accessible Technology Coalition
compiles this listing of free webinars from around the Web!
Follow the ATC Facebook page for late additions.
AT Webinars - Adults, Web, and General
The Hardware to the Software: Everything you need to know to make an iPad Switch Accessible, Part 1 from AbleNet
May 4, 2021 at 8am Pacific, 11am Eastern
May 11, Part II, same time.
Low-Tech Assistive Technology at Home and Abroad from AgrAbility
May 11, 2021 at 10am Pacific, 1pm Eastern
Seeing AI App to Support Those with Visual Impairment and also Those with Literacy Difficulties from CallScotland
May 12, at 4pm Pacific, 7pm Eastern (30 min.)
Wired Wednesday: AT Bits & Bytes (Translate Live's Instant Language Assistant demo) with TFL and WATAP
May 12, 2021 at 10am Pacific, 1pm Eastern (90 min.)
Web Accessibility for Developers from inData
May 12,2021 at 8am Pacific, 11am Eastern (5 hours)
Dementia-friendly design: expert tips for inclusive websites from AbilityNetUK
May 18, 2021 at 1pm Pacific, 4pm Eastern
Automated Accessibility Testing from AT3Center
May 19, 2021 at 10:30am Pacific, 1:30pm Eastern
Basic Accessibility Fundamentals Bootcamp from deque
May 20, 2021 at 9am Pacific, 12pm Eastern (3 hrs.)
Section 508 Compliance and Assistive Technology: Providing Accessibility to ICT for Federal Employees under the Rehabilitation Act (Sections 504 and 508) from Great Lakes ADA
May 25, 2021 at 10am Pacific, 1pm Eastern (90 min.)
Technology and Dementia: a creative approach from AbilityNetUK
May 25, 2021 at 1pm Pacific, 4pm Eastern
AT Webinars - K-12
Providing Access to the Curriculum on the House that Google Built from Don Johnston
May 6, 2021 at 10am Pacific, 1pm Eastern
Using PowerPoint Creatively to Support Learners with Additional Support Needs from CallScotland
May 26, 2021 at 4pm Pacific, 7pm Eastern (30 min.)
Needing Augmentative Communication
Date: Tuesday, May 6, 2021
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Cost: Free
Speaker: Kenneth P Whitley
Target Audience: SLP’s and OT’s serving veterans, veterans and their families, others interested in AAC for adults.
Veterans needing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) are as varied as the general population plus having been exposed to environments and experiences most others have not. Higher instances of ALS, PLS, Multiple Systems Atrophy, Parkinson’s Disease, stroke, cancer, etc. are present. This presentation will be an introduction to serving veterans in need of augmentative communication technology.
Participants will learn:
There will be a question-and-answer session at the end of the webinar.
Ken Whitley is co-founder and President of AT4Vets (established 2020) and Key Technologies, Inc. (established 1986). He is a Speech-Language Pathologist and consultant in assistive technology and rehab/special needs materials and has extensive experience in serving both adults and children with disabilities. Mr. Whitley has worked in both the public schools and a residential facility for persons with developmental disabilities. He has provided over 336 workshops and presentations on the use of assistive technology covering AAC, computer access, environmental control, and mounting systems. For the last decade, his focus has been on serving veterans and VAMCs with assistive technology needs.
TECHIE TUESDAY
Tuesday, April 27th, 2021
Join SC Assistive Technology Program staff for a free, informative demonstration of the assistive technology you are most interested in.
To sign up for a time for your personal, 1:1 demonstration for April 27th, contact Carol Page at carol.page@uscmed.sc.edu or 803-935-5301. We can meet by Zoom or phone. Let me know what works best for you!
Check out our free archived trainings
and upcoming trainings here:
https://scatp.med.sc.edu/services/at-trainings/
The terrible toll of COVID-19
on people with intellectual disabilities
Wendy Ross, MD
April 20, 2021
Patients with intellectual disabilities are six times more likely to die from COVID-19 than other people. An expert weighs in on how we must improve their care both during the pandemic and down the road.
Sara*, 22, was doing well until COVID-19 hit. She was working at a café where most of the employees, like her, have an intellectual disability. She’d gotten good at making lattes and had just created a video resume for a Starbucks job. She enjoyed living with her parents in a suburb of Philadelphia and participating in a local program designed to boost independence.
But COVID-19 has created particular obstacles for Sara, who has difficulty communicating, processing information, and adapting to new situations. Some of her therapists have stopped coming to her house, and those who come wear masks that make her feel disconnected from them. She also dislikes how hot her mask feels and how often people remind her to fix it when it slips below her nose.
Then matters got worse. Even though she was careful, Sara contracted COVID-19 and spiked a fever of 104 degrees. Once hospitalized, she struggled to explain how sick she felt. Her doctors spoke very quickly, and by the time she sorted out the questions, they had stopped waiting for her answers. She was confused about why she got moved from one room to another, and she desperately missed her parents, who could not visit her because of COVID-19 precautions.
Sara’s is a dismaying story and, unfortunately, it is not an outlier. I know this well from my experience as director of the Center for Autism and Neurodiversity at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia and from decades working to help create accessible care for all people.
Approximately 6.5 million people in the United States have an intellectual disability. That means they have an IQ score below 70 and other cognitive limitations that affect their communication, social, and self-care skills. COVID-19 has certainly complicated their existence — but it also has ended their lives at tragic rates.
Consider this disturbing statistic: Having an intellectual disability was the highest independent risk factor for contracting COVID-19, controlling for race, ethnicity, and other variables. It was higher even than age or heart or lung problems, according to a recent paper I co-authored. Also, having an intellectual disability was second only to age for COVID-19-related deaths. The paper — which reported on more than 64 million patients at hundreds of U.S. medical centers — found that those with intellectual disabilities were six times more likely to die from COVID-19 than other members of the population.
Some of the increased illness and death may be related to the nature of intellectual disabilities and the supports they entail. For example, people with intellectual disabilities more often live in group homes; use shared transportation; are exposed to people outside their households, including therapists and other providers; and struggle with precautions like mask-wearing.
But there are aspects of these uneven outcomes that raise serious questions about us as a medical community and as a society.
Prentke Romich Company and Saltillo Corporation.
(Not all offer ASHA CEUs.)
ALL Write ALL Ready
Mon, May 3, 2021
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET
Cost: FREE
Instructional Level: Intermediate
ASHA CEUs: 0.1
Explore ChatEditor: Saltillo's Companion Software
Tue, May 4, 2021
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET
Cost: FREE
Introductory Level
ASHA CEUs: 0.1
AAC: Fostering Emergent Literacy
Wed, May 5, 2021
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
Cost: FREE
Introductory Level
ASHA CEUs: 0.2
Getting Beyond Basic Requesting
Mon, May 10, 2021
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET
Cost: FREE
Instructional Level: Introductory
ASHA CEUs: 0.1
New to TouchChat? Let Us Help! Part 1
Wed, May 12, 2021
4:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. ET
Cost: FREE
No CEUs
New to TouchChat? Let Us Help! Part 2
Thu, May 13, 2021
4:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. ET
Cost: FREE
No CEUs
New to TouchChat? Let Us Help! Part 3
Fri, May 14, 2021
4:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. ET
Cost: FREE
No CEUs
Teaching Language in the Classroom: Speaking, Reading and Writing with AAC
Fri, May 14, 2021
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
Cost: FREE
Instructional Level: Intermediate
ASHA CEUs: 0.1
LAMP Words for Life: Vocabulary Review and Practice
Wed, May 12, 2021
4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. ET
Cost: FREE
Instructional Level: Introductory
ASHA CEUs: 0.15
Stepping Up: Young Adult Content on the AAC Language Lab
Mon, May 17, 2021
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET
Cost: FREE
Instructional Level: Introductory
ASHA CEUs: 0.1
Customizing TouchChat: Part 1
Tue, May 18, 2021
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ET
Cost: FREE
Introductory Level
ASHA CEUs: 0.1
Customizing TouchChat: Part 2
Wed, May 19, 2021
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ET
Introductory Level
ASHA CEUs: 0.1
Building Communication with Aided Language Input
Wed, May 19, 2021
7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. ET
Cost: FREE
Instructional Level: Introductory
ASHA CEUs: 0.1
Diving Into the AAC Language Lab
Thu, May 20, 2021
3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. ET
Cost: FREE
Instructional Level: Introductory
ASHA CEUs: 0.15
What Are Core Words Anyway? Let Us Help You Get Started! Part 1
Tue, May 25, 2021
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ET
Cost: FREE
Introductory Level
ASHA CEUs: 0.1
Stepping Stones to AAC: Explore Baby Animals at the Zoo
Wed, May 26, 2021
8:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. ET
Cost: FREE
No CEUs
What Are Core Words Anyway? Let Us Help You Get Started! Part 2
Thu, May 27, 2021
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ET
Cost: FREE
Introductory Level
ASHA CEUs: 0.1
Date: April 22, 2021
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. ET
Cost: Free!
(You must register to receive the Zoom link)
Target Audience: Online Education Leaders, Academic Technologists, Instructional Designers, Special Education Teachers, Assistive Technology Directors, General Education Teachers
Pivoting away from the traditional classroom in 2020 has shown teachers, parents, and students that we have some work to do to make online learning equitable and accessible to every single student. ReadSpeaker is committed to adding a voice (or an instant audiobook) across a school's online learning environment. ReadSpeaker's integrations require no downloads and no passwords and have become a vital study aide for students across the country.
Participants will learn:
ReadSpeaker will be rolling out a no-cost Teacher Program this Summer/Fall. Individual teachers can sign up for a classroom account of TextAid. This digital workplace for students will read aloud documents and student-created content. Giving students the option to listen to readings from class helps improve comprehension and help with literacy skills. The easy to use accessibility tools such as the reading ruler, open dyslexic font, and enlarge text will assit students across the board. A teacher training session with the ReadSpeaker team will be provided to train teachers in how to use TextAid and support their students. The classroom license will be available for 6 months.
We are hosting this year's four-day conference in an exciting, all-new virtual format. Each day, Family Connection will present four targeted training topics including Early Childhood, Child and Youth, Parenting, and presentations in Spanish. Choose one or more sessions on the days and times that work best for you!
Guest speakers will share reflections on a challenging year, important updates, and inspirational ideas as we look to the future.
Exhibitors from organizations across the state will host interactive sessions to present new information and answer questions and concerns. Exhibitors: deadline to register is May 14th--register now!
If you know a family who could benefit from Family Connection's services, make a referral below. Please consider making a donation to help us serve more families in South Carolina!
1-800-578-8750
Para Espanol 1-888-808-7462
You can contact us at 803-935-5263 or janet.lambert@uscmed.sc.edu to learn more about what the SC Assistive Technology Program has to offer.
The SCATP Reuse Service can help individuals acquire used assistive technology, including durable medical equipment, for free. Call (803) 935-5273 or email Alli Upchurch to see if we have what you are looking for and to donate used equipment. To donate, please call (803) 935-5273 and make an appointment to drop off your donations at the SCATP Warehouse. If you are unable to come to our facility, we can pick up the equipment from you. SCATP also offers open-ended loans of working, but outdated equipment to people waiting on delivery of new equipment or people receiving hospice services.
SCATP provides an online recycling database, the South Carolina Assistive Technology Exchange, to help citizens with disabilities and older people with functional limitations find affordable assistive technology devices and equipment.
SCATP offers a short-term device loan program that is available to anyone in the state of South Carolina. The SCATP Device Loan Program increases access to AT by allowing people with disabilities, their family members and service providers to try out different AT options before making the decision to purchase, or in some cases, the decision not to purchase AT. In this way, types and features of different devices can be compared during real-life situations and activities (e.g., in the classroom, at home or work).
The South Carolina Assistive Technology Program (SCATP) is accepting loan applications for three power wheelchairs and three manual wheelchairs. The wheelchairs are available for up to a six-week loan to individuals with paralysis. SCATP’s “Mobility Independence Project” is funded by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. There is no fee to borrow one of the wheelchairs. For more information about the “Mobility Independence Project” and to learn how to complete the application and schedule delivery of a wheelchair, please contact us at 803-935-5263 or carol.page@uscmed.sc.edu or tammy.wallace@uscmed.sc.edu .
The SCATP AT Resource Center in Columbia offers opportunities for hands-on trial, self-paced learning, and AT demonstration, with the most comprehensive inventory of AT items in the state. Staff members are present to provide applicable assistive technology resources and guidance.
State Leadership Activities
SCATP staff travels across the state to present, exhibit and train. Technical assistance is provided to various agencies who help people with disabilities. Public awareness activities include SCATP's annual statewide AT Expo, distributing program brochures, flyers, and fact sheets to promote AT services.
Let’s talk about benevolent ableism.
First, what is benevolent ableism? Let’s start with defining ableism. Like racism, ableism is a societal issue where people are discriminated against because of their disability.
Benevolent ableism is when individuals, typically with good intentions, set apart people with disabilities (often unintentionally) by trying to help, but in doing so, feed into stigmas that people with disabilities aren’t as “able” as everyone else. Below are some examples of how service providers may exhibit benevolent ableism.
Benevolent ableism in action
As a service provider, it’s important you empower the people you work with and provide the assistance that’s required of your job without crossing the line into benevolent ableism. The easiest way to change these behaviors is to embrace inclusion and treat all individuals like equals, disability or not. Learn more about how you can change the culture in your workplace and encourage other service providers to do the same.
Below are some great resources to begin learning more about benevolent ableism:
About Hire Me SC
People with disabilities can work, want to work, and should be afforded every opportunity to work. Powered by Able South Carolina and SCDEC, Hire Me SC is a campaign that promotes a culture of inclusion across the state of South Carolina, one in which employment for every individual, disability or not, is the norm rather than the exception. Learn more at www.hiremesc.org.
Please contact Alli Upchurch at alli.upchurch@uscmed.sc.edu
if you see a piece of equipment that you need.
We also have bedside commodes,
2-wheel walkers, & bed safety rails available!
Phone: 803-935-5273/ Fax: 803-935-5342/
Toll Free: 800-915-4522
If you are a person of color with a disability, between the ages of 17-25, we invite you to discuss and share your experiences together in our listening sessions!
Register for a Listening Session
803.779.5121 | advocacy@able-sc.org
Date: Thursday, April 15th
Time: 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Cost: Free!
Speakers: SCSL-TBS Assistive Technology Petting Zoo Team
As a network library of the National Library Service for The Blind & Print Disabled, the South Carolina State Library – Talking Book Services division (SCSL-TBS) also sponsors an Assistive Technology Petting Zoo (ATPZ) of equipment and supplies uniquely suited to helping libraries statewide make their existing collections more accessible. However, the most unique feature of the program in general is the proprietary device known as the Talking Book Machine. Join ATPZ staffers Allie Lovette and Amber Sanders as they demonstrate how to properly use the machine, how qualified residents of our state can become patrons and receive library services free of charge, and how library staff and patrons alike can utilize items available from the SCATP to make their library experience more enjoyable.
Speakers: Allie Lovette and Amber Sanders work as a Reader Advisor and Reader Advisory Assistant (respectively) for the SCSL-TBS. As a team, they conduct activities and trainings related to the SCSL-TBS Assistive Technology Petting Zoo. The goal of this initiative is to show library staff, patrons and other stakeholders statewide how to make their holdings accessible with as little manipulation as possible, maintaining the integrity of the items for future generations to utilize in their original formats.
Two-thirds of U.S. public school districts have potential violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Many facilities fall short by maintaining building conditions that create physical barriers. We also know that many schools have challenges with providing consistent, accessible online communication and web-based content.
While it is understandable that adaptations need to be made during conditions such as the current pandemic, it is still essential that every student receives access to an education that meets their academic, social, and physical needs. Barriers that keep students from being fully integrated into school life, and those that impede learning are both illegal and unethical.
At Able SC we offer consulting and assessment services that assist schools and other organizations in making their physical spaces accessible, as well as adapting digital content into accessible formats. In addition, we offer services to address policies and procedures to protect and meet the needs of individuals with disabilities.
To find out more about these programs and how we can help make South Carolina accessible for all learners, contact Amy Shapley ashapley@able-sc.org.
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Able SC Social Skills Gaming Group!
Join our social skills gaming club!
🎮👾
THE DETAILS: Social skills gaming group for 13-17 year old students. Participants MUST be in school. You will learn social skills needed to create and maintain friendships while playing games and having fun! The groups will meet on every Tuesday ONLINE for 1 hour starting April 6th and ending April 27th. The 13-17 year old group will be from 4-5pm. Games that will be played include: Pictionary, Charades, 5 Second Rule, Codenames, and Taboo.
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Dates: July 25-30, 2021
SC YLF 2021 will be online due to the pandemic, but will be just as fun and engaging as years before!
If you are interested in attending but not sure what your plans are for July 2021, you can now fill out an interest form. Once you fill this form out, you will be contacted by a YLF staff member much closer to the time in the hope that your plans for July are much clearer and you will be able to attend!
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Join us online on Monday, April 12, 2021, from 3-4 PM to learn about:
Registration will close on Sunday, April 11.
We will email you the Zoom link and materials
on the morning of April 12.
For questions, contact Dori at dtempio@able-sc.org.
