September 1995

MD TAP Public Hearings Update

During May and June, the Maryland Technology Assistance Program held six Public Hearings at sites in Western MD and on the Eastern Shore, one additional hearing will be held on September 27th at 10:00 am at the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in Baltimore.

The purpose of these hearings is to enable consumers, family members, service providers, advocacy groups, and other interested parties to offer comments regarding the needs of people with disabilities.

The April issue of Tapping Technology included a special four page pull-out supplement which explained how to participate at a public hearing, how to write a letter for a public hearing, and the dates, locations, and times for each of the hearings. There were additional notices about the hearings in newspapers and as public service announcements on local television and radio stations.

Members of the TAP staff moderated each hearing, and presented an overview of the activities and accomplishments of the project, including the showing of an audio described, open captioned video. In addition, Tap provided sign language interpreters, and real time captioning to assure that the hearing impaired community had an opportunity to fully participate. All written materials were available in alternative formats.

Participants were asked to consider the following areas:

• Do you feel there is an increase in the availability of assistive technology devices and services?

• What laws, policies, procedures, or other requirements would you like to see changed to facilitate the acquisition and use of assistive technology?

• Are you able to get information about assistive technology and funding options?

• Are services better for assistive technology users?

• DO agencies that serve people with disabilities know more about assistive technology and are more people getting AT?

• Does your child's teacher, vocational rehabilitation worker, or case manager know about assistive technology?

• Are you able to get the assistive technology and support that you need?

In Western Maryland there was one hearing the afternoon of May 3()th at the MD School for the Deaf; that same evening, there were three hearings simultaneously broadcast from Distance Learning sites in Hagerstown, Cumberland, and Oakland using fiber optic, real time video. Each location had several large screens; participants were able to see and hear their own and the other locations in addition to being able to view both captioning and interpreters.

Consumers and professionals felt that MD TAP had played a positive role in the provision of assistive technology services and devices in the areas of information and referral, training, and the loan closets.

Among the comments received:

Ellicott City DORS Counselor Andrea Paskin complimented Jim Corey for his efficient provision of information regarding assistive technology services and devices, and for arranging short term equipment loans.

Wilda Massi, Garrett County Special Education Director, expressed appreciation to Rick Metheny for his provision of information and services in all areas of assistive technology to the students of Western Maryland.

George Zembower, of Cumberland, MD, thanked MD TAP for all the information and assistance he had received.

There were also several areas of concern:

Joe Stein of Volunteers for Medical Engineering requested additional communication and cooperation between MD TAP and VME in order to facilitate development of assistive devices.

Dorothy Leman-Thompson of United Cerebral Palsy read a letter from Mary Anne O'Brien requesting a quicker response time in providing funding information, funding strategies, and legal assistance in obtaining funding.

MD TAP staff members are currently working on efforts in the following areas:

• Collaboration with the Maryland Disability Law Center (MDLC), the State's protection and advocacy agency, to enhance the provision of services to consumers.

• Identification of a Policy Analyst position to increase and improve access to Assistive Technology.

• The development and implementation of a method to make funding services more accessible.

As stated in the Year 7 Maryland Technology Related Assistance Program Continuation Application (dated 3/8/95), MD TAP goals for the future include:

1. Establishment of a network of Assistive Technology services information and referral within Vocational Rehabilitation, Special Education, and the Office on Aging;

2. Pursuit of an Assistive Technology funding mechanism which addresses current inefficiencies and transitional gaps;

3. Exploration of the feasibility of establishing a 501-C-3, or other independent entity, to continue projects started under federal funding (e.g., Arts & Recreation Access, Alternative Media Production, Fiscal & Equipment Loan Program)

4. Enhancement of technology access for infants and youth in educational settings.

RTS Update: Expansion at MRC!

Overview of Rehabilitation Technology Services The mission of Rehabilitation Technology Services (RTS) is to systematically apply technology, engineering, and related services which promote employment, economic self-sufficiency, and independence of individuals with disabilities.

RTS is the result of the collaboration and expansion of several programs that have been serving Maryland citizens for years. It is more than the sum of its parts: DORS Technology Resource Office, Maryland Technology Assistance Program demonstration center, MRC Machine Tool and Welding Technology programs, and MRC Adaptive Driving Program.

RTS is one component of the Maryland Rehabilitation Center's comprehensive, interdisciplinary service delivery system, providing direct clinical services to consumers of the Maryland Division Of Rehabilitation Services along with information and referral services for all Maryland citizens.

RTS serves the consumers whose functional limitations (affecting communication, vision, hearing, motor skills, or cognition) demonstrate the need for technology services to offer alternative solutions for controlling their selected environments. Individuals previously excluded from vocational rehabilitation services and employment opportunities because of obstacles that interfere with optimal function can seek RTS for potential answers of adaptive and assistive strategies to help realize their individualized goals.

Comprehensive rehabilitation technology services are provided through five specialized units.

The Adaptive Microcomputer Unit provides state-of-the-art computer-oriented assistive technology accommodations to individuals with a wide variety of disabilities. Evaluation, prescription, design, and customized adaptive solutions are available. Orientation and basic training to use the recommended equipment is also provided. The Adaptive Microcomputer Unit provides services in four primary specialties:

• Augmentative Communication

• Adaptive Interfacing

• Sensory Aids

• Cognition and Learning

• Information and referral service via telephone

• Professional resource library, including electronic resources

• Rehabilitation technology reprints

• Assistive technology VHS videotape lending library

• Demonstration center

• Environmental and functional needs assessment

• Product adaptation and fitting

• Product design, development, and fabrication

• Maintenance and repair of specially designed or modified products

• Assistance with architectural accessibility evaluations, architectural modifications, and barrier reduction accommodations

• Comprehensive adapted driving assessment and training

• Adaptive driving equipment and vehicle modification prescription

• Procurement coordination and facilitation

• Assistive technologies to enable clients to independently complete a vocational evaluation

• Resource development center to identify innovative procedures for the most precise evaluation of an individual's capabilities

• Leading-edge computer-based evaluations and testing

410/554-9202 (voice) 410/554-9203 (TTY) 410/554-92()4 (fax)

Update: Nebraska Assistive Technology Project

Physician Training

As the initial contact for many persons who are newly disabled, physicians and other medical professionals are being relied on for information about resources to meet the needs of their patients. If your experiences however, are similar to those of many Nebraska residents, you are finding that many of your physicians have a limited awareness and knowledge about assistive technology (AT).

To begin to meet the need for more physician awareness about AT, Nebraska worked with Maine, Minnesota, Iowa, and Arkansas as well as the American Medical Association (AMA) to develop a training which will reach many of the physicians providing services in our states. Individual state workshops have been cosponsored by the national AMA and the state's Tech Act project. Each workshop is conducted by a faculty panel made up of two local physicians, an occupational, physical, or speech therapist (or other identified service provider), and a representative from the state Tech Act project. The faculty panel educates participating physicians and other medical professionals on:

• The benefits and uses of assistive technology for persons with disabilities;

• Selecting appropriate assistive technology;

• How to access funding streams for assistive technology

• Consumer participation in the decision making process

The next issue of Tapping Technology, December '95, will examine the future of Assistive Technology. Our Guest Editor is Bruce Baker, A.M.; President of Semantic Compaction Systems; Adjunct Professor, School of Health and Rehabilitation, University of Pittsburgh; Minspeak maven; and Latin teacher par excellence. Join us in December for a stroll through stepping disks, neural nets, and the language of the future - access.

Maryland's TAP Team

Tapping Technology, Box 10 One Market Center 300 W. Lexington Street Baltimore, MD 21201 or call 1-800-TECH-TAP (1-800-832-4827)

Tapping Technology is available in large print, on disk, in braille and on audiotape. Call 1-800-TECH-TAP (1-800-832-4827) to request an alternate format.

Tapping Technology is a publication of the Maryland Technology Assistance Program. MD TAP is a federally funded project of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) Grant No. H224A90019-94. MD TAP is governed under the provisions of Public Law 103-218 (1994) and is provided as a cooperative service of the Governors Office for Individuals with Disabilities, Parris N. Glendening Governor. MD TAP provides information on available products, devices, services and other resources to assist individuals with disabilities. No endorsements of these products devices services or resources are intended.

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