Funding: Where is it? (Part 2)
Posted on | January 5, 2012 | No Comments
We know schools must consider AT as part of the IEP. As AT professionals and educators, we know that AT is the link to success for many of our students. We also know our institutions do not want us to buy anything. So how do we fulfill the legal obligation and help our students be successful? Where oh where is the money?
We have had great success in finding funding support for high end AT needs and even building AT inventory through local community foundations and organizations and events. Lions Clubs, Sertoma, Junior League, Optimist, Rotary, etc. are great resources for support. Also, reaching out to corporate sponsors and volunteers who come in to support student activities has proven to be successful…we even had a special Christmas program that got sponsors for switch activated toys and other adapted toys that could be used at school and given to each child for home too. Don’t get stuck in the this is how we always do it mode…reach out to your community. I know you will be thrilled with the results. Remember if they say “no”, you are no worse off but when you get “yes”, it usually means yes this year and the next too. What are some of your success stories?
by: Sandy Hanebrink, OTR/L, SC Branch Director, Touch the Future, Inc.
Funding: Where is it? (Part 1)
Posted on | December 21, 2011 | No Comments
We know schools must consider AT as part of the IEP. As AT professionals and educators, we know that AT is the link to success for many of our students. We also know our institutions do not want us to buy anything. So how do we fulfill the legal obligation and help our students be successful? Where oh where is the money?
Or maybe where oh where is the AT, might be a better question. One great resource to find needed AT that might be free or very low cost is through community reutilization programs. You can find a link to many across the country at the Pass It On Center website at: http://passitoncenter.org/locations/search.aspx Many of the ReUse programs like our’s at Touch the Future, Inc. offer AT demos and loans, training and free, low cost and discounted AT that includes everything from computers, software, DME to other AT. Have you accessed these resources for your students and clients?
by: Sandy Hanebrink, OTR/L, SC Branch Director, Touch the Future, Inc.
Vocational Rehabilitation Services: Not just for seniors
Posted on | December 14, 2011 | No Comments
Have you heard that a student cannot be served by Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) until they are a senior or age 21? Do you know when a student is eligible for Vocational Rehabilitation Services? The answer is, under the Rehab Act, Vocational Rehabilitation Services begin at age 16 and as early as 14 if requested. Many agencies due to limited staffing and budget constraints are waiting or telling you they cannot do anything until the student is a senior or aging out of the system. I recommend that you do not accept this answer and advocate for the student’s services to begin as soon as legally possible. Having VR involved as soon as possible, helps ensure that all necessary evaluations and processes are in place for successful transition beyond high school. It also opens the door to funding options and access to needed AT through the Vocational Rehabilitation programs and provides another valuable member to the IEP and Transition Teams. What have your experiences been?
by: Sandy Hanebrink, OTR/L, SC Branch Director, Touch the Future, Inc.
Exploring legal obligations-Who is responsible?
Posted on | December 7, 2011 | No Comments
Have you been involved in the blame game…who is responsible for providing AT for the student–the School or Vocational Rehabilitation Department? I know I have. Well the answer quite simply may be both. Under IDEA, AT must be considered when developing the IEP. If the IEP indicates that AT is needed to meet FAPE. Then the school is ultimately responsible for providing this AT. Now whether they pay for it or Vocational Rehabilitation Department pays or other source(s) pay is an option but the ultimate responsibility is the school’s and it must be done timely and be effective. If the student is also engaged in a Vocational Rehabilitation program and the VR goals and plan indicate that AT is necessary for participation in training and employment then VR may have an obligation to fund this technology. However, if the technology is required as part of the IEP for FAPE then the school cannot wait on the VR process if it impedes participation in minimally effective education. What are your experiences? How have you advocated for successful AT acquisition for your student?
Written by: Sandy Hanebrink, OTR/L, SC Branch Director, Touch the Future, Inc.
Michelle Lange, OTR -Danica: is she ready to communicate?
Posted on | November 8, 2011 | No Comments
Danica is a very involved young girl with the diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Unfortunately, she is not receiving speech therapy services at school as she was not making any progress. Her Occupational and Physical Therapists asked me to take a look and see if I could figure out where she may be able to independently access a switch so that she could show everyone her potential. Great idea!
Danica sometimes uses a single message device with hand over hand access. She has no independent control at this time. I checked out a number of potential switch locations on her body. She appeared to have little isolated control in her extremities, but had fair head control. I placed a Spec switch up by the side of her left head and she was able to activate this and turn on a battery operated toy (a puppy that she adores!). We had a start.
The main goal at this time is communication, so I wanted to get a sense of Danica’s communication potential and ability to use that switch for scanning. I gave Danica 2 choices and asked her to hit the switch when she heard the choice she wanted. I then said, “take a walk in my wheelchair”, waited 5 seconds and said “turn on the puppy”. Danica listened carefully, but did not make a choice. I repeated the choices again and still no switch hit. I reminded Danica that she could choose what she wanted to do by hitting the switch. She chose the Puppy and from then on out, she had connected selecting the choices she heard with hitting the switch. I changed it up a bit and reversed the choices. She chose “take a walk” the first time I did this, so I pushed her down the hallway, but after that it was all Puppy. I changed that choice to “play with a toy”. She thought about that for a bit and then chose it. I then expanded the choices to “play with the puppy” or “play with the dinosaur”. She chose dinosaur the first time, but he made a noise she didn’t like, so it was back to the Puppy. At any rate, in about 20 minutes, she was choosing from a hierarchy of about 10 choices. Danica is ready for independent access, using the left side of her head, and a speech generating device with more than a single message.
Tags: Alternative Mice > Communication > switch access > Switch Assesment > Switch Assessment > Toys
Michelle Lange, OTR – Elliot: manual or power mobility?
Posted on | November 8, 2011 | No Comments
I had the privilege of working with Elliot a few weeks back. He is a 6 year old boy who has cerebral palsy. One of his arms is relatively unaffected, so he tends to self-propel his manual wheelchair unevenly as this arm is stronger and has more coordination. His team wanted to know if Elliot needed a power wheelchair. Now I’m about power, but I really don’t like to recommend a power wheelchair unless it is truly indicated. Elliot propelled his little lightweight manual wheelchair fairly well with good steering. He did fatigue quickly and had some trouble with thresholds.
Elliot weighs about 35 pounds. The problem is, so does his wheelchair with linear seating system. Imagine trying to push a manual wheelchair that weighed as much as you do! Instead of recommending a power wheelchair, I recommended an ultralightweight manual wheelchair with a very lightweight back and cushion (Elliot does not require a lot of postural support). I expect he will be able to propel longer distances with less fatigue. A lighter system will also reduce his chances of shoulder and wrist injuries, because I think Elliot will be able to use his new wheelchair efficiently for some time to come.
Tags: EADL's > Wheelchair Seating
Michelle Lange, OTR – Karizma: identifying switch sites
Posted on | November 8, 2011 | No Comments
I tried switches just about everywhere. I could feel Karizma attempting to activate the switch each time I moved it (I could feel the muscle contracting), but she just couldn’t activate the switch with any volitional control. When I placed a switch by the right side of her head, she instantly assumed a very strong ATNR. I moved a Spec switch further back on the right side of her head so that only a very small movement was required. She was able to activate the switch in this location without eliciting the ATNR, which allowed her to access the switch with control. With a little practice, Karizma could also control a switch by the left side of her head, as long it the switch was placed well to the rear of this side. She couldn’t control a switch behind her head due to excessive extension.
The team is going to practice with these 2 switch sites and begin exploring communication. After she is using a speech generating device successfully, we will try and develop a 3rd switch site and relook at power mobility.
Tags: ATRN > EADL's > Environmental Control Units > switch access > Switch Assesment > Switch Assessment > Switch's
Michelle Lange, OTR – Danny: joystick or head switches?
Posted on | November 8, 2011 | No Comments
Danny is a 10 year old boy with the diagnosis of cerebral palsy. He has been practicing using a joystick by his right hand for driving a power wheelchair for a number of months now and his school team wanted to know if he was ready to order a chair of his own. So, after introducing myself to Danny and his Mom, I watched him drive around. I noticed two issues right away: Danny couldn’t keep his head up when using the joystick and he had significant difficulty making turns. Danny could grasp the joystick and push it forward, but the pattern of movement he used pulled his head down. His head control tends to be only fair in the best of times, according to the team. Once he pushes the joystick forward, his tone takes over and he has difficulty pulling back slightly in order to move the joystick to the side for steering.
Despite his poor head control, I placed a switch to the side of Danny’s head. This switch was set up to control Forward movement of the wheelchair. Danny was able to make the chair stop and go volitionally and he kept his head up the entire time he was driving. His movement was isolated, meaning that he wasn’t pulling in any patterns of movement, excessive muscle tone or reflexes to control his movement. I set up two more switches (on the other side of his head and behind his head) and Danny drove for about 20 minutes with good steering and without dropping his head.
Now I make it a point to not use a wheelchair seating system to meet therapy goals (such as increasing head control) as my goal is increased function (like driving a power wheelchair). In Danny’s case, we are working on both. He is ready for a power wheelchair, just not with a joystick. He will be driving with a head array and working on head control at the same time. I guarantee his head control will be better in 6 months and in the meantime he can drive independently and see where he is driving!
Tags: EADL's > positioning > power wheelchair users > switch access > Switch Assesment > Switch Assessment > Switch Mounting > Switch's > Wheelchair Seating
Michelle Lange, OTR – Unique Mounting Solutions
Posted on | November 1, 2011 | No Comments
Switches are often mounted on a wheelchair for access from this seating position. But what about mounting when the client is out of the wheelchair? Here are a few examples:
• Brady uses a Spec switch by the right side of his head in his wheelchair, but he spends a lot of hours in bed, as well. He is able to still access a switch by the right side of his head when he is lying in bed, but how do we mount it there? A Universal Switch Mounting System was attached to the headboard of the bed which allowed the Spec switch to be placed by the side of Brady’s head and easily moved out of the way for transfers.
• Daisha uses a Jellybean switch mounted just in front of her left foot, attached to the bottom of the footplate. When she gets home from school, she spends a few hours lying on her back on a wedge. She still wants to use her speech generating device. We placed a Jellybean switch on a Universal Switch Mount which we laid on the floor in front of her left foot, angled it where needed and tightened the knob to maintain this position. The weight of the mount keeps the switch in place.
• Kyle uses a sidelyer several hours a day and needs to access his switch from this position. A Jellybean switch was placed by his right cheek and attached to a Universal Switch Mounting System (USMS). There was no spot to attach the USMS on the sidelyer, so a Universal Switch Mounting System Base was placed on the floor next to the sidelyer and the USMS was attached to that. 
Tags: EADL's > Mounting > Switch Assesment > Switch Mounting
Michelle Lange, OTR – The Switch Toolkit
Posted on | October 27, 2011 | No Comments
People often ask me what switches I would choose to create a “toolkit”. If you don’t have a collection of switches with which to evaluate clients or an unlimited budget, where do you start? Here are some of my favorites:
1. Jellybean: this is a versatile switch that is a good size to be used in numerous locations, it is durable yet fairly sensitive and has a nice crisp click for feedback to the client.
2. Spec: this smaller version of the Jellybean is great for capturing smaller movements at the side of the head or at the fingers. It comes with 3 bases, one of which is a strap base. This can easily be wrapped around the side of a headrest or around the hand during an evaluation.
3. Micro Light: the Micro Light is probably the most sensitive mechanical switch available. It is very small and requires very little force to activate (10 grams). It is fragile, so don’t use this for clients who use a lot of force. I often use this as a reset switch on a power wheelchair.
4. Universal Switch Mounting System with friction knob: this allows switches to be quickly mounted where I need and can be attached to round (wheelchair frame) or square (table top) surfaces. The switch needs to be mounted securely to evaluate potential switch locations.
Tags: EADL's > positioning > switch access > Switch Assesment > Switch Mounting
About this Blog
As AbleNet recently celebrated its 25th Anniversary, we can't help but be humbled by the inspiring stories of remarkable people all over the world who use our products. They are children who use our curriculum to learn. They are teenagers who can interact with their peers using a communication aid. They are adults living independently with the use of environmental controls. These are their stories!
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