• Disability Studies
• Community Training
  & Service
• Research/Evaluation
• Assistive Technology
• Information Services

Assistive Technology in the Community

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Technology, home modifications, accessible design, along with personal assistance, are basic supports people with disabilities often need to live where they choose and to participate fully in community life. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has established the right of people with disabilities to have access to public accommodations and public programs, services, and activities. The right to receive publicly-funded services, such as Medicaid long-term services and supports (major source for assistive technology and adaptive aids), in the most integrated setting is affirmed by the landmark Supreme Court Olmstead decision of 1999.

Best practice and advocacy resources:

• CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation)
  (www.CARTinfo.org).
  CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) technology, also known as realtime captioning, can help persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing to fully participate in such activities as conferences, religious services, educational classes and seminars, or medical appointments. CART providers accompany people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing to meetings and many other events, and, using a stenotype machine and a laptop, instantly transcribe the spoken words into text that a person with hearing loss can read on a laptop computer or other screen.
• Exceptional Parent Magazine.
  (www.eparent.com).
  Award winning magazine's online resource provides information on technology, mobility, education, and wide range of support and ideas for parents and families of children with disabilities and professionals who work with them.
• Adaptive Environments.
  (www.adaptenv.org/).
  Promotes accessibility as well as universal design to address environmental issues that confront people with disabilities as well as the elderly.
• George Washington University, Center for Health Policy Research.
  (aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/reports/primer.htm).
  Understanding Medicaid Home and Community Based Services: A Primer.
• BusinessWeek Online.
  (http://businessweek.com/bwdaily/list/assist01.htm).
  John Williams's column on assistive technology.
• Center for Universal Design.
  (www.design.ncsu.edu:8120/cud).
  Information on universal design in housing, public and commercial facilities, and related products.
• The Center for an Accessible Society.
  (www.accessiblesociety.org).
  National organization designed to focus public attention on disability and independent living issues.
• WheelchairNet.
  (www.wheelchairnet.org).
  Information on accessibility, modifications, and technology.
• National Center on Supportive Housing and Home Modifications.
  (www.homemods.org).
  Many resources for designs and independent living products.
• The Breaking New Ground Resource Center.
  (abe.www.ecn.purdue.edu/ABE/Extension/BNG/index).
  Resources for persons with disabilities in rural settings.
• The Boulevard.
  (www.blvd.com).
  Wide range of products and solutions for functioning in everyday life.
• Dynamic Living.
  (www.dynamic-living.com).
  Adaptive products for the home including accessible kitchens, bedrooms, and bathrooms.