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Volume 15, No. 3, Fall 2007 |
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What's Inside . . . Volume 15, No. 3, Fall 2007
A Tribute to Joan Bradley
Joan Bradley left this world on August 12, 2007. For those of us privileged to know her, she was an inspiration, a constant breath of fresh air and an endless source of energy.
Cochlear Implants and Auditory AT: Must They Be Provided?
Hearing aids, assistive technology amplifying sound, are commonplace and do not elicit much controversy. Since their inception in 1978, cochlear implants, however, have been lightning rods for contentiousness in the Deaf community. Cochlear implants are electronic devices which, when implanted under the skin on the skull, convert sound waves into digital signals, which can then be understood by the brain as speech. With the implant, sound is transmitted past the damaged cochlea to the brain. While the implants do not "cure" deafness (in fact the implants often destroy what remaining hearing an individual may have), they do offer users the potential to develop language based on spoken communication.
The AT Bargain Basement
Hello true believers, and welcome to another installment of the AT Bargain Basement. I am Marvin Williams, your host for this inexpensive assistive technology extravaganza. To all of you regular Basement readers, welcome back! If this is your first time joining us, welcome! What took you so long? No matter, there are plenty of bargains to go around. Here's how things work. I bring you as much AT priced under $100 as I can find. You are more than welcome to participate in the parade of bargains by sending along any that you may find so that I can report them here to the rest of the group. With that being said, let's get to the bargains!
OSEP Funds Consortium
The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has awarded 15 states and CAST, a leading education research and development organization, $4.9 million to launch the Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) Consortium to improve the quality, availability, and timely delivery of accessible instructional materials to K-12 students with print disabilities. The Federal grant, which covers an 18-month span, will cover 100 percent of the costs associated with AIM Consortium activities.
New Equipment at ATRCs
This article highlights the new equipment that we recently added to our ATRCs. We base our decisions about new equipment on our knowledge of the changing marketplace, the needs we observe as we talk with people throughout the state, and our customer requests. So, if you'd like to see a product added to our inventory, please let us know!
AT Exchange: Making Connections
DATI unveiled its new AT Exchange a little over a year ago. One of the powerful new features is something that the general public never sees: an administrative tool that keeps track of how many devices have changed hands and the resultant cost savings to consumers and families. I recently used this tool to generate an outcome report, and was delighted with what I saw. Just this year alone, 41 individuals have been able to secure needed equipment through the AT Exchange. The cost-savings data are even more exciting: consumers saved $107,742 by using the AT Exchange to meet their AT needs!