Annunadfj;l Tech Oklahoma ABLE Tech  The Assistive Technology Program for the State of Oklahoma
ANNUAL REPORT 2007 PDF 

Key Activities 2007

Oklahoma ABLE Tech Statistics

• Assistive technology (AT) training events served over 2284 people 

• The Alternative Financing Program provided $481,892 in AT device low interest bank loans assisting 94 Oklahomans with disabilities

• 246 AT devices exchanged from sellers to buyers for a savings of $87,200

• 401 AT devices recycled and donated to Oklahomans with disabilities for a savings of $320,800

• 379 AT devices loaned to Oklahomans in “try before you buy” short-term loan program

• 737 AT demonstrations to Oklahomans

Highlights

• ABLE Tech serves individuals of all ages and all disabilities in Oklahoma.

• ABLE Tech and its partners provide 8 AT loan and demonstration sites to give Oklahomans an opportunity to touch, try, and take home AT devices and improve independence in the community, schools, and workplace.

• ABLE Tech provided information technology accessibility training to 1074 state agency and post secondary personnel.

• ABLE Tech provided training on AT devices such as: computers, software, health and • safety devices, daily living items, and learning/cognitive devices.

• ABLE Tech trained individuals and agencies on topics such as funding for AT, laws and policies, accessible information technology, accessible textbooks, education and community transition.

• “Fire Safety for Oklahomans with Disabilities” received 156 applications from individuals with disabilities in 44 of the 77 Oklahoma counties who received 185 professionally installed specialized smoke alarms.

• ABLE Tech’s partner, Sooner AMBUCS Share4Life Komputers, donated 401 recycled computers to individuals to improve independent living and vocational skills.

• The Special Education Resolution Center settled 87% of special education due process • hearing requests, saving an estimated $330,000 to $2,100,000 in tax payer dollars.

• Oklahoma AgrAbility has served over 130 farming families in 75 counties to accommodate disability on the farm, provided information and referral to hundreds more, located over $130,000 in funding for assistive technology through strategic partnerships, especially the Department of Rehabilitation Services; and educated over 120 health and agricultural professionals on disability issues for Oklahoma farmers and ranchers.

Demo and Loan Program Assisted Oklahomans

Benefit Area 

Community Living = 81%

Education = 11%

Employment = 7%

Information Technology = 1%

AT Category 

Hearing = 44%

Vision = 25%

Speech Communication = 18%

Computer Related = 4%

Daily Living = 3%

Learning and Cognition = 2%

Environmental = 2%

Mobility, Seating, & Positioning = 1%

Recreation & Sports = 1%

• 737 individuals received assistive technology demonstrations with 48% of the demonstrations helping children ages 0-3 through the SoonerStart Early Intervention Program. Approximately 400 assistive technology devices were loaned through the short-term loan program, giving individuals an opportunity to determine if AT would meet their needs. These programs are provided at no cost to Oklahomans.

ABLE Tech Alternative Financing Program
Oklahoma ABLE Tech, in partnership with the Oklahoma Assistive Technology Foundation and BancFirst of Stillwater, provide low
interest bank loans to Oklahomans with disabilities for the purchase of assistive technology. 

Type of AT Purchased 

Home mods = $8,296

Vehicle mods = $223,896

Hearing equipment = $283,296

Personal mobility = $10,025

Vision equipment = $2,380

Success Stories in Oklahoma

• A three-year-old child from Bixby County with cerebral palsy wanted to keep up with her friends at the park. She relied on her mother to push her in the stroller and needed equipment that would allow her to move faster. Her family used the short-term loan program to borrow an AmTryke through Oklahoma ABLE Tech and was pleased with her increased independence and mobility. Now, she enjoys riding her AmTryke at the park and outside her house. She has more self-confidence and a way to be more active with friends.
  
• A seventy-seven-year-old woman from Edmond, who is legally blind, needed a magnifier to help her read mail and pay bills. She visited ABLE Tech’s partner, the Oklahoma League for the Blind, who helped her try out a variety of products. Through the short-term loan program, she was able to take home a magnifier to assess if it would meet her needs. By using the appropriate assistive technology she is less dependent on her son for help.
  
• A twenty-three-year-old man from Washington County was unable to utilize speech to communicate since a motor vehicle accident. Along with a speech-language pathologist and his mother he visited the assistive technology center at the Mary K. Chapman Center for Communicative Disorders at the University of Tulsa. The center partners with Oklahoma ABLE Tech to provide assistive technology demonstrations and short-term loans. He was able to try different types of communication devices and software that would improve his communication. Comparing the features of the devices gave him new opportunities to learn more about assistive
  technology and how it can help him live more independently. He borrowed a Dynavox DV4 to determine if it would meet his needs in the community.
  
• Tulsa County parents of a two-and-a-half-year-old boy with spinal muscular atrophy searched for a way for their child to access the computer since he had very little movement. His parents requested a short-term loan of the SmartNav3 hands free mouse for computer access. The SmartNav 3 enabled him to control the computer by moving only his finger, allowing him to fully navigate computer games by himself. ABLE Tech was the only program that could loan the device to the family so that they could be assured he could benefit from its uses before purchasing.
  
• A fifty-three-year-old man with a T-8 spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down used a manual wheelchair for the past five years and needed more freedom to work on his ranch in Oklahoma County. The ABLE Tech Alternative Financing Program partnered with Oklahoma AgrAbility to meet his needs of finding a power wheelchair that could manage rugged terrain. The AFP works through BancFirst to provide low interest loans to individuals with disabilities. He received a Frontier electric wheelchair and is now active feeding animals and working on the ranch. The low interest loan made the wheelchair very affordable. He is very appreciative of all the help he received from both programs.
  
• Staff at the Visual Services AT Lab assisted a nineteen-year-old man from Latimer County discover a variety of devices and software that could help meet his low vision needs. He tried several types of computer software, a large keys keyboard, and hand held magnifiers. The tools made it much easier to use the computer because he could clearly see the keys on the keyboard. He determined magnification software and a handheld magnifier were needed as he pursues his education. The vocational rehabilitation program purchased the equipment based on the AT assessment. The assistive technology has opened the windows of opportunity for this young man, thanks to the partnership of ABLE Tech and the Department of Rehabilitation Visual Services.

Oklahoma ABLE Tech Contact Information

OSU Seretean Wellness Center Director Robin Purdie
Associate Director of Sponsored Programs Linda Jaco
Oklahoma ABLE Tech Program Manager Milissa Gofourth
Senior Administration Support Specialist Diana Sargent
Program Specialist and Web Coordinator Brenda Dawes
Training and Outreach Specialist Sherril York
Alternative Financing Program Coordinator Shelby Sanders
Graduate Assistant Melinda Tebow
Oklahoma Special Education Resolution Center Jo Anne Pool
Administrative Assistant Shannon Esmeyer
Oklahoma AgrAbility Program Assistant Gwen Doshier

OSU Seretean Wellness Center
1514 W. Hall of Fame Stillwater, OK 74078
1-800-257-1705 or 405-744-9748 Fax 405-744-2487
Info-line 1-888-885-5588 V/TTY
ABLE Tech Website http://okabletech.okstate.edu
AT Equipment Exchange http://oec.okstate.edu

Oklahoma ABLE Tech Partners

Oklahoma ABLE Tech
Stillwater 1-888-885-5588

Oklahoma League for the Blind
Oklahoma City 405-232-4644

Mary K. Chapman Center for Communicative Disorders
Tulsa 918-631-2913

Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education
405-743-5162

SoonerStart Early Intervention
Program 405-522-5167

Hearing Loss Association of Oklahoma City
405-951-8383

Total Source for Hearing-loss and Access, Tulsa
918-823-8742

Total Health, Stillwater Medical Center
405-624-6592

Department of Rehabilitation Services, AT Lab for Blindness and Low Vision
Oklahoma City 405-522-3442

AMBUCS Share4Life Komputers
405-360-1521

This program is funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) of the U.S. Department of Education, Grant #H224A50007. This publication does not necessarily reflect the position of the policy of RSA/ED, and no official endorsement of the material should be inferred.