Oklahoma ABLE Tech - Oklahoma's Assistive Technology Program
Assistive Technology (AT) and Employment and
Transition activities: from School to Work
Oklahoma ABLE Tech participates in numerous activities and training events to improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities.
DEVICE LOAN AND DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS
ABLE Tech and partnering locations provide increased opportunities for people to try assistive technology before they buy. With approximately 1000 devices available, we are able to provide short term loans of AT to improve employment outcomes as well as to improve independence in educational and community settings. Employers, agency personnel, and service providers also benefit from these programs by increasing knowledge of AT and accommodations.
ABLE Tech Assistive Technology partnering programs:
ABLE Tech - Stillwater, OK
Visual Services at the Oklahoma Library for the Blind - Oklahoma City
Hearing Loss Association - Oklahoma City
Oklahoma League for the Blind - Oklahoma City
Oklahoma Assistive Technology Center - Oklahoma City
Total Source for Hearing Loss Association - Tulsa
Mary K. Chapman Center for Communicative Disorders - Tulsa
DEVICE REUTILIZATION PROGRAM
The ASK Computer Recycling Program - ABLE Tech partners with Sooner AMBUCS to operate Share4Life Komputer (ASK) which is a community service program to recycle/repair computers. This program combines donated computers, components and software to put together usable computers for Oklahomans with disabilities to help recipients gain independence by acquiring computers that they would not otherwise have been able to obtain. Many of the individuals served by this program have improved employment outcomes.
COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION
Educational Outcomes
State Department of Education Special Education Services and Transition Work Group - ABLE Tech is a member of the State Department of Education Transition Work Group and the Summary of Performance Work Group. IDEA Part B mandates a formal transition of children and youth with disabilities from school to post secondary education, employment and community living environments. The mission is to assist Local Education Agencies (LEAs) in developing effective activities as youth with disabilities transition from school to post school activities. The outcome of the group is to plan services which may include post secondary education, vocational training, integrated employment, supported employment, continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living and community participation. The outcomes will be based on the individual student¿s needs, preferences and interest. ABLE Tech will continue to integrate AT into the activities of this work group.
Multi-disciplinary AT Early Intervention Work Group - ABLE Tech participates as members of the Multi-disciplinary AT Early Intervention Work Group for children receiving services under IDEA Part C. The purpose of the work group is to create statewide quality indicators for a comprehensive AT service delivery system. ABLE Tech will continue to take a leadership role with regard to AT provision for young children with disabilities.
Employment Outcomes
Disability Navigators - ABLE Tech collaborates with the Disability Navigators that are located in various Oklahoma Workforce Centers. ABLE Tech provides information, training and technical assistance on the benefits of AT in the workplace especially with regard to Telework.
Early Intervention Reasonable Accommodation Program - ABLE Tech coordinates with Southwest Disability Technical Assistance Center and its associated regional states to implement an ¿Early Intervention Reasonable Accommodation Program¿ in Oklahoma. The objective is to create an early intervention for reasonable accommodation process to increase employment opportunities for employees with disabilities, including youth and young adults with disabilities in transition from school to work. ABLE Tech works with the state vocational rehabilitation agency and WIA One Stop Employment System for people with disabilities among others to develop a program to improve employment outcomes for persons with disabilities.
State Department of Rehabilitation Services Customer Service Improvement Committee (CSI) - ABLE Tech participates on the State Department of Rehabilitation Services Customer Service Improvement Committee (CSI) which annually addresses the agencies policies and procedures. The Committee reviews policy as it relates to the Rehabilitation Act and submits recommendations to the agency¿s Commission.
Oklahoma Rehabilitation Council - ABLE Tech¿s program manager is a governor appointed member on the Oklahoma Rehabilitation Council. The purpose of this Council is to partner with the Department of Rehabilitation Services to ensure consumer choice with regard to the vocational/visual rehabilitation service delivery system. The ABLE Tech staff will continue in their active role to advocate for consumers to receive appropriate AT devices and services.
Alliance for Public Transportation - ABLE Tech is a member of the Alliance for Public Transportation, a non-profit entity seeking to improve public transportation for all Oklahomans. The purpose of the organization is to reduce transportational barriers that prevent individuals from being able to fully participate in employment and other community activities. ABLE Tech will continue to provide information and awareness of the need for accessible transportation systems.
TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
ABLE Tech will engage in a number of training activities. ABLE Tech already has developed a number of training curriculums targeted for specific audiences (including consumers) and on specific topics, and anticipates continuing to deliver such trainings upon request. These include:
ABLE Tech Training for Employment Professionals: Training for employment professionals will continue to be provided to Vocational Rehabilitation counselors and Visual Services counselors of the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services, Supported Employment professionals, Disability Navigators of the Oklahoma Workforce Centers, and employers. This training includes providing a basic understanding of AT, AT services and funding options, understanding the rights of employees with disabilities to access AT in the workplace under various Federal laws, such as, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act (TWWIIA), and using specific AT in the workplace.
ABLE Tech Training for Education Professionals: Training for education professionals will continue to be provided to special education teachers, early intervention professionals, career technology teachers, adult learning professionals, higher education disability specialist and instructors, speech therapists, occupational and physical therapists. A number of training sessions have been developed for education professionals, ranging from providing a basic understanding of AT, to including AT in the classroom, understanding the rights of students to access AT under various Federal laws such as Individual with Disabilities Education Act, (IDEA) Parts B&C, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Section 504 and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, funding AT, to training on the use of specific devices.
Transition
ABLE Tech continues their involvement in the transition of individuals with disabilities from Special Education Services to post secondary education, employment and community living; and from institutional settings to community living with regard to Olmstead. The transition process must have consumer (and when appropriate family) involvement that encourages decision-making and planning for independence, beginning within the family when children are young, following the individual throughout their life and including aging issues. Transition assistance to individuals with disabilities should be a longitudinal plan to ensure a smooth/efficient movement from one or more program to the next. The transition plan involves interagency collaboration with a comprehensive process to include preparation, implementation, and follow-up.
Special Education Services ¿ IDEA, Part B and Transition Institute
ABLE Tech is a member of the State Department of Education Transition Work Group whose purpose was to implement a Transition Institute for secondary teachers, vocational rehabilitation counselors and career technology personnel. . IDEA Part B mandates a formal transition of children and youth with disabilities from school to post secondary education, employment and community living environments. ABLE Tech will support the inclusion of AT in the Transition Work Group strategic plan. ABLE Tech was a sponsor of Oklahoma¿s first Transition Institute which brought together 450 professionals that serve high school students. ABLE Tech also conducted a break-out session entitled ¿Assistive Technology and the Transition Planning Process.¿ Regional teams will go back to their local entities to train others on effective transition services for students with disabilities. The teams will collaboratively mentor and train other professionals and continue to build future Institute opportunities. The Transition Work Group will continue planning services, which may include post secondary education, vocational training, integrated employment, supported employment, continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living and community participation. Additionally, the State Department of Education in collaboration with the Department of Rehabilitation Services and ABLE Tech will hold an annual transition conference for the next three years. ABLE Tech will continue to collaborate as a member of this work group in order to effectively integrate AT as a component of secondary transition. An additional outcome will allow ABLE Tech training opportunities.
Vocational Rehabilitation Services - Transition Camps
The Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) offers Summer Transition Camps to high school students with disabilities. One is conducted at the School for the Deaf in Sulphur, Oklahoma and the other at the Oklahoma Library for the Blind in Oklahoma City. The purpose of the Camps is to enhance transition planning and services from school to secondary education and/or work. Youth with disabilities attend where they develop career goals, job readiness skills and work experience so that they can make better transitions to college or employment. Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors participate in team building activities with the students. DRS will track the student¿s success to show how the extra training makes them more successful in preparing them for life after high school.
ABLE Tech, in collaboration with DRS and State Department Education, Special Education Division, will provide training and demonstration at the Summer Transition Camps on specific AT devices to enhance the opportunity for AT to be an integral component of the transition process as students move from high school to college and work. ABLE Tech will also link students, families and counselors to the State¿s short-term loan programs, device demonstration centers, the reutilization programs, and the alternative financing options.
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY GRANT PROGRAM FOR FARMERS WITH DISABILITIES
The Oklahoma AgrAbility Project and Oklahoma Assistive Technology Foundation (501 (c)(3) nonprofit) have been awarded Quality of Life Grant from the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation. The grant will be used to establish an ongoing fund to provide low-cost assistive technology to Oklahoma farmers, ranchers, and their family members who are impacted by disability issues and who lack the services and resources needed to obtain adaptive or assistive devices.
