Assistive Technology Resources

State AT Device Demonstration Programs

 
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Background

Equipment demonstration centers allow consumers, families, and community organizations the opportunity to see the latest technology, get a demonstration or training on specific devices, ask questions of trained staff, and receive funding or other purchasing assistance. Although expensive to maintain and staff, demonstration centers serve a unique role since most assistive technology devices are not readily available in commercial retail outlets. Experimentation with new and existing devices is essential to making the right choice. Demonstration centers provide hands-on training and evaluation of the correct assistive technology to enhance the everyday activities of persons with disabilities.

Findings

38 states report operating assistive technology demonstration centers (Table 7). All centers serve all ages and all disabilities. Almost all centers provide a complement of services to help visitors. This can include assessment, demonstration, funding assistance, short-term loan, and training.

A Variety of Partnerships and Number of Centers� The number of centers in each state ranges from one to as many as 12 in New York, 15 in Michigan and over 20 in Missouri. Several projects support centers in cooperation with partner agencies. For example, Kansas maintains five centers with Rehabilitation Services. Kentucky coordinates a network of regional AT centers. New York operates its centers with Early Intervention programs. Missouri presents 21 programs from Independent Living Centers, five with community organizations, and 40 through individual contractors. Oklahoma operates six of its 11 centers with area agencies on Aging and four with Centers for Independent Living. Vermont maintains centers at four locations: a vocational rehabilitation office, a technical college, a parent information center, and in the main project office. Delaware exhibits one center in each of its three counties.

Associated Fees� Although many centers do not charge a fee to access a number of available services, several projects, including Georgia, have begun fee for services. Idaho collects minimal fees, demonstration centers in Kansas and North Carolina invoice third party agencies when possible, and Indiana charges for a full evaluation. Vendors, evaluators, and community organizations pay fees to utilize Connecticut�s NEAT Marketplace, which contains 25,000 square feet of computer lab, assistive technology displays, and accessible classroom and meeting space.

A Variety of Staffing Patterns� There is a wide variety of staffing patterns for centers from fully-credentialed assistive technology providers to allied health professionals (speech and occupational therapists), computer science professionals, educators, assistive technology coordinators, and volunteers.

A Variety of Innovative Practices� The survey results reveal a number of innovative practices. Michigan operates through mobile van units and public libraries to focus on hard of hearing seniors and persons with cognitive challenges. Missouri provides assistance to people who need adaptive telephone or computer equipment through the Telecommunications Access Program. South Carolina also works with its state telecommunication equipment loan program. Florida operates a fully accessible cyber caf� in one of its centers. Georgia enjoys interagency partnerships and innovative outreach with demonstrations in homes and schools. Louisiana provides off-site demos at local malls, agencies, and conferences. Connecticut�s NEAT Marketplace is looking to expand services into neighboring states by operating regional programs.

A Variety of Challenges� Many states find it difficult to expand programs due to the costs of buying new equipment or maintaining existing devices. A few of the rural states find it difficult to reach underserved populations. Idaho reports distance to services or the costs of locating centers within reasonable travel distance as a barrier for many individuals.
 

State

Number of Demo Centers/ Partners

Eligible Ages

Eligible Disabilities

Services Provided

Program Fees

Number of Visitors/Demos Last Year

Comments

Arkansas

1

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

None

670

 

Connecticut

1 w/NEAT Marketplace
 www.neatmarketplace.org

All

All

Demo, I&R, short term loan, training, funding assistance via low interest loan program

Vendors pay for booth space, get more with membership fee

10,000

Uses innovative business model with multifunction center

Delaware

3

All

All

Demo, follow up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

None

1356

One center in each county

District of Columbia

1

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan

Only for service providers who use the center for evaluations

600

Center is set up in different stations for AAC, blind  & VI, etc.

Florida

4 w/other partners

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow-up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

None

2000

Fully accessible �cyber caf� in one demo center

Georgia

5

www.gatfl.org

 

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

None

4744 requests

2959 I&R services

1068 provided AT

1713 training/TA

Interagency partnerships & innovate outreach. AT demos in homes, schools and TA for IEPs. Also work closely with VR AT staff.

Guam

1

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow-up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

None

511

Has teleconference capability w/ISDN

Hawaii

3 w/Tutu�s House, Kauai, and Lihue Public Library

All

All

Demo, I&R, short-term loan, training

Only for extensive training

300

Extensive computer resources available

Idaho

3 w/ UCP of Idaho and Kootenai Medical Center

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

Minimal and can be waived

552

 

Illinois

1

www.iltech.org

 

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow up, I&R, short term loan

None

322

 

Indiana

1

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow-up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

 

Full evaluation at $100/hour

7

 

Kansas

5 w/ KS Rehabilitation Services

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

None (3rd party fees collected when possible)

2310

 

Kentucky

6 w/AT Regional Centers

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

Fees based on services provided, sliding scale and can be waived

1414 (from three centers)

Extensive staff experience, good vendor relationships, open lab weekly

Louisiana

N/A

All

All

Demonstration, funding assistance, I&R, training

None

458 people

Demos are done off-site at malls, agencies, conf.

Maine

1 w/other entities

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

 

 

 

Maryland

3 w/Holly Community, Inc., Western MD Hospital, Division of Rehab. Services

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

None

N/A

Consumers help run center at Western MD Hospital

Michigan

15 w/local projects

All

Hard of hearing, seniors, cognitive disabilities

 

Demonstrations

None

621 visitors

Uses mobile units and libraries

Mississippi

With TK Martin Center, Dept. of Mental Health, Univ. of Southern Mississippi

 

All

All

Assessment, demo, training

One center has fees

 

 

Missouri

21 IL Centers; 5 community organizations; 40 contractors

All

Individuals who need adaptive telephone or computer equipment

Device delivery through Telecommunications Access Program (TAP)

None

4369 device demos

All demos lead to obtaining a device through TAP

Montana

1

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow up, funding assistance, I&R, short term training

None

802 people

 

1.0 FTE O/T, 0.5 FTE P/T, 0.5 FTE Electrical Engineer, 0.5 FTE AT user

Nebraska

5 w/State agencies and VR programs

All

All

Assessment, demo, funding assistance, I&R, short term training

None

125 people

Demo centers provide variety of equipment for IL and employment

New York

12/ NYS Early Intervention Program

All

All

Demo, follow up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

None

4279 received demos, 2679 children received equipment loans

 

North Carolina

11 w/ local partners

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

Fees to agencies for assessments, feature matching, TA, consultation, training, seminars

12,306

NCATP staff (17.5 FTE) run 11 regional centers and provide services

North Dakota

2

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow-up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

Fees for assessments, trainings, & short term loans

 

 Connie Rawls, IPAT, crawls@polarcomm.com

Northern Mariana Islands

1

All

All

Assessment, demo, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, AT Low Interest Loan

 

None

100

 

Oklahoma

11 w/4 CILs and 6 Area Agencies on Aging

All

All

Demo, follow up funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

None

275

 

Oregon

2 w/Portland State University

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

Hourly fee, service package rates

 

 

Puerto Rico

1

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow up, I&R, short term loan, training

None

488

The demo center is the only one in Puerto Rico that serves all needs and disabilities

Rhode Island

2 w/Tech Access of RI and East Bay Education Collaborative

 

All

All

Short Term Loan

None

458 visitors

Centers serve children and youth; offer lending library

South Carolina

1

All

All

TA and consultation

None

150

Work with Telecom. Equipment Loan Program

South Dakota

4

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow-up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

None

30

 

Tennessee

5/ public-private partnerships

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow-up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

Flat rate and hourly

 

All centers part of Alliance for Technology Access; also have mobile bus assessment unit

Utah

11 w/CILs, AT Project, Services for Blind and VI, Center for Deaf and HH, State Center for AT

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

None

200 (AT Act Center)

 

Vermont

4  w/VT Parent Info Center and VT Division of Voc. Rehab.

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow-up, I&R, short term loan, training

None

 

Centers located in VR office, technical college, parent info center and project office

Virgin Islands

2

All

All

Demonstration, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

 

 

 

Washington

1 w/Easter Seals

All

All

Demonstration, follow-up, funding assistance, I&R

None

200

 

West Virginia

7 w/Division of Rehabilitation Services

All

All

Assessment, demo, I&R, short term loan, training

None

 

 

Wisconsin

Varies by ILC

All

All

Assessment, demo, follow up, funding assistance, I&R, short term loan, training

Varies by center

3687 devices (reported by one center)

Programs vary considerably by each ILC

Wyoming

1

School age, adult, older adult

All

Demonstration, funding assistance, I&R, training

None

300

 

Credit:
This section is indebted to information from the Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society of North American (RESNA), especially for their April, 2005, Survey of State AT Act Projects (The RESNA Technical Assistance Project, Grant #H224B020001, funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration, U.S. Department of Education, under the Assistive Technology Act of 1998).

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