National Assistive Technology Act Data System

The Arkansas Alternative Financing Program (AFP) financed a modified vehicle for Teresa Sims who was having difficulty identifying transportation resources in her attempt to return to gainful employment. Ms. Sims became very despondent regarding her pursuit since appropriate transportation could not be acquired at specific times for her job interview appointments. It became extremely difficult for Ms. Sims to get in and out of vehicles without having access to a wheelchair lift based on her incomplete paraplegia. She learned about AFP through one of our local vendors and applied for a modified vehicle loan. AFP was successful in helping her acquire a modified vehicle with a low-interest rate and affordable monthly loan payments. Obtaining her modified vehicle has increased her independence, quality of life, and allowed her to pursue gainful employment once again. Ms. Sims’ significant cervical and thoracic spinal stenosis with myelopathy produced substantial limitations to her activities of daily living. Now, she is able to operate her modified vehicle in such a way she has appreciably improved her job-seeking skills and ability to manage multiple medical and personal appointments.

Mrs. Shirley was a retired lady who called ICAN and explained that she had had cataract surgery that she, unfortunately, did not recover very well from which left her with low vision. She explained that she was no longer able to read her magazines, recipes, the Bible, and the bulletin board by her refrigerator where she kept all her correspondence from her family and friends. She explained that she did not have a lot of financial resources but she would like to know if our program could help. We determined that she would benefit from a digital magnifying system. At the time of the phone call, we did not have one available in the reuse program. We offered to put her on a waitlist and she was grateful. The very next day (out of the blue) a person donated an acrobat lcd electronic magnifier to ICAN. We called Mrs. Shirley and she was able to receive this device which helped her to retune to the activities she loved. She said "it is like Christmas"and she was so grateful that she used the device to write a thank you note to the program.

Dawson, a student of the UCA Nursing program, came into ICAN having borrowed the Sonic Alert Homeaware system and explained that he needed something that would ‘connect’ to his cellphone since he was a recipient of Cochlear Implant (CI) and often found that he missed calls or texts from others due to being deaf when taking the CI off. ICAN showed hearing devices and signaling systems and then saw that the client already had the system with the component to connect with the cellphone, she inquired if it didn’t work with it for him. He looked at the staff member and laughed, saying he didn’t even know he had it all this time. ICAN sat down and showed the entirety of the Sonic Alert HomeAware system to Dawson, taking the time to connect the Bluetooth transmitter to his phone so that the receiver component of the system would alert him via bed shaker and flashing light on the system. Dawson exclaimed that he’d never knew that he had it and wished he could have used it earlier since he often had to be on call and missed work duties due to not hearing his phone. ICAN relayed that she appreciated that it was going to possibly be a solution for him, asked if he wanted to borrow it again and use it to the full extent – which Dawson confirmed. Dawson also began to share his struggle with not having been picked up by ARS and was hoping that he could get some assistance with purchasing needed accommodations for school. ICAN shared with him the process of Arkansas Rehabilitation Serves. The loan paperwork was completed between ICAN and Dawson. We also gave him info on other resources for AT like the telecommunications program and the alternative finance program.

ICAN received a call from a Melisa, a mother who works within the hospital system at UAMS and was experiencing struggles of trying to get a Low Vision equipment in front of her son, Carter who was legally blind. Carter’s original AT was more than sufficient enough for him to complete his school work and not draw much attention, as would any 13-year-old child would be in school. However, that AT was stolen by some lesser known students who were not aware of how much Carter’s Visiobook was needed and crucial to his learning. Melissa tried in vain to find a replacement, even purchased one off of Ebay and it was not what Carter needed since it was so antiquated. She called ICAN asking to explore other options and we set up an appointment for her to come with Carter and see what Low Vision equipment we have available the following week. Melissa also relayed some struggles of trying to ascertain Low Vision support for Carter because he was in private school, this worker shared that hopefully ICAN would be able to provide some support for her to utilize and try out before purchasing one and perhaps be able to point her in the direction of appropriate funding options. Carter visited ICAN excited about what possibilities would be available for him. We pulled out five different options for him and decided upon Iris Vision Digital Magnifier. Carter placed it upon his head and exclaimed in amazement how much he could see. He began to fiddle with the settings, showing how adept he was to using technology and began to read things from 20 ft away. He and his mother decided to make this a permeate solution for his accommodation.