National Assistive Technology Act Data System

Statewide AT Program (Information to be listed in national State AT Program Directory)

Lead Agency

Implementing Entity

Program Director and Other Contacts

Person Responsible for completing this form if other than Program Director

Certifying Representative

2. Income of Applicants to Whom Loans Were Made

3. Loan Type

4. Interest Rates

5. Types and Dollar Amounts of AT Financed

6. Defaults

G. Notes:

If a number is reported in D you must provide a description of the reason the individuals are excluded from the performance

G. Notes:

I. Notes:

G. Notes:

C. Description of Educational/Training Activities

Describe innovative one high-impact assistance educational/training activity conducted during the reporting period:

The presentations that have been provided on PowerPoint accessibility are among the most popular. On August 21, 2024, Melanie Thornton provided a one-hour webinar on the basics of PowerPoint accessibility. It was open to the general public and was designed for beginners or those who need a refresher in the basics of creating accessible MS PowerPoint Slides. It provided a few simple techniques to improve the accessibility of PowerPoint slide decks. These techniques were: choosing backgrounds with good contrast, choosing slide layouts, choosing font styles and sizes, adding alt text to images, and creating meaningful links. There were 91 people in attendance who are committed to improving their practices with PowerPoint accessibility. Evaluation responses were favorable with 80% responding “very satisfied” and the other 20% “satisfied”. On the evaluation form, participants shared some of the things they will do differently: • The making the slides into a PDF was very helpful. I am 99% sure I would have saved as a PDF but now I know not to print to PDF. • I will do a better job of naming internet links. • Being mindful of fonts, colors and other considerations to ensure presentations are accessible. • Create my presentations with accessibility in mind.

Briefly describe one educational/training activity related to transition conducted during the reporting period:

Briefly describe one educational/training activity related to Information and Communication Technology accessibility:

Melanie Thornton provided a webinar on using Zoom to provide accessible webinars and meetings to 52 attendees from across the state. The focus was to assist them in learning the basics of digital access and how to use Zoom to make virtual presentations more accessible. The webinar covered the features of Zoom that enhance accessibility and best practices for creating an inclusive environment when delivering presentations using Zoom and other video conferencing applications. Some of the things that attendees committed to changing as a result of this training were: • Enabling captions • Renaming themselves so their identity is clear. • Being mindful of colors utilized during power point presentations. • Being prepared to add interpreters if requested. • Being more confident in providing virtual options.

E. Notes:

B. Description of Technical Assistance

Describe Innovative one high-impact assistance activity that is not related to transition:

Many agencies are opting to provide American Sign Language interpreters by contracting with companies that provide Video Remote Interpreting (VRI). Unfortunately, these agencies often do not recognize the requirements for ensuring this truly provides access and meets the standard for effective communication for Deaf people receiving their services. This is especially common in hospitals where a lack of equal access can result in poor outcomes for the patient. Melanie Thornton provided extensive technical assistance to the State of Arkansas in the process of exploring contract options. This TA was focused on helping them understand the bandwidth and technical requirements for providing remote interpreting as well as recognizing when this approach would not be effective. It is critical that those using VRI understand how to use it effectively and understand its limitations. After gathering the information to share with those seeking input on procurement of contracts for interpreters, Mel

Breifly describe one technical assistance activity related to transition conducted during the reporting period:

Melanie Thornton assists ArkAHEAD (the Arkansas Association on Higher Education and Disability) in providing their training to ensure all aspects of the training meet the standards of digital accessibility. For their webinars, this involves assisting the board members who are planning and facilitating the training. Types of assistance provided include ensuring the webinars are captioned and providing technical assistance to the facilitators in how to enable the captioners to caption, ensuring that captioners have prep materials in advance, making sure that any PowerPoints or other materials are fully accessible and available to attendees in advance, and encouraging best practices for conducting the webinar. For their face-to-face events, Melanie reviews the materials that are to be shared with attendees and provides them feedback on how to improve the accessibility of the materials. Where necessary, she remediates the documents. Through this process, disability resource professiona

C. Notes:

Public Awareness Narratives

Describe in detail at least one and no more than two innovative or high-impact public awareness activities conducted during this reporting period. Highlight the content/focus of the awareness information shared, the mechanism used to disseminate or communicate the awareness information, the numbers and/or types of individuals reached, and positive outcomes resulting from the activity. If quantative numbers are available regarding the reach of the activity, please provide those: however, quantative data is not required.

1. One was held at the Hot Springs Convention Center. This event was the Arkansas Transition Summit Conference the dates of October 16 – 17 and ICAN held a booth, that provided information to special education teachers, vocational rehabilitation counselors, and parents. The first day ICAN was able to reach around 150 persons. This population was very interactive and stopped by the booth, asked questions. This event had people from across the state of Arkansas and individuals were provided with brochures as well.

2. I attended an ALZAR caregiver conference in Russellville Arkansas in Pope County. ALZAR is a non-profit that provides consumer resources for individuals with a dementia or Alzheimer's diagnosis. During this one-day conference, we with 20 other vendors had set up tables to show what we offered individuals and their family members and caregivers. There was an even mix of for profit and non-profit organizations represented to inform the individuals that were attending. These attendees were individuals with the previously mentioned diagnosis along with family members, caregivers, and professionals. There was a total of 72 attendees, and all were very involved in training and activities throughout the day. During this time not only was I able to visit with those individuals but was able to demonstrate 5 of the items that we keep for loan. I had 2 low vision devices, one hearing assistance device, and 2 devices to help with memory and cognitive issues. Many of the professionals that were attending including 2 physicians that specialized in geriatric dementia stated vocally that they were impressed with the devices and could see where the devices would help an individual to stay at home and participate in the individual’s community. After the conference, the next day we had 2 counselors call and request to borrow devices to try with several of their clients.

Notes:

Overview of Coordination/Collaboration Activities