Narrator (00:02):
This recording is an offering of Networks for Training and Development's Online University.

Tracy Lapreziosa (00:13):
Hi, and welcome to Supported Employment 101, Module Five: Accommodations and Assistive Technology on the Job. I'm Tracy Lapreziosa, and I'll be your guide through module five. Just a brief introduction to my background in this area, I've been an OT since 1983, and I've worked across the lifespan with a variety of individuals, exploring ways for them to be more independent in their daily life activities, work activities, school, play, any type of human occupation that you can think of. But in regards to employment, I've spent a number of years supporting teams and students at the high school level for job exploration and that transitioned to employment. But of course, I've found that many of the accommodations that folks use for daily life are also very applicable in the work setting, so this module will consist of a series of short podcasts, short recorded PowerPoint discussions, and another video recording of a coworker of ours using his assistive technology on the job.

Tracy Lapreziosa (01:31):
At the completion of this module, you'll be able to identify assistive technology and communications of a variety of type and what the relationship each other, how these two kind of connect. You'll demonstrate an understanding of natural support and universal design options used in places of employment. You'll be able to give examples of those and know how they benefit everyone. You'll be able to identify reasons why assistive technology and accommodations are important to employers. You'll be able to identify supports and services that are necessary for the successful use of assistive technology. It's not enough to just have the technology, there's a lot that goes along with having that be successful, and you'll be able to identify what those things are. You'll also be able to identify mental health accommodations and their use in the work environment, and you'll do a little bit of exploration on your own personal mental health accommodations that you use for your daily life and in your work environment.

Tracy Lapreziosa (02:38):
We're going to present a model for assistive technology on the job, and you'll be able to identify the components of that model, and you'll be able to explain how each area of the model is connected and important and necessary for job success. Lastly, you're going to be able to identify resources for assistive technology and those resources may be where you get things, or how do you pay for them? All of that will be included in module five.

Tracy Lapreziosa (03:10):
There are a number of readings that help to support this particular module. You can explore them at your leisure in the app prior to our next podcast, which will guide you through the definitions of assistive technology and accommodations and give you a little bit more meat into that. I recommend that you read... there's a handout in the app called What is AT, and it's just a short one-pager, easy, and also an article, Assistive Technology Accommodation and the Americans with Disability Act. Those two things will just kind of give you a little bit of a basic overview for what we're going to talk about in that first, short podcast on assistive technology and accommodations.

Tracy Lapreziosa (03:56):
At the end of each podcast, I will give you an idea of what readings would be beneficial prior to the listening to the next podcast, so please listen to the podcasts in order so that you'll be able to get that information, and at the end of each podcast, there's also going to be a little bit of an assignment to help you use the information that you just received in an interactive way in your environment and to help with some of the assignments and postings that you're going to need to do along the way. So this concludes our introduction, so let's get ready to go on the next podcast on assistive technology and accommodations.

Narrator (04:39):
Thank you for listening. We hope the information provided was helpful. Don't forget to stop by our website and take advantage of all we have to offer.