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

Tracy (00:13):
Welcome to the second podcast of Module 5, Accommodations and Assistive Technology On the Job. Today's podcast will focus on, exactly what is an accommodation, and what is assistive technology? So, let's start with accommodation. When you think of accommodations, what do you think of? The first thing that comes to your mind? For me, the first thing that comes to my is going on vacation and looking for a hotel, and what are your accommodations going to be? So accommodations are a place to be, a place to lay your head, a place to have something to eat, a place to be able to take care of your personal needs when you're away. So, that's an accommodation.

Tracy (01:03):
So, what exactly is an accommodation when we're thinking about employment? Well, employers make accommodations for all their employees. If you think about it, they give you or accommodate you with all the things that you need to do your job. They give you a workspace, a place to do your job. They give you maybe a work station, a table, a desk, a cubicle, an outdoor space, whatever it might be. They give you an environment to do your job. They might give you a chair. They may give you a computer or a laptop to do your job, depending on what your job is. If you're working in a more technical job, maybe they may provide some of the tools that you need to do things on your job. They may provide you with safety training to keep you safe on the job. So, there's number of things that your employer provides to you, that can be considered an accommodation for all of us.

Tracy (02:11):
But then there are also accommodations that may not be for everyone, but are for some people. Or they may be available to everyone, but only certain people take advantage of that. And that might be something like a more flexible work schedule. At Networks, we have the accommodation of having a flexible work schedule. We have a number of hours that we are at work, but we can kind of flex our schedule in order to do our work. We don't have to work eight to four, nine to five. As long as we get our hours in, we can kind of flex it around, however we want to do that. And that makes sometimes for a happier employee, when you have more flexibility with your time.

Tracy (02:54):
So an accommodation might be your work day. It might be your starting time, your ending time. It might be that you're allowed to take breaks. Might be that you're allowed to change positions while you work. You may have a workstation that you're standing, and you're sitting, and you're standing. So, that's a basic definition of what an accommodation is. And I hope that gives you a little bit of a picture of what it means on the job.

Tracy (03:18):
So, then if that is an accommodation, what's assistive technology? So the definition that was initially developed back when ADA was developed, the American's With Disability Act back in 1988, that definition said that any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve capabilities of an individual with disabilities. Think about that. So that to me, I mean, I look at that definition now and I say, "Hey, do only people with disabilities use assistive technology? I don't think so, right?" We all use assistive technology. Maybe back in 1988, there weren't as many people using technology as there are today. But when you look at the true meaning of assistive technology, it doesn't have to be for someone with a disability. Assistive technology is something that is for everyone, not just a person with a disability.

Tracy (04:20):
It's anything that any of us use, that's a piece of equipment, a product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified or customized, that's used to increase, maintain, or improve our capabilities when we are doing our work, play, or leisure. So, let's take a closer look at assistive technology. A lot of times when we hear the word assistive technology, we think, "Ooh, high tech." We think about complicated communication systems with multiple layers, and touch screens, or different access modes. We might think about power wheelchairs and lifts, and all kinds of things that are really high tech. But assistive technology doesn't have to be high tech. If you read that definition again, a third time, any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified or customized, used to increase, maintain, or improve capabilities, that could be just about anything. We can use almost anything.

Tracy (05:26):
So, I have to look at our technology from no tech, low tech, all the way up to high tech. So there's a hierarchy of assistive technology, and it can be as low as no tech. And that could be like using post-it notes. It could be using a pillow to help you position. It could be a neck pillow around your head, like you use on an airplane. It could be a different way of doing something. If I'm a little worried about my balance going down the steps, maybe I'll go down the steps backwards. I might hold on to someone. I might do different things that just help me, that require no assistive technology at all, nothing. It's just maybe the way I change what I'm doing, or I just grab something that's in my environment and use it the way it's intended, but it also helps me in a different way.

Tracy (06:21):
So, we look at low tech, and low tech is something like a picture communication system using pictures to help us communicate. That's low tech. Sign language is low tech. Some checklists, a pencil grip, maybe a slant board, all kind of low tech type of items. Communication board, all low tech.

Tracy (06:42):
And then we can bump up a little bit and use commercially available devices, equipment, and aids. So, this is just taking something that we could buy anywhere and use it to help us increase, maintain, or, improve our capabilities. So I think about things that are commercially available, like maybe a jar opener, or maybe using an electric mixer rather than mixing something by hand. Using, let's see, I'm trying to think of something else. Even a dishwasher, okay, is something that's commercially available and helps us to do things. So, we don't have to wash our dishes. A lot of kitchen appliances might come into play in that area.

Tracy (07:27):
Using commonly available devices and equipment in creative ways. So that's taking, that's thinking about using something that you might have, and using it in a way that maybe wasn't intended. I think about, I frequently use Crayola Model Magic. If any of you have kids, you know what I'm talking about. It's kind of like a foamy substance that you can mold and if you let it set for a period of time, it will get hard. And I've used that to make arm supports or wrist supports, or use it to wrap around the handle of a tool and let it dry, so I get like a hard built-up grip on it. So that's something that I've used that is commercially available, but I used it in a different way than what it was intended.

Tracy (08:17):
Maybe I'll grab a rubber band off my desk and wrap it around the base of my pencil to make a pencil grip. So I'm using it in a different way than what it was intended. Maybe I'll use my paper clip on my desk here, and instead of using it to clip papers, I might use it to clip together the top of my chip bag or my snack bag to keep them fresh. So that's just a few examples of a commonly available device that can be used in a creative or different way.

Tracy (08:51):
Next step up in the hierarchy is modifying existing commercial devices, equipment, and aids, using easily obtainable materials, such as Velcro or duct tape. Duct tape and Velcro are very useful items, when it comes to adapting things for people. I have used duct tape to make foot rests under desks. I've taken phone books and wrapped them in sticky contact paper or duct tape to make like a nice heavy block to put under someone's feet, so that their feet aren't dangling when they're sitting at a table or a desk, if I can't find a chair that's the right height. I might use some Velcro and put it on the bottom of a cutting board and on top of a counter, and Velcro the cutting board to the counter so that it's not going to slide.

Tracy (09:40):
So there's a number of different ways that you can modify something that already exists using something simple, like Velcro or duct tape. And I could go on and on and on with lots and lots of examples, but I want to keep this podcast short. So I want you to think about some things that maybe you've seen or ways that you've modified things in your own home or at your own job, doing some very basic modifications with either Velcro, or duct tape, or scotch tape, whatever.

Tracy (10:09):
And then lastly on this is design and fabricate custom devices, equipment, and aids. And that means, whatever you're looking for, you can't find it, so you create it yourself. And I've done that on several occasions. I had a young lady who used a laptop and I was searching, and searching, and searching to find the right incline board, the right, the exact angle I needed, the exact supports around the bottom of the computer that I needed. And I just couldn't find it. So I thought, "Well, I know what I need. I'm just going to have to make it." And I am not real handy in the wood shop, but I am pretty handy with duct tape and cardboard. So I created a prototype of what I needed and I used heavy duty cardboard, and I made the incline, I put a little ridge around it so the laptop wouldn't slide off. There was some adjustments to it that she could adjust the height of it, depending on what she was doing.

Tracy (11:16):
And it worked out really, really great, and she liked it, but we knew that this was not going to be very durable. So I asked a coworker who was good at woodworking what they thought about it, and if they thought that they could create one for her using wood. And they said, "Sure." So they created that piece of equipment that I needed, to help with her positioning of her computer and made it out of wood. They used my prototype as the model, and they created it. So, that's one example of designing and fabricating a custom device.

Tracy (11:55):
I also had done some work with a young woman who had cerebral palsy and who was blind, and who was a writer for the Ready Eagle. And she lived in an apartment with her boyfriend and wanted to be able to mop her own floor. That was her goal. So my coworker, who was at that time, is the different coworker who was really into creating things in metal and wood shop type of thing. We went to her home, in her apartment and we checked it out, what she needed to do. And we created a clamp that went on her wheelchair, that went down to the front wheel. Just a little clamp, but hooked on there that had like a little bit of a C so that she could clip the mop into it. You just kind of snap it in, and then it swiveled. So she could move her wheelchair and do the mop. And she wanted the wet mop as well as dry mop.

Tracy (12:50):
So at that time, the only wet mop we could find had, if you remember the old wet mops, how they had the sponge at the bottom, and there was a metal lever that you pushed down around and squeezed out the water. Well, we developed a different type of apparatus that went up the pole of the mop, so that she could do it from up higher. And that was kind of before we saw those mops with the sliding handle that would squeeze the water out. So we did some modifications that way. So, that's an example of a more complex piece of assistive technology.

Tracy (13:24):
And then of course there is that assistive technology that we all think about, all the bells and whistles, the sip and puff wheelchairs, the eye gaze operated computers, the very complicated communication devices with multiple layers, to be able to communicate. And different types of environmental controls in a home that can be operated from a single switch, or a base of switches. So again, assistive technology can be so many things from low tech to high tech.

Tracy (13:59):
And, let's just take a look at a couple of the areas where we see examples of assistive technology. And I'm going to just give you a few examples of low tech and some high tech. So you can just kind of see the sliding scales, so to speak, of what's available in all those areas. So, access. Access could be as simple as having a grab bar. It could be as simple as having someone help you go up the step, or having, placing something at the top of the step that you can kind of balance yourself on. Or it could be an automatic door. At the more complex end, more higher tech, an automatic door. It could be a lift. So, that's the range for access. We have aids to daily living of which there are so, so many. So, we could have aids for bathing, for eating, for dressing, for doing chores around the house. And they can be as simple as for bathing, maybe a long handled sponge or a wash mitt with a piece of soap going, so we don't drop our soap in the shower.

Tracy (15:12):
It could be a shower chair, grab bars. In the kitchen, it might be pieces of what we call Dyson, which is a rubber, no stick type of surface that you can put down and put your plate on, or put your cooking materials on so that they don't slide around. It could be braille on your microwave. It could be some modifications, to adding levers to different things. Maybe some type of chopper or something that you have to operate, you might have to extend a lever, that type of thing. So many different things in the kitchen. And again, there's the basic things that are in our kitchen are a system of technology in many ways, like a dishwasher and a microwave. Helps us get things done faster. Even a Keurig coffee pot, there's less cleanup. You have just one little cup that goes in. It's a lot easier. So, there are a lot of different aids to daily living, but those are just the tip of the iceberg of what might be out there.

Tracy (16:14):
Assistive listening for looking at low tech, no tech. It might be that you have somebody with you, kind of interprets for you. I do that for my husband all the time. He can't hear out of one ear, so I'm always repeating to him what someone has said in conversation, so that he gets it when we are out socially. And then, on the more higher end of that would be a hearing aid. Maybe it's having a quiet environment to help you listen better. Maybe it's wearing headphones, so that it blocks out the distractions that might be keeping you from hearing what's going on, on your computer, or a podcast or something that you're listening to.

Tracy (16:53):
Augmentative and alternative communication, that's another area. Again, very simple or low tech could be gestures, signs, picture communication, a letter board to spell things out, all the way up to a complex communication device, such as like a DynaBox with multiple layers. Electronic layers that touch the different pictures to go to the layer that you want, and then choose the pictures there to say what you want to say. So there's again, a whole hierarchy of communication devices.

Tracy (17:26):
Computer based instruction. No tech might be just that I get to do my training on the computer, in the comfort of my home, so I don't have to go out, rather than having to sit in a classroom and be distracted and maybe have my day disrupted. On the more adaptive level, it might have enlarged fonts, louder volume, close captioning. It might be programmed to go a certain length, and stop and give me breaks. That type of thing. So again, a whole multitude of ways that could be adapted.

Tracy (17:58):
Mobility. Mobility devices could be as simple as using a stick, a walking stick, or a cane, or a walker, or a manual wheelchair. And then more complicated, a power chair with a variety of different switches that might be used to maneuver it, a joystick, or a sip and puff.

Tracy (18:18):
Then we have positioning aids, which can be as simple as a pillow or a piece of foam that you can find in your house. And can be as complicated as, there are these system was where there's, it's almost like a bean bag, a vinyl bean bag with all these little styrofoam beans in it. And a person sits in the bean bag, and then they suction out all of the air, so that it is molded to your body, so that there's no pressure points. And then that mold is sent off to a company that manufactures the actual molded seat, that matches that mold that they just took. And that's a more, a higher complex positioning device. And there are all kinds of beds in hospitals that might rotate for people to avoid pressure stores. They might elevate the person in almost like standing, and go back down, or they might turn side to side. A lot of times those are used with spinal cord injuries.

Tracy (19:15):
Then we're looking at visual aids as another area. The adaptation could be as simple as enlarging my font on my computer, wearing glasses, using a magnifier. Could be using bright colored tape on edges of things, so that I can see them, like the edge of a step or a light switch that's the same color as the wall. I want to be able to find it. It could be braille or using a braille machine to braille things. It could be using different textures to help determine what something is. Having descriptions to know where things are in your environment. Someone's telling you, "It's in front of you at two o'clock." So, that would be an adaptation.

Tracy (19:57):
So in addition to the hierarchy of assistive technology and the very, very simple and the very, very complex, we also have to look at the software we call soft tech, or the things that for supports and services that we use to help make it work. And those supports and services can be AT expiration and ongoing evaluations, and very importantly, training in the use of a particular piece of assistive technology or an accommodation. Maybe it's a personal assistant or a job coach. And we have to make sure that our assistive technology is repaired when it's not working, and it's updated as technology changes.

Tracy (20:40):
And also, we need to make sure that there are backups. If you have a piece of technology and it goes down, you have to have a backup. Somebody has a communication device and it goes down, and they can't communicate, what's your backup? Do you have a communication board, you have something like paper copies of some of the basic things that they need to communicate? What's the backup? So you have to have those types of things to support the use of assistive technology. And then, there's also funding sources. You need to be able to continue to find funding, just to further the use of assistive technology.

Tracy (21:11):
So, just a few other closing thoughts here on how to make it work, because it's much more than just having access to an accommodation or assistive technology. Teaching must be done in the context of the job and be relevant to the employee. And it has to be a fit for the person, as well as the job, taking in the context and background of both the job and employee. There needs to be a partnership between an employer and an employee. And that partnership is that ability to communicate, "Yes, this piece of technology is working for me." "No it isn't. I need a repair." And the employer responding back, "Oh yes, here's this repair person. We're going to get this person in. Let's explore what else you might be able to use." That communication helps to develop that partnership.

Tracy (21:59):
And, we want to focus on ability, not disability. Go with the person's strengths when picking out a piece of assistive technology. It must be customized to fit the needs of the employee, and it must fit into the day and the work routines. And very importantly, we want to keep it simple. The more simple it is, the more likely it is to be utilized. So we're looking, referring back to that assistive tech hierarchy. So, if you find something that's low tech and it works, go with that. It's not going to break down. If that's not working and helping the person to be as efficient as they might be able to be, then you step up and go to the next level. But keeping it as simple as you possibly can, is the best bet for having follow through and use on something.

Tracy (22:47):
And, you also want to be able to create ways for the person to see positive results using the accommodation or assistive technology, to enable them to use it for the long term and to be successful. Again, if I'm a person and I'm given a piece of technology and I'm not trained in it, and I don't see the benefit of it, I'm not going to use it. But, if my employer is going to train me, and show me, and prove to me how this is going to help me, I'm going to be more likely to utilize it.

Tracy (23:18):
So, in summary, accommodations are pretty much the things that we need to do to be able to do our job. And it's kind of like an umbrella, and it can a desk, it can be a chair, but an accommodation can also be assistive technology. So assistive technology falls under the umbrella of accommodation. And again, there are so many different forms of assistive technology out there, and we want to start simple and work our way up. Again, remember that assistive technology doesn't have to be complicated. It can be simple. It can be something that you can just buy off the shelf in a regular store and modify it, or use it a different way, and that would still become assistive technology.

Tracy (24:06):
So I hope that just creates a clearer picture in your mind of what we're referring to when we talk about accommodations and assistive technology. So, to help me to know that you understand what we just talked about, our assignment for this particular podcast is very simple, and the assignment will be in the Networks app. And, what I would like you to do is think about your job. Think about your employer. What accommodations do you have as an employee with your employer? So if you can, create a list of at least five or more accommodations that your employer provides to you, and then also at least eight assistive technology things that you use in your job. And remember, it doesn't have to be complicated.

Tracy (25:01):
So think about those things that you use at your job that are very simple, off the shelf, find it on your desk, use it in a different way. What are some things that you are using on your job that are low tech to help you do your job? And then some, what are some of the things that are a little higher tech that help you to do your job? And again, there might be some things that might kind of overlap the accommodation and the assistive tech, because if your employer provides you with a computer, well, then that's an accommodation, but it's also assistive tech. And, that helps you to be able to write and create faster, so they could be listed under both.

Tracy (25:36):
So that's your assignment for this particular podcast. And for our next podcast is going to be on universal design. So I want you to continue to look through the readings in the app, and maybe take a look at the article by Jan on the Accommodations Toolkit. Just kind of look through that, because the articles that you read for this podcast will be helpful when we're talking about universal design, as that might also help us out as well. So our next podcast, again, will be on universal design. And I look forward to talking with you again. Have a great day.

Narrator (26:14):
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