Shared Solutions – Page 8 – Information for employment specialists supporting Indiana job seekers and employees with disabilities

Assistive Technology to Improve Functional Capabilities

Posted on March 6, 2020 by wausbrook

Special Note: Participate in Disability Awareness Month

March is Indiana Disability Month, and this year marks the 30^th year celebration! The tagline for this year’s campaign is See People, Not Punchlines. Help raise awareness for Indiana Disability Awareness Month by ordering your free awareness kit.

___________________________________

AT needs can be low tech, high tech, or somewhere in between.

Assistive technology (AT) has a range or continuum of “low tech” to “high tech.” How much technology an individual requires and how much training is involved for the person who will be using it determines whether the AT is low or high-tech. Examples of low tech might be a pencil grip, Velcro, a highlighter or the use of color-coding. Mid-tech might be the use of a switch, a digital recorder, or a vibrating alarm on a watch. High tech examples could be an app on a smartphone or a computerized augmentative or alternative communication system that uses an eye gaze switch with scanning software. Each piece of AT is suited to the needs and abilities of the individual.

So how do you determine if a person could benefit from assistive technology and what technology would be best for them to do their job? Sometimes you will take the lead on the process; for example, a person may only need something low tech, readily available item like a pencil grip. Often times, a little creativity can solve the need. Other times, you will want to refer the person who has high support needs for a more formal evaluation. The following steps are commonly involved in providing an AT evaluation after you and the individual determine the evaluation is necessary.

Referral: As a service provider, you might request that an AT professional become involved in providing services. This typically involves the completion of a referral form, an in-person or telephone conversation about the person’s needs and determination of the funding source. (You can make a request for an AT evaluation through Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation.)
Scheduling and Evaluation: An evaluation often takes place on the job or in an educational setting. Evaluations can range in time from an hour or less in a single visit up to several visits over several hours.
Report: The evaluator(s) generate a written list of their recommendations that typically includes specific equipment and services. In many cases, the individual can borrow trial equipment during and/or following the evaluation before the evaluator makes a final recommendation.
Implementation: Once VR approves the recommendations and authorizes the funding for the equipment and any related costs, you will collaborate with the individual receiving services and your team to schedule and provide training and other services. You may need to arrange for on-going technical support for a prescribed time.

Check out the following programs and/or sites to learn more about available assistive technology.

In 2007, the state of Indiana and Easterseals Crossroads established the INDATA Project, a federally funded program with six core assistive technology services:

information and referral
funding assistance
device demonstration
device loan
re-utilized computers
equipment re-utilization

INDATA offers a library of resources providing general information on some commonly used AT, as well AT innovations currently available. INDATA broadcasts weekly podcasts and offers a 24-hour hotline for AT users. You can explore the INDATA Library to browse or to check out equipment.

To help you determine what assistive technology would be useful to a person on their job site, you can access resources from the Job Accommodation Network (JAN). JAN, another federally funded program, is a source of free, expert, and confidential guidance on workplace accommodations and disability. The database displays accommodations by disability type, functional limitation, or topic. You will also find training modules and resources on the American’s with Disabilities Act to share with employers.

JAN’s website offers information for employment specialists with their A to Z of Disabilities and Accommodations. The list allows individuals to type in a disability to find suggestions for AT based on that disability. JAN’s website offers Information by Role for use by employers, employment specialists, co-workers and others.

Many advances abound in AT. Day by day, we all use modern technology in smart phones, tablets, touch screens, apps and so much more; these are valuable to assist with accommodations and working styles for people with disabilities, too. You can find apps applicable to the individuals you are serving on the website Bridging Apps. Bridging Apps offers a comprehensive list of apps for individuals with special needs. It has a search function by category and lists pricing for any app that has a cost for use.

A Little Technology – The Big Key to Communication

Posted on February 18, 2020 by wausbrook

Fear of not being understood is a common concern.

When it comes to communicating with individuals who have a hearing loss, it seems that we tend to go to one extreme or the other. We either yell or give up, deciding what we have to say is not that important, anyway. We either avoid trying to use the little sign language we know or assume we are qualified as an informal sign language interpreter when we really aren’t. Sometimes we run away from communicating at all with someone who is Deaf. How do we get the right balance? How do our own fears play into it and what can be done to conquer those?

[Quick clarification on the use of Deaf/deaf in this post: “Deaf,” capitalized, refers to those individuals who identify culturally as part of the Deaf community. When we use “deaf,” we’re either referring to those who still identify with hearing culture but have a severe hearing loss or we’re talking about an audiological condition. See this article from the National Association of the Deaf.]

Fear of not being understood is a common concern on both sides. Employers may be concerned about the incurring expenses of accommodations or ending up in a lawsuit over ADA violations. However, people who are and hard of hearing often worry that employers will focus only on their hearing loss and not recognize the skills and experience they bring to a job. Judging from the experience of Christen A. Szymanski, Ph.D., they have good reason to feel this way.

Szymanski wrote An Open Letter to Training Directors Regarding Accommodations For Deaf Interns that was published on pages 16-18 of the November 2010 (Vol. III, No. 2) Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) e-newsletter. Despite his extensive background both educationally and professionally, and the supposed disability awareness on the part of the training directors, Szymanski repeatedly found that his candidacy was not based on his abilities and achievements, but on erroneous assumptions about his being deaf.

In their Tip Sheet on Technical Standards in Healthcare Careers, The National Deaf Center advocates the use of “functional” descriptions of duties rather than “organic” ones. They explain that functional descriptions are based on the desired outcome, whereas organic descriptions delineate how a task is to be accomplished. By only focusing on reaching the desired goal, employers and others empower the individual to use alternative means for the how. This approach not only includes more people getting the job done but also unleashes powerful creativity and paves the way for better outcomes.

One of the obvious concerns for both you and the individual with a hearing loss is “How will we communicate?”

At first, this may seem like an insurmountable obstacle, but it becomes much more manageable when each individual takes an active interest in making it happen. In addition to using pen and paper, taking turns typing messages on a laptop or other electronic device, using gestures, and sometimes acting creatively, a number of assistive devices can help.

Although hearing aids may provide adequate amplification and quality of sound to enable some people to hear and understand everything that is said, this is frequently not the case. It is a misconception that hearing aids take care of all hearing issues. Many people find that hearing aids help them make out some speech but not everything. Others who may identify as Deaf may use hearing aids to be aware of environmental sounds or for balance purposes but are still unable to hear or understand speech. For some individuals, the addition of assistive listening systems may make the critical leap to understanding speech.

These days, many hearing aids and cochlear implants come with a telecoil or T-coil. This neat little feature not only makes telephone use easier but also enables the use of assistive listening systems called loops. A neckloop is worn by the individual listener with a compatible hearing aid in a classroom situation, for example. For larger meeting venues, induction loops may be installed to meet the needs of several people in the room. In either case, whatever is said through the linked microphone is transmitted directly to the T-coil of hearing aid users, eliminating all other extraneous noise. Sound quality and understanding of speech is greatly enhanced as a result. Theaters, churches, and/or other meeting rooms that have the blue symbol (above) posted are equipped with an induction loop system that can be used by those attending events in those rooms.

Other assistive listening systems include infrared systems, which work similarly to induction loops, but require that nothing obstruct the pathway from the transmitter to the individual receivers. For more details about assistive listening systems, how they operate, and tips for various users, go to the National Deaf Center’s website.

It is always important to ask the individual with a hearing loss, how they prefer to communicate.

If they prefer American Sign Language (ASL) but no local interpreters are available, several ways exist for remote interpreter services to be enlisted. To learn more about these options, see the National Deaf Center’s Tip Sheet on Telecommunications: VRS, VRI, and TRS.

Keep in mind that individuals with hearing loss rely more heavily upon visual cues to get information. Whether at home or in another location, they need flashing lights or other visual signals when an emergency arises such as a fire alarm regardless where they may be. Alerting devices for oven timers, alarm clocks, machinery malfunctioning alerts, etc., can all be switched or coupled with visual signals.

Two men working together with their laptops and pen and paper — These men are sharing with both their laptops and pen and paper.

For example, a Baby Cry device, designed for Deaf parents to be notified when their infant is crying in another room, could be used for other purposes. The Baby Cry is often attached to a light source, which flickers or flashes according to the kind of sound the baby is making. Deaf parents become accustomed to the types of flashes associated with different kinds of cries and respond accordingly, just as hearing parents do with the particular sounds their babies make, depending upon their presenting need.

Alarm clocks may be used with vibrating discs or sticks that can be placed under the pillow or mattress of an individual who is deaf to help them wake up in the morning. These same devices could be adapted to other needs in the workplace. Phone apps can also be adapted to specific needs with a little ingenuity.

Employment specialists are masters at rigging up templates and devising a wide range of tools to enable individuals with disabilities to complete their duties on a job. Explore the resources below to learn about some of the devices already available and to spur your creativity in applying them to your situation. But also be sure to ask the individual you are serving who has a hearing loss for their suggestions. After all, some of them have been coming up with solutions to living in a hearing world for a long time. You might even find a way to plug that skill into a job in their community!

RESOURCES

Bubbling Up New COLA Information for 2020

Posted on January 30, 2020 by wausbrook

Every year, usually in October, the federal government announces the latest Cost of Living Adjustment, fondly referred to as COLA. The new rates are based on the Consumer Price Index, which is really a measure of the average change in prices for the nation’s goods and services.

Ah, but why should you or your consumers care?

It’s because Social Security’s Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) level and many of its work incentives are based on the annual COLA rate. In 2019, for instance, that meant a consumer eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) earning less than $1,220 per month might still be eligible for benefits after his or her Trial Work Period. The new 2020, SGA level for workers who are disabled is $1,260; it’s $2,110 for workers who are blind.

The recent COLA increase led to a slight increase in the SGA, which means your consumer can now earn $40 more per month ($480 per year) and still qualify for benefits.

The bottom line: When the SGA increases, many consumers can earn more and continue to be eligible for benefits.

COLA also affects recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI). In 2019 the maximum SSI payment was $771.The new Federal Benefit Rate for 2020 is $783, an increase of $12 per month.

Students with disabilities who are working make up another group affected by COLA if they are using the Student Earned Income Exclusion. In 2020, Social Security ensures that working students can keep more of their SSI check by not counting up to $1,900 per month ($7,670 annually) of earned income when calculating a student’s monthly SSI payment.

Why, you ask, is the rate increase so small if the economy has improved?

Okay, let’s get a little benefits nerdy here. COLA is based on “quarters of coverage” and is averaged over two years. In October 2019, the new rate was based on the third quarter of 2017 through the third quarter of 2018.

We get it: It’s complicated. That’s why Indiana has resources for workers with disabilities and the people who support them. That means you!

Have more questions? Contact a Benefits Information Network (BIN) liaison. The majority of community rehabilitation providers in Indiana now have a Certified BIN liaison working with them. For a referral to a BIN liaison, contact the Center on Community Living and Careers’ Stephanie Gage (our benefits guru) at sngage@iu.edu.

Benefits Information Resources

SSA Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Information 2020
2020 FACT Sheet SSA Changes
Center for Community Living and Career’s (CCLC) Benefits Information Network trainings page–There you’ll find valuable registration information for workshops and trainings throughout the year.

What Was I Thinking?

Posted on December 30, 2019 by wausbrook

Assistive Technology for Executive Function

(originally published in December 2019)

Continuing with our assistive technology (AT) theme for Shared Solutions, this month we suggest helpful AT for those who have difficulty with executive function. What is executive function? Every day our brain goes back and forth between different thoughts, actions, and to-do’s in order to complete a job. The brain’s ability to juggle multiple thoughts and actions is referred to as its executive function.

Nearly every workplace requires executive function skills and activities such as memory, attention, self-control, time management and decision-making. The ability to start and finish tasks and many other skills are necessary to accomplish work assignments.

Three types of brain function that executive function and self-regulation skills depend on are working memory, mental flexibility and self-control. In order to achieve the successful application of executive function skills, the three brain functions must operate in coordination with each other. The diagram below shows the importance of executive function and the difficulties caused when the areas don’t work properly.

Let’s break it down a little more and look at some of the most common effects on employment when executive function is not working properly.

Difficulties with initiating, organizing, and carrying out activities or the “loss of get up and go”–Oftentimes, we may mistake this behavior as a lack of motivation or energy, or worse, as a person being just plain lazy.

Rigidity in thoughts and actions–This inflexibility causes an individual to have difficulty evaluating the result of actions, to change behavior, or switch between tasks if needed. One example might look like this: John is working on his regular task of scanning insurance claims when the supervisor asks him to do another task, out of his normal routine. John struggles with this request and does not follow his boss’s direction. When the boss speaks to him again, John begins throwing things.

The employment specialist can be pro-active in the scenario above by planning with the supervisor to build in a solution for John’s day-to-day routine. They could explore the use of certain apps and technologies to help John transition from one task to another.

Smartphones or a tablet can be invaluable on the job for people who might need a little extra support with executive function. In John’s case we recommend a free app called Wunderlist. (Note that this app will change to Microsoft To-Do in May 2020.) Wunderlist is a task management app that can be used for daily planning, for work or personal life activities.

This is just one example. An abundance of free apps are available to assist anyone on the job!

Websites and Lists with Helpful Tools

And with that in mind, we introduce you to a very cool website, Bridgingapps, designed for individuals with disabilities. You can search for apps by age, skill, category, cost, and more! Bridgingapps provides a detailed description of each app and offers many of them at no cost.

The Arc’s TechToolbox is a website to find, share, rate and/or review technology for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD). This site offers job-related apps and provides a description and price for each app.

We’ve also created a list of apps you may find helpful to support workers who struggle with executive function at work and life in general. Download “Apps and Ideas to Support Executive Function at Work.”