Adaptive Gamers Daniel O'Connor (Right) Bradley Heaven (left) will be at the expo and speaking at the event. Photo courtesy of United Ability.
United Ability will host their first Assistive Technology Resource Expo and Learning Event July 10-11 in an effort to educate on and provide resources about the different kinds of assistive technology available for disabled individuals across all stages of life.
The Alabama State Department of Education and Accessing Potential Through Assistive Technology (APTAT) will join United Ability in presenting this inaugural event, the only one of its kind in Alabama.
The event, also known as A.T. Alabama, will be a two-day event, each day looking different from the other. On Monday, July 10 from 4-8 p.m., a resource expo will be held at United Ability’s LINCPoint Adult Program Building. The expo will have 34 vendors who specialize in different types of assistive technology, six food trucks, several adaptive gaming demonstrations and other fun, educational activities. Elizabeth Stewart, the event’s coordinator, said the expo is free and open to the public, and she is hopeful for a large turnout.
“We are hoping and anticipating that we will have people across the lifespan: families, service providers, special education teachers, you name it,” Stewart said. “It’s a time to be able to come and learn and explore and have fun while they’re doing it.”
The second day of A.T. Alabama on July 11 is dedicated to a learning event held at Homewood Middle School. This event is $25 per person and is geared towards the education side of assistive technology, inviting special education teachers, speech pathologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, families and others to learn about the subject. Nationally-known speakers will present at 16 breakout sessions. More information about these sessions and speakers can be found online.
Lynn Roebuck, a speech pathologist employed by United Ability, said that this topic is a passion of hers.
“Assistive Technology is really anything that helps a person with a disability access life, whether that’s in employment, whether that’s recreational, whether that’s activities of daily living, or in a school,” Roebuck explained.
Roebuck said she wants people to realize that assistive technology is not an abstract idea but instead can be as simple as an adaptive keyboard for a student with Down Syndrome who can’t grip his or her pencil in school.
“The overarching goal is to really get the state of Alabama in tune with what assistive technology is and what assistive technology is about and learning about it and inquiring about it,” Roebuck said.
Roebuck’s desire to educate people on assistive technology is one that is shared by everyone at United Ability.
“There is not another conference like this in Alabama right now,” Stewart said, “so it’s a really exciting time for people to learn, and people are wanting to gain that knowledge, so we are jumping in and hoping to provide a space where they can do that.”
This event is only one of many ways that United Ability strives to serve children and adults with disabilities in the state of Alabama. The 75-year-old Birmingham-based organization has eleven different programs and serves thousands of individuals each year. To learn more about United Ability, visit https://www.unitedability.org/. To register for the A.T. Learning Event on Tuesday, July 11, visit https://www.unitedability.org/at-alabama/.
