Emergency Preparedness for People Who Use Assistive Technology

by Jorge Ruiz, Assitive Technology Coordinator at Central Coast Center for Independent Living

Living in California, the possibility of a high magnitude earthquake hitting and affecting our lives is very likely! In fact this past fall in October there was a small 5.3 magnitude earthquake that originated in San Benito County and was felt in many parts of California. 

Coincidentally, also in October, I participated with the Local Office of Emergency Services at their Emergency Operation Center for the Shakeout!  Shortly after everyone had ducked and covered, we held a three hour long exercise responding to an imaginary 7.3 magnitude earthquake and its aftershock. 

My job as the “Operator” was to take calls from emergency workers and connect them to the resources in our area. Imagine providing information and referral under heavy stress! This experience made me wonder if people with disabilities who use assistive technology (AT) are prepared for a disaster like an earthquake.

The following helpful advice was adapted from publications by the Disability Law and AdvocacyCenter of Tennessee and the Georgia Emergency Preparedness Coalition for Individuals with Disabilities and Older Adults

What Can You Do in Your Home?

Plan for the possible need to evacuate your home and do an assessment of the assistive technology (AT) you use in your home. In addition, make sure you have what you need to shelter in place. Compile a list of the AT critical to support your physical well-being and ability to communicate during an emergency. Have an appropriate back-up power supply and know how long the power supply lasts. The following questions will assist you in developing a list of AT used in your daily life.

Do you use Assistive Technology:

• To assist you with mobility?

• To help with your personal care?

• To help you during meal time?

• For communication?

• For transfers?

• For transportation?

Accessible Routes

►► If you live in an apartment complex ask

about evacuation plans and routes. Check

the routes for accessibility and make sure

that designated areas of shelter are clearly

marked.

►► Gather information about how first responders

will be directed to residents with disability

related needs.

In the Workplace

►► Evaluate your assistive technology (AT) needs in

a workplace evacuation. Do you have personal AT

that needs to be evacuated with you? Make sure

you have what you need to shelter in place. Do you

need AT to alert you to a disaster and the need to

evacuate the building?

►► Become familiar with the evacuation procedures of

your workplace and consider how a disaster may

impact your ability to leave the building safely.

►► Elevators may not be available for evacuation. If the

elevators are not working, learn the evacuation plan

if you cannot use the stairs.

►► If you have a mobility impairment, know what AT can

assist with evacuation. If there is AT available, where

is it located and is it easily accessible? Is someone

trained to use it? If AT is not available, ask if your

employer can purchase it.

►► If you are asked to go to a designated place to wait

for help, confirm how the first responders will be

notified where you are located.

►► If you have a hearing and/or visual impairment make

sure there is a working alert system in place.

►► Be responsible for your own safety. Develop

your own evacuation plan. Do not depend

on just one person to assist you.

Create a support network to

ensure assistance will be

available.

General Things to Consider

►► Let your local fire department and/or utility company know about your special needs.

►► If you have a power wheelchair, consider having a

manual chair as a backup. If you use a custom wheelchair

for medical support (e.g. ventilator or oxygen), attach

information to it for the first responders.

.

►► Store backup equipment at another location.

►► Teach others in your support system how to use your AT

and attach laminated instructions.

►► Keep critical AT charged and have backup batteries.

►► Make plans for someone to notify you of an emergency ifyou are deaf, hard of hearing or have vision impairment.

►► Have a corded land line phone that does not use

electricity. A land line phone or cell phone can be used

during a power outage.

►► Plan for taking AT with you. Remember to take chargers

and other components with you!

►► Label or tag your AT with your contact information.

►► Register your AT with the manufacturer.

►► Take a photograph of yourself using your AT. This helps

clearly identify the AT belongs to you!

►► Keep photographs and a record of all AT serial numbers in a safe location (safe deposit box).

►► Think about how you might go about obtaining a short-term and/or long-term replacement for your AT, if needed.

►► Since homeowner’s/renter’s insurance does not cover

damage by ground water, flood insurance may be needed

to replace AT lost or damaged in a disaster. Factor in the

cost of home or vehicle modifications when determining

the replacement value of your home or vehicle.

Also extremely helpful and interesting is the following video, "Prepare to Prosper," by the San Fransisco Department of Emergency Management.

Do you have a plan for disaster preparedness for your home/work/school? Share your ideas with us by using the comment button below.

Last Minute AT Gift Ideas

by Rachel Anderson, Program Coordinator for the AT Network

There are still a few more shopping days left and there are  some good sales going on right now - so it is a great time to purchase some useful AT devices.  Here are some last minute gift ideas for everyone on your list. For more details on the item and to find out how to order, click on the links below.  Happy Shopping!

1. Large Print Keyboards - $17.95

2. iRobot Roomba 650 Vacuum Cleaning Robot - $399.99

3. LeapPad2 &Tag Learn to Read Bundle - $169.96

4. LEVO Lapdesk for books, laptops, eBooks, iPads - $39.99

5. Digital Talking Alarm Clock- $20.99

6. Turbo Ear - $20.59

7. Sonic Blink: Receiver with Strobe Alert - $42.95

8.iPad Mini - starting at $329

9. On/Off Plate Switch - $47.95

10. Walker Caddy - $23.95

11. Large Universal Remote - $39.95

12. Bilingual Piano Puppy - $84.95

Indata and Easter Seals also put together a different great list of AT Holiday Gift Ideas. Click here to view even more AT Holiday Gift items.

Do you have an AT wishlist?  What is on your list this year? Let us know by entering it in the comment section below.  Happy Holidays!

Zebreda Makes It Work!

by Rosemarie Punzalan, AT Network Training Specialist

Zebreda Dunham and Martin Sweeney recently presented at the AT Network's Southern California Quarterly Regional Meeting on November 20, 2012 at the California Endowment  in Los Angeles, CA.  To the delight of all of the individuals interested in AT at this meeting, they explored the low-tech, low-cost, down-and-dirty DIY world of assistive technology.   

Born in Maryland and now a resident of Pasadena, Dunham is a young woman constantly adapting and modifying the world around her. From a gate opener to smartphone remote, from an umbrella holder to a power soccer guard, from adapted scissors to a joystick helper, Zebreda shared her philosophy about accessibility as well as demonstrated some of the products she has created, adapted and/or modified.

Zebreda Makes It Work! is a series of videos and experiences that highlights a frame of mind about assistive technology and how to imagine, create, adapt and troubleshoot your world and overcome whatever obstacles you might encounter.  Below are some of the innovative videos Zebreda shared:

Door Stopper

Door Alarm

Key Turner

Gate Opener

As Dunham notes, “We need each other to survive in this world. I feel that just because you might be labeled as having a disability, you don’t have to disable yourself. Many times those doing the labeling are unaware of the true intelligence and abilities of the individual and more than likely they are the ignorant ones. You are as disabled as you make yourself. I don’t consider myself as being disabled—I consider myself as differently-abled.”

Sweeney was director of the AT Network (2006-09), founding director of the Assistive Technology Project at the Lanterman Regional Center (1998-2006), training consultant for the Center for Accessible Technology (2010-11) and is now a development adviser for the India America Assistive Technology Exchange in Mumbai and Bangalore.

Does Assistive Technology (AT) play a role in your life?

Have you created, adapted, and modified a product to make your life easier?

Want to show off the AT you use or the AT you have created?  Check out the AT Network's video contest on how to enter and you could win $400!

AT at the Movies!

by Kirk Aranda, Youth Organizing! Disabled and Proud Youth Advocate

Are you deaf, hard of hearing, blind or have low vision? Have you ever gone to the movies and requested accommodations and been told by the employees at the theatre that they did not have any options or had very limited options?

Well, Regal Entertainment Group has taken notice and is making great strides in making movie-going accessible for all with the Sony Entertainment Access System. This system includes revolutionary glasses that assists moviegoers who are deaf, hard of hearing, have low vision or are blind.

These lightweight glasses will allow moviegoers to experience the movies without any inconvenience to those around them.  They are designed for the viewer to privately view closed captioned text directly in their line of vision -that is not visible or audible to other moviegoers- for both 2D and 3D movies.  The glasses also have headphones or neck loops which are both connected to a wireless receiver.  This is for those who have low vision or are blind to hear descriptive audio tracks directly through their headphones.

This cutting edge technology is available in 200 theaters nationwide currently and should be available at the guest services counter at all digital Regal Theaters by April 2013.  Check to see if they are available at the theatre nearest you!  Also, if you have tried these glasses or the headphones, let us know what you think of them!  Enter a comment in the section below.

AT and the TSA

by Allan M. Friedman,Communications & Technical Assistance Manager

There was a time when flying was fun, simple, and easy to do. However, since 9/11, the  heightened security measures enforced by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has made travel a nightmarish gauntlet for everyone, especially people with disabilities.

What I am referring to here is the assistive technology and durable medical equipment needed by travelers with disabilities.  Your cane, your AAC device, your walker, your oxygen tank and just about any other AT is considered to be a potential threat until it is not.  If you're taking an AT device with you and need it while on the plane, be prepared to demonstrate that your device will not bring down the aircraft and isn't a bomb.  No matter what it is, they will inspect it, swipe it for traces of explosives and x-ray it before they even look at you!

For most travelers the security screening is just an annoying inconvenience, but people with disabilities face a more invasive and confusing process. The TSA has guidelines and rules for screening people with disabilities, but they often don't filter down to the agents doing the screenings so this process is rarely the same at any given airport. People with disabilities should prepare themselves for this experience and know from the get-go that they may need to know and assert their rights to ensure that their person and belongings are not violated.

The TSA has a webpage and phone service TSA Cares (1-855-787-2227) for travelers with disabilities.    

Their recommendation is to call the TSA 72 hours or three days before your flight to ask about your individual situation and the devices you may need to bring with you.  They also recommend calling your airline as well. 

The airlines also have rules and guidelines for travelers with disabilities; however, there is no uniformity or consistency to them. Each airline has a different set of rules.  And, as with the TSA, the frontline employees don't always know their company's rules for travelers with disabilities and their AT.  Calling beforehand will help arm you with the knowledge you need to make sure you have the AT you need when traveling.

In addition to calling the TSA and your airline, I would add calling the airports you will be using.  They too have their own guidelines and rules, which sometimes conflict with TSA and airline rules.  For instance, you may be asked to check your wheelchair at the curb. If that’s your concern, rest assured, as you can’t be compelled to accept wheelchair assistance at the curb. In fact, under the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), most wheelchair-users can remain in their own wheelchairs all the way to the door of the aircraft. The only exception is if your wheelchair has a spillable battery. In that case you must turn your wheelchair over to airline personnel at least one hour before the flight.

Security screenings for people with disabilities is just one of the challenges TSA agents face. More than 43,000 screeners must remember the rules while screening people with a diversity of disabilities; who bring along a myriad of devices, many that they are unfamiliar with.  TSA agents must (but often don't) treat people with disabilities with sensitivity, care and respect while at the same time maintaining strict security standards. 

It's a difficult job for them and a stressful experience for travelers with disabilities.  Planning ahead, knowing your rights and what to expect will minimize the stress and ensure that you and your AT arrive at your destinations together.

Are you a person with a disability and have a story about traveling with your AT?  Please enter it in the comment section below or email us at info@atnet.org