Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Your weekly dose of information that keeps you up to date on the latest developments in the field of technology designed to assist people with disabilities and special needs.
Show notes:
Adaptive Cycling and Paddling | Anita O’Brien, Executive Director, Adaptive Paddling and Cycling Center (APACC) Rochester Accessible Adventures
www.rochesteraccessibleadventures.org
Computer vision system studies word use to recognize objects it has never seen before http://buff.ly/29rU5io
Indiana Assistive Technology Expert Finds “Gem” in Bookshare http://buff.ly/29qTFtS | Laura’s podcast: www.AccessibilityMinute.com
On the Hill with Audrey Busch | www.ATAPorg.org
——————————
Listen 24/7 at www.AssistiveTechnologyRadio.com
If you have an AT question, leave us a voice mail at: 317-721-7124 or email tech@eastersealscrossroads.org
Check out our web site: https://www.eastersealstech.com
Follow us on Twitter: @INDATAproject
Like us on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/INDATA
——-transcript follows ——
ANITA O’BRIAN: Hi, I’m Anita O’Brien, and I’m the Executive Director of Rochester Adaptive Adventures, and this is your Assistance Technology Update.
WADE WINGLER: Hi, this is Wade Wingler with the INDATA Project at Easter Seals crossroads in Indiana with your Assistive Technology Update, a weekly dose of information that keeps you up-to-date on the latest developments in the field of technology designed to assist people with disabilities and special needs.
Welcome to episode number 267 of Assistive Technology Update. It’s scheduled to be released on July 8 of 2016.
Today I have a great conversation on adaptive cycling and paddling with Anita O’Brien who is the executive director of the Rochester Accessible Adventures.
Also we have a story about how computers are using words to better identify objects and pictures; and a segment with Audrey Hill where she talkS about how the US federal political scene is impacting the world of assistive technology.
We hope you’ll check out our website at www.eastersealstech.com, send us a note on Twitter at INDATA Project, or give us a buzz on our listener line. We always love to have your feedback. The number is 317-721-7124.
***
I’m fascinated by an article that has a title, “Computer vision systems studies word use to recognize objects it has never seen before.” There are a couple of researchers at a Disney research, and we’ve had some Disney researchers on our show today before. One is named Leonard Stegall. What they are trying to do is figure out how to get computer to recognize objects a little more quickly with a little more efficiency. It’s not new that computers can recognize objects and tell you what they are, and in the past the process is typically involve taking lots of them lots and lots of pictures of objects and then have in the computer look at the commonality or similarities between those objects and become educated guesses about what those objects might be. For example, you might look at a red Apple and extrapolate that a yellow apple is still an apple even though they are different colors. What these researchers are doing is relying on language and words to describe them. They might describe and, instead of an apple they might describe an elongated apple which would be a pair, rather than relying on an image of a pair, they would rely on an image of an apple and headlock eight it. Another thing that struck me was talking about automobiles. Maybe you could teach the computer with a car or truck is, but then use words to describe what an SUV, so that the computer can accept a picture of the car and truck and use the words taller or longer to figure out that it’s an SUV or a bus. The article is fairly technical and gets kind of in-depth and how this process works and is very fascinating. It also has a link over to Disney researchers published articles about this process they’re going through. In our world of assistive technology, object recognition is a big deal for a lot of folks, but probably most important for people who are blind or visually impaired or otherwise can’t recognize objects. These developments in technology really get me excited. Because of that, I’m going to pop a link in the show notes and you can go and check out this article about computers using words to better understand pictures and objects. Check our show notes..
Does this sound familiar?
SPEAKER: That was your accessibility minute for this week. I’m Laura Medcalf with the INDATA Project with interest is crossroads in Indiana.
WADE WINGLER: Best of what’s of our own Laura Metcalf who is not only the host of accessibility minute, one of our other podcast, she is the primary authors of our accessibility assistive technology block which can find at www.eastersealstech.com. Laura was recently featured in a blog by Bookshare. The title reads, Indiana assistive technology expert find Jim in book share. It includes a picture and six reasons Laura recommends book share and why that has impacted her life and why she think it’s a good idea for folks with disabilities. I’m going to pop a link in the show notes so you can go over and see Laura’s smiling face and read her book blog post on the Bookshare blog.
***
It’s time for On The Hill with Audrey. Audrey Busch is the director of policy and advocacy for the Association of assistive technology act programs. In her update, she lets us know how the power of politics is impacting people with disabilities and their use of assistive technology. Learn more about Audrey and her work at ATAPorg.org.
AUDREY BUSCH: This is Audrey Hill, policy and advocacy director for the Association of assistive technology act programs, coming to you with your monthly Washington update. The countdown to a long Congressional resource recess has started with Congress scheduled to head out of town for about six weeks starting July 15. While Congress typically recesses for the entire month of August, this year they had to make room for two national conventions for the presidential elections. Therefore the third week in July, the Republicans will host their convention, followed by the Democrats the next week. The remaining time in August will be the typical month long Congressional recess. Given there is not much time until the July 15 deadline, Congress is working to pass as many other operations bills as possible. The bill that funds most disability programs, the labor Health and Human Services funding bill, was passed out Senate appropriations committee in June and now the house is considered scheduled to consider their bill on July 7. Hopefully programs that impact people with disabilities will be protected in the house Bill and all disability advocates are keeping their fingers crossed that this is the case. Once Congress turned to September, they will need to find a way to keep the government running past the expiration of this will year 2016 which will take place on September 30. Because Congress has not come close to passing the final FY 2017 budget, it is highly unlikely that a continuing resolution will be passed, which will level funding the federal government at fiscal year 2016 levels. How long this CR will preside is unclear, and between it being an election year and many other sensitive political issues that are at play with this year’s budget, there’s no telling what might happen exactly. Other interesting points to note, however, are the departments of labor and education issued their final rules regarding the information implementation of the workforce innovation and opportunity act was passed in 2014. While the implementation of the changes in this reauthorization are well underway at the state level, these regulations will put in stone what these changes should entail and look like on the ground. Additionally, Congress is beginning to consider a reauthorization of the Carl D Perkins career and technical education act. The goal of disability activates with this bill will be to ensure students with disabilities are provided with the appropriate accommodations when accessing such career and technical education programs. So while Congress is preparing to jettison out of town starting July 15, they are trying to move through as many items as possible in order to make their to-do list as short as possible when they return in September. So stay tuned to next month to hear what was accomplished in July and until then, stay cool.
***
WADE WINGLER: A quick editorial note before we jump into the interview. The group that we interviewed today has since changed its name from Rochester Adaptive Adventures to [Rochester Accessible Adventures]. If you see a discrepancy between what we say interview and what you might notice in the show notes, it’s because the name change. Their new website is RochesterAccessibleAdventures.org. Here’s the interview.
WADE WINGLER: It’s hot, that time of year in the US when I’m looking for a shady spot or some wind to blow in my hair or some water to get in and cruise around on. Which is why I’m excited today that we are going to be talking with Anita O’Brien who is the executive director at the Adaptive Paddling And Cycling Center which is part of [Rochester Accessible Adventures] in Rochester New York. Before we do that, Anita, are you on the line?
ANITA O’BRIAN: I am. Thank you.
WADE WINGLER: Thank you for taking some time out of your day. I’m so excited to talk with you today because I’m somebody who is enjoy cycling and enjoys being out on the water whether it’s a big boat or little boat or just in the water, especially in the summertime. I’m really interested in what you folks are doing there when it comes to the adaptive side of paddling and cycling at Rochester adaptive adventures. Why don’t we start by you telling me a little bit about you and your background and how you became interested in adaptive sports and then I’ll ask you about the programs there. Speak to that sound wonderful. Thanks for the invitation to be here today. So I had to stay, say, there was a moment after I graduated from college when I was still uncertain what I wanted to do. A mentor of mine told him he had seen me the day before at a pool. I knew he was joking because I hadn’t been in a pool then, but he was so serious. He said yes I did. You were in a pool with a person with a disability helping them swim. I can remember my jaw dropping and saying, you can do that? Is that a job? What degree is that? That’s actually how I found the field of therapeutic recreation, which is my background. You can find therapeutic recreation specialist in a variety of arenas from clinical to community settings. I have to say, it’s very fun to work so that others can play. That’s what I’ve been doing since then, several different community-based programs and cAPACCities across the years.
WADE WINGLER: That’s exciting stuff. So you are in Rochester now, right?
ANITA O’BRIAN: I have in Rochester. I’ve been here since 2000.
WADE WINGLER: Tell me about the [Rochester Accessible Adventures] Center and the APACC. What’s going on there?
ANITA O’BRIAN: [Rochester Accessible Adventures] grew out of these past 20 years or so of my work and community, working with people with disabilities in recognition. It truly become clear here in Rochester that we are ready for a leader to kind of move us forward in ensuring at our community level that we have facilities, equipment, and training such that our community is operating accessibly and aggressively as possible. That is what RAA is about.
We have a three-pronged approach for addressing the systemic need for access to recreation. One of those is we are a divisional resource center. As you know, outreach is very key to making sure individuals with disabilities and their families find the resources they need. So we are connected to medical centers, service providers, community leaders, and the all helps with press putting the word.
Secondly, we also support adaptive sports teams and athletes. These folk are a brand of their own. They travel, compete, they operate uniquely. We understand and value that and want to ensure here in Rochester that those opportunities are available and sustainable for a long time, both recreationally and competitively.
Then thirdly, we facilitate the APACC the adaptive paddling and cycling center. I tell you a little bit about what goes on there. The APACC is really the model of how we are approaching our work as we envision an accessible community. I’ll tell you, I’ve worked with in a program model in the past, one where adaptive equipment was available maybe once a week during the summer or perhaps at training clinics. What we’ve come to clearly see is that it would be truly a model of access and inclusion if people could just ask is that adaptive equipment just as available standard equipment is available. When I think of it, I think when if I didn’t have a bike or kayak, what would I do? I would either buy one or I would rent one. So with the APACC: that’s what we are doing. We are operationalizing that kind of access, and we are doing it through a partnership with a for-profit business called Erie Canal Boat Company. I’ve been working with the owner there for probably most of the past nine years, reworking how some of the docs are structured, having adaptive clinics and trainings. Now we are rolling out our partnership formally through RAA so that he will kind of implement all of those best practices and have him operate his business in an accessible way. That’s really a wonderful step forward from what we in the community have been offering. It just a fantastic opportunity for individuals with disabilities and their families really to be able to pick a day and time that fits your schedule and that they are able to get the equipment and go out.
WADE WINGLER: I love the partnership that you have with the boat company there. I think that’s a fascinating thing. I want to talk more about the staff and program, but for people who haven’t been on the Erie Canal or who haven’t been in Rochester, paint a picture for me about the setting.
ANITA O’BRIAN: The APACC is actually situated just yards from the Erie Canal waterway and the petitioner bike path. It’s quite beautiful all year around. It’s enjoyed by people both residents and is also a tourist attraction. Erie Canal Boat Company has this small landmark cut that is situated just there on the shore between the two pathways. People can view that our one on our APACC video on the website later if they would like. With parking just behind the pathways, it’s very easily accessible from start to finish. At that location, you will have both cycles and kayaks. They can be reserved at a time online or phone or a walk up basis. That’s the setting for where we are going to be operating.
WADE WINGLER: It sounds beautiful. It’s a great place to spend some time.
ANITA O’BRIAN: Absolutely.
WADE WINGLER: Let’s talk a little bit about the staff and volunteers. Obviously you are one of the professionals there, but who was in making this happen?
ANITA O’BRIAN: This is actually a great part of this model as well. With the collaboration, both RAA and Erie Canal Boat Company will have trained staff. Those people will be able to assist individuals with either adaptive or standard equipment and with all of the activity that goes along with providing that. Then we do operate as many nonprofits do with volunteers. They are very critical part of what we are doing. Our volunteers will be trained in assisting at clinics, assessments, rentals, so that the guests will be able to rely on that trained, knowledgeable, experience when they come to check out a car or bike. Also then the volunteers can help in assisting with getting the adaptive equipment on a critically, changing out if it needs to, modifying, even with the going out on the paddle. We will have some volunteers trained on being a companion and keep track of time and distance while they are out and general safety and comfort while the person is out there. That will be our team.
WADE WINGLER: That sounds fascinating. Let’s talk about the participants, people presumably with disabilities. Who are these folks and what kinds of disabilities are talking about?
ANITA O’BRIAN: Most generally speaking, assistance will now be a greater portion of the community than has ever been targeted before. Specifically we will target individuals with disabilities. These may range in diagnoses from spinal injury, brain injury and stroke, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, muscular diseases, spina bifida, other developable and intellectual disabilities. Really there is a tremendous number of diagnoses that result in an individual that can benefit from adaptive equipment. It’s really where somebody is able to continue participation because now they would have greater stability or safety, feeling confident, and actually gives them greater ability to perform as well. That’s the fun part of this new model of operation because we can target families. Families were there is someone with a disability and they are passionate about recreating together and will be able to go into that.
WADE WINGLER: That sounds like there’s a lot of opportunities for assistive technology. That’s what our show is about here. Tell me a little bit about the specific kinds of adaptations or assistive technology that are involved, whether it is on the water or the path.
ANITA O’BRIAN: As I was saying, there are so many different types of bodies that will be able to access these. The equipment is key to that. But we found is maybe the hardest part was just getting out there and trying it out, finding out what fits. It’s going to be difficult. Sometimes I know people come to us and say my doctor said I wouldn’t ever do XY and Z again, so I don’t think I can do it. What we can do is adaptations that are pretty wonderful. With the assistance of that is available, there is not much keeping people back these days. Generally for us there are three common adaptations in cycling.
One of the simplest adaptations that helps the greatest number of people getting access to riding again is a three wheeled bike. Three wheels add a tremendous amount of security and safety so that balance, focus, attention, muscle weakness or fatigue don’t have to be the primary concern that someone has been they are going out cycling. I think the standard bike, when you have to stop and put your foot down, that really becomes a critical piece of it. With a three wheeled bike, you just don’t have to worry about that part. That’s one.
Second, there is a device called the Mono Mono. That peace can be added to a tricycle handlebars and allows for one-handed control. It actually gives a person the ability to control steering, braking, gear shifting, all with one hands. It’s interchangeable for left or right handed control. That has been really wonderful, for instance for people who have had a stroke and have one-sided weakness, because we can attest that and off they go with their strong side pedaling down the canal.
Third, we see quite a few people who have paralysis with light leg power that may not be able to sustain them if they’re pushing with their feet, so a hand cycle is great for them. It allows them to sit with their feet supported but they actually do the pushing with hand pedals. There are so many varieties of styles now that it actually makes it fun for shopping and seeing what is the cheapest, and in terms of support in style, or what seating arrangement you are in, if you are leaning back or sitting up. There are so many options for that. Those are three for cycling.
With kayaking, the most common need is actually stability. They can be cumbersome in a variety of ways. Our fleet has a couple of different types of boats for accommodating. One is an open boat with the seat and foot area that are essentially carved out so that there is a natural position which becomes very stable. You can paddle solo or you can get a larger boat that is tandem which actually helps with stability as well. Other boats provide us with the ability to put in modified seats that give greater torso support to someone.
Newer equipment arrivals that we will have will allow people with handgrip modifications on the paddle to learn of them greater power and stability as they are paddling. That’s going to be wonderful. Sometimes just being able to hold a paddle in a sustained position or generate enough power to the shoulders. These quick modifications help with that. Additionally for someone who really wants that extra security and certainty, those people will relish the use of outriggers. Outriggers can be attached on either side of the card to provide that much more stability. Those are some of the assistive technology piece that we are using.
WADE WINGLER: That’s great. That makes a lot of sense and I’m glad you went through some of those very practical examples. I know I have listeners here who are thinking, wow, this is great and maybe I need to go on vacation this summer to Rochester to try this out. But I also know that a lot of my audience isn’t in the New York area. What advice would you have people who listen to this and say that’s great, I want to learn more about adaptive paddling in adaptive cycling but they are not in the New York area? What advice would you have for them?
ANITA O’BRIAN: I have to stay, first of all, come to Rochester. The Erie Canal is a historic landmark. You can travel up and down it from native Buffalo. We are there in the Rochester area. Definitely do that. In general, it’s a pretty exciting time I think in the world of recreation, both with the upswing in technological advancements and assistive technology, and the rise of social media where knowledge can be shared in just a minute. I find that generally, there is not much stopping people. On the one level, I do think it’s tremendously hard if the community has not caught up with that level of technology. That can be difficult to navigate. But I have to say, if you want inspiration and you can enter the online world and start poking around, you’ll find people, people with disabilities, are skydiving, riding motorcycles, utilizing skateboard parks with wheelchairs, playing sports with no arms or legs. There is an incredible number of off-road terrain wheelchairs for getting out into the wilderness areas or the off-road terrain. They are sailing around continent with sip and puff mechanisms. You can play golf sitting or standing, with or without site. I’ve seen people repelling the ones with wheelchairs, kayaking with one hand. For me, I think the advice is start exploring online as an inspiration and then start looking around and saying what can we do here more closely to my home town.
WADE WINGLER: I think it’s good advice. We are getting close on time here but I know you have an event coming up. I love to hear about that. I’m also interested in what’s in your crystal ball for the APACC.
ANITA O’BRIAN: Our event is going to be in mi- July. That’s our grand opening for the APACC there in Fairport. We are excited about it. It’s going to be a weekend extravaganza with lots of time for people to come and do hands-on accessing, both by very social times. We are excited about the event. In terms of my crystal ball, whenever I consult it’s got my crystal ball tells me that things here in Rochester, the time is right. We are getting lots of requests from medical centers, from schoolteachers, from agencies that work with people with specific disabilities. I’m getting a lot of engagement on Facebook and twitter and is a huge trend towards demand for recreational and sport opportunities. I see RAA as poised to roll out our model in the community and addressing these opportunities. For me it’s exciting. It’s an adventure and there’s really nothing like our tagline which is, inspiring hope and improving abilities. I encourage everybody to join in with us as we pursue that.
WADE WINGLER: If people wanted to learn more about what’s going on there at the APACC or get more specifics about your mid-July event or if they want to reach out to you, what kind of information would you suggest we speak to people can connect to me through a couple different avenues. Our website is perhaps one of the main ones, RochesterAccessibleAdventures.org. On there, you will find out about the APACC, about the RAA in general, as well as a number of the other services and outreach efforts that we are involved in an information on the July event. Also on Facebook at Rochester Accessible Adventures. If you’re a Twitter user, I am at @RAAdventures. I love to hear from people and get connected.
WADE WINGLER: Anita O’Brian is Executive Director of [Rochester Accessible Adventures] and the Adaptive Paddling And Cycling Center. We’ve been calling it the APACC. Anita, thank you so much for being with us today.
ANITA O’BRIAN: Thank you so much, Wade. It’s been a pleasure.
WADE WINGLER: Do you have a question about assistive technology? Do you have a suggestion for someone we should interview on Assistive Technology Update? Call our listener line at 317-721-7124, shoot us a note on Twitter @INDATAProject, or check us out on Facebook. Looking for a transcript or show notes from today’s show? Head on over to www.EasterSealstech.com. Assistive Technology Update is a proud member of the Accessibility Channel. Find more shows like this plus much more over at AccessibilityChannel.com. That was your Assistance Technology Update. I’m Wade Wingler with the INDATA Project at Easter Seals Crossroads in Indiana.
