By guest blogger, William Kellogg, High Tech High International We didn’t ask Picasso to work without paint and we didn’t ask Michelangelo to work without marble. We saw the value in giving them the tools to succeed, and they didn’t even identify as disabled. It is for this reason I struggle to understand why there…
by Kim Lathrop, Administrative Staff at CFILC Hi! My name is Kim. I am a 29 year old single woman and I live with my two Shih Tzus in my own apartment. Now, all of that may not seem too out of the ordinary, but I did leave out one detail…. I was born without…
By Emily Flynn, Program Coordinator for Ability Tools This month, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jorge Ruiz for our new AT Advocate’s Blog series. Jorge is an AT Advocate at Central Coast Center for Independent Living (CCCIL) in Salinas, CA. Jorge has been an extraordinary member of CCCIL’s team for over five years now! …
Earlier this year, Ability Tools launched their second AT video contest. We were so pleased with all of the submissions we received and would like to thank each and every contestant for entering! The purpose of this contest was to showcase creative ways people with disabilities use assistive technology (AT). AT is any object, device…
This post was reprinted with permission from disABILITY WORK TOOLS Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Tax Incentives can help offset the cost of accommodating a worker’s disability. With assistive technology and accommodations workers can keep doing their jobs instead of quitting their trade and applying for social security disability payments. Workers and employers often do…
by Emily Flynn, Program Coordinator I have recently started working for Ability Tools as the Program Coordinator for their Information and Referral line. I receive many questions every day and, most of the time, I am able to assist the individual with little to no problems by answering their questions and/ or giving them referrals…
Happy Cesar Chavez Day! Did you know that March 24th – 31st is Farmworker Awareness Week? CalAgrAbility and Ability Tools are celebrating – along with others in the state of California and across the country – the important jobs of farmworkers by sharing stories about their lives and livelihoods. The California AgrAbility Program (CalAgrAbility) is…
by Janet Nunez, AT Specialist, Parents Helping Parents iTECH Center Yesterday I met up with an old acquaintance of mine, who I hadn’t seen for 10 years, at a neighborhood coffee shop. Leslie and I sipped our first cup of coffee reminiscing and the next cup trying to catch up. The third cup finally brought…
By Kim Cantrell, CFILC’s Program Director When Medi-Cal pays for durable medical equipment (DME), like a wheelchair or a scooter, the recipient actually gets the device from a DME vendor. Vendors are independent businesses that contract with the state of California to provide DME to Medi-Cal recipients. Sounds simple, right? It gets complicated when we…
Ability Tools just recently opened a nationwide contest where participating contestants could potentially win $500! The purpose of the contest is to showcase the creative ways people with disabilities use assistive technology (AT) in their daily lives. Many people with disabilities use AT to accomplish tasks they otherwise could not. Sometimes they modify a commercial…