Overview

This presentation will discuss the CARAT-TOP service-learning program that was developed to empower high school students, of all abilities, to change their communities through adapting the built environment as well as adapting toys and devices to promote participation and inclusion. This program focuses on giving a voice to students who are typically left out of opportunities and show that all students can contribute to solutions. Results from three cohorts of students demonstrated a change in attitudes toward individuals with disabilities in the rural community as well as a positive impact on their community.

Content Disclosure: This presentation will focus exclusively on Coordinating and Assessing the Reuse of Assistive Technology - Together One Priority program and will not include information on other similar or related programs.

Learning Objectives

1. Describe three key features used in the service-learning program to engage high school students, of all abilities, to improve inclusion and accessibility of individuals with disabilities.
2. Describe three examples of how to adapt a particular space in the community to make it more accessible and for whom.
3. Describe three examples of how to adapt a particular toy, game, or assistive technology device to make it more accessible and for whom.

Strand(s)

Education & Learning: Early Intervention – 12/Higher Education; Research

Target Audience

Accessibility Professional; ADA Coordinator; Administrators; Consumers/Individuals with Disabilities; Educators; Occupational Therapists; Rehabilitation Counselor; Speech-Language Pathologists; Special Education Educators

Experience Level

Introductory

Primary Life Cycle Addressed

Elementary - Secondary (K-12)

Session Delivery Format

In-person presentation with recording

Course Schedule

This course was given at the ATIA 2024 Conference on Thursday, January 25 from 2:15 PM - 3:15 PM (EST)

Continuing Education Credits

For Satisfactory Completion and Continuing Education information, please visit: ATIA Online Education CEUs

This course is offered for the following CE Provider Credits:
ACVREP; AOTA; CRC; IACET
For: 0.10 CEU Units or 1.0 CEU Hours

Recorded Session: This course is offered for 0.05 ASHA CEU Units or 0.5 ASHA CEU Hours per ASHA guidelines.

Speaker/s:

Patrick Kitzman, PhD, MSPT

University of Kentucky, Director Appalachian Center for Assistive Technology

Biography

Dr. Kitzman is a Professor in the University of Kentucky, College of Health Sciences, Physical Therapy Program with 23 years of clinical and teaching experience in the treatment of individuals affected by neurological conditions such as stroke and spinal cord injury (SCI). For the past 23 years he has conducted both basic science and community-based research, and have been funded as well as published in each of these areas. In 2008 he began working with multiple state and community-based partners to establish the Kentucky Appalachian Rural Rehabilitation Network (KARRN) and serves as its director. KARRN is collaborative community-based network comprised of individuals with SCI, TBI and stroke, their caregivers, the healthcare providers that serve them, university educators and researchers, and state and local organizations that support them. The mission of KARRN is to combine community-based research, education and service to reduce healthcare disparities for individuals with disabilities living in rural KY. In addition to directing KARRN, he has been funded through the Commonwealth Council on Developmental Disability to establish a new community-based service-learning program that engages rural high school students with and without disabilities, to create hands-on projects that directly affect their community. This program focuses on mitigating community level biases towards individuals with disabilities. In 2022 we were funded through the Kentucky Assistive Technology Service network to establish the Appalachian Center for Assistive Technology (ACAT) to serve rural eastern KY.

Relevant Financial Relationship: Yes
Salary from employment.

Relevant Non-Financial Relationship: No

Keisha Wells, BS

UK Center of Excellence in Rural Health, Rural Project Manager

Biography

Keisha Wells is a Rural Project Manager at the University of Kentucky Center of Excellence in Rural Health. Over the past 10 years, she has assisted on numerous community-based research projects focused on health disparities in Appalachia Kentucky, mental health, stroke, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries. At present, Mrs. Wells serves as Site Coordinator for Project CARAT (Coordinating and Assisting the Reuse of Assistive Technology) in Hazard, a community outreach, service learning program that aims to make assistive technology and durable medical equipment (DME) more accessible to those who need it in underserved areas of Kentucky. She also oversees the new CARAT-TOP (Coordinating and Assisting the Reuse of Assistive Technology- Together One Priority) program, an intergenerational program that will bring together students, of all abilities, from local high schools and the community to develop skills in assessing community accessibility, refurbishing used medical equipment, adapting toys and other assistive technology devices, prototype new parts, and develop strategies for engaging community stakeholders. Mr. Wells has served as the Program Director of Operation Change, a national program that has been implemented in the rural community of Perry County, where women come together to learn how to make lifestyle changes to live a healthier life. Previously, she was the Patient Stroke Navigator working with individuals who have had a stroke, TIA, or other neurological conditions and their caregivers. She helped individuals transition back into their rural community, find resources in their community, link them with healthcare providers, and provide follow-up education, and chronic disease management. Her work with the KC3T program led to the establishment of Hazard, Kentucky’s first ever Stroke Survivor and Caregiver Support Group, nationally recognized by the American Stroke Association. Mrs. Wells has 10 years of experience working with individuals with disabilities.

Relevant Financial Relationship: Yes
Salary from employment.

Relevant Non-Financial Relationship: No

Crystal Hignite

UK Center of Excellence in Health in Rural Health, Laboratory Technician Senior

Biography

Education: Associate in the Arts, Hazard Community College. Background: Employment Specialist with Perry County School District for 7 years; Knowledge of Pre-Ets and Transition; Trained on the new OVR system in 2022; Worked in the field of students with all abilities for 13 years; Successful in transitioning several students into integrated employment; Worked closely with an OVR counselor for 7 years. Awards: Transition Educator of the Year for 2022, Presented by ADA; Youth Transition Educator of the Year for 2018, Presented by ADA; Youth Disability Advocate Leadership, Presented by KVECC 2018.

Relevant Financial Relationship: Yes
Salary from employment.

Relevant Non-Financial Relationship: No