AT for Gardening: Containers and Beds

By Aimee Sterk, LMSW, MATP Staff I’ve been a gardener for years and a vegetable gardener for at least a decade. I joined a vegetable garden farm share program about 20 years ago and loved the fresh veggies from down the road and began exploring some easy options to grow some myself. My farm share…

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AT and Coronavirus Preparedness

Thank you to Eliza Anderson and the AT3 Center for this post. Originally posted on the AT3 Center News and Tips page. Steps, products, and resources to prevent infection, educate others and prepare for staying at home this COVID-19 season Wash Your Hands Often While Singing the ABCs Wash your hands with soap and water…

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Yay for Bidets!!!

A bidet seat with arm controls the options on the arm controls read: stop, rear, soft rear, front, dryer

By Aimee Sterk, LMSW, MATP Staff My friend, Joe Stramondo, is a great many number of things, a dad, a philosopher and professor, a disability justice activist, and he is a champion of bidets, spreading word near and far of just how awesome they are.  According to Joe, “Self-reliance when using the toilet is generally…

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Interdependence

By Paul Miller, Community Inclusion Specialist, MDRC Independence is something we strive for as we grow up, but as an adult I have grown to understand that interdependence is a more accurate view of life. Interdependence is a concept explained best by saying that our independence relies on the help of others. My Dad passed…

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Assistive Technology for Kids who Experienced Trauma

By Aimee Sterk, LMSW, MATP Staff I’m working on a trauma certificate and recently attended a symposium on Somatic Experience therapy for children who have experienced trauma. The presenter,  Maggie Kline, LMFT,  explained that for young children (birth to 18 months) who experience trauma, the body holds the memory and that therapy needs to focus…

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Veterans and AT for PTSD

By Aimee Sterk, LMSW, MATP Program Staff In June I was paging through my copy of Woman’s Day Magazine and was impressed with an article on Veterans and AT use: How My Veteran Husband Copes with His War Injuries . The focus is on caregivers/family/friends of veterans’ views and support, but the AT used is…

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Critical Connections

Grace Lee Boggs with quote you cannot change any society unless you take responsibility for it, unless you see yourself as belonging to it and take responsibility for changing it

“We never know how our small activities will affect others through the invisible fabric of our connectedness. In this exquisitely connected world, it’s never a question of ‘critical mass.’ It’s always about critical connections.” Grace Lee Boggs   This quote came up in my Facebook memories this week, posted by a friend and colleague some…

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Burning Hand

brightly colored silicone coils line the outfacing edge of oven racks with a casserole bubbling in the oven

By Aimee Sterk, LMSW, MATP Staff I’m a fairly accident-prone person. Add that to my recent age-related changes in vision and my already narrow field of vision and lack of depth perception due to one of my disabilities, and I’ve been getting burned in the kitchen even more lately. I was sitting through a great…

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CAPABLE Program to Roll Out Across Michigan

By Aimee Sterk, LMSW, MATP Program Staff People with barriers to community living who use supports through the Mi Choice Waiver Program (which provides services in the community instead of nursing homes) participated in a study that showed that accessing assistive technology, instruction, and home modifications decreased falls and hospitalizations and increased their ability to…

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Captioned Phones

CaptionCall phone

By Aimee Sterk, LMSW, MATP Staff Caption Phones   Sitting in the doctor’s office waiting for my daughter’s name to be called, I glanced at the magazine offerings and a telephone caught my eye. At first I thought it was for patients to use to call for a ride after their appointment, but then I…

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