Anecdotes (“Stories”) Be as specific as possible, and include the following information: What AT device, service or information did the consumer need? How did you (the State AT Program or contractor) help the consumer obtain that device, service or information? What barrier(s) did your Statewide AT Program help the consumer overcome? If applicable, how did you collaborate with other entities in providing this help? How did obtaining that device or service improve that consumer’s life? How did it improve the consumer’s access to education, employment, community living?

Other instructions to follow: Limit each anecdote to 1000 words or less. Include examples that are understandable to an uninformed audience. Do not repeat the same anecdote for multiple activities. Do not include more than one activity in the same story. Do not identify any consumers by name or use other details that would allow a consumer to be identified. Be sure that the example clearly fits within the appropriate activities supported by the AT Act.

Story or No Story?

#1 Demonstration: John was not happy with using a JV35 phone. He had a demonstration of other phones and decided on the HD-60J. He will apply for one through TDDP.

VOTE NOT a story. This belongs in the Contact/Log.

#2 Demonstration: Jack is two years old and has optic nerve hypoplasia, an underdevelopment of the optic nerves in his eyes, which classifies him as blind. Staff from the Assistive Technology Program provided a demonstration of an iPad that was then incorporated into his early intervention program. The iPad was especially helpful for development of eye tracking and color association skills. Jack's early intervention services and AT device demonstrations aided in creating an environment to help him learn and grow.

VOTE Story.

#3 Device Lending: A device loan was provided to a gentleman with low vision who lost his home and AT in a flood. The gentleman was able to borrow an electronic enlarging device to accommodate his needs until a replacement device was provided by the Veteran’s Administration. He stated that through the device loan he was able to read mail and take care of personal business during the period he was displaced and without a working device of his own.

VOTE Story.

#4 Reuse: Ben picked up an Apex desktop CCTV magnifier that was available through our Reuse program. Ben, a veteran, uses a CCTV to read print materials and is waiting for the VA to provide him with a new magnifier since his old device no longer works. Currently, he depends on his wife to read the mail and other print materials. While he waits for his new replacement CCTV, the reused CCTV will increase his independence! Once he receives the new device from the VA the consumer will use the reused CCTV as a backup device.

VOTE Story.

#5 Device Loan: Allen borrowed a phone from the on-site library, but the entire time he had it on loan, the telephone service was out at his house. I let him know he could borrow again when his telephone service was back.

VOTE NOT a story. This belongs in the Contact/Log.

#6 Lizzy, a college student with vision loss, borrowed a notetaking device from the AT Program, as her current device needed repair. She picked up the unfamiliar device and had it running smoothly in five minutes. Lizzy used this device for her final exams, whereby she would read the questions from a flash drive, answer them, and export the test to a printer as the note taker does back-translation into print for the professors.

VOTE Story.

#7 Demonstration: Sharon called to donate a walker. She came to the office with a rollator. She mentioned that her mother was in a nursing home and was losing her ability to speak. The AT Program offered her a Lightwriter from the equipment reuse program. A typing aid was demonstrated for use with the Lightwriter. Sharon left with the device. She will coordinate with her mother's speech therapist to see if it is appropriate for her.

VOTE Could be a story, if written clearly and with more information that provides an impact/outcome from the device loan (some kind of decision was reached).

#8 Reuse: Complications from two years of leukemia treatments resulted in a 15-year-old girl experiencing deterioration and collapse of her shoulder, hip, knee and ankle joints. No longer able to walk, the teenager was using an office chair with rollers to move around her house, until her mother came in contact with the reuse program. Through this resource, the teenager was able to obtain a lightweight wheelchair, bathroom safety equipment, and an electric scooter at no charge. The cost of these items purchased new would have been over $5,000. The family is so grateful and the 15-year-old said, “Without the equipment…I would be stuck in bed every day. Now I can be the teenager I was meant to be.”

VOTE Story.