Happy Halloween From The Charles Family SmartHome!

The residents of the Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont attended a fun Halloween party this weekend. Check out the cool costumes!

Check Out Donna’s Latest Blog Entry

What scary, stealthy characters are Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome residents Donna and Gerald going to dress up as for Halloween? The answer is in Donna’s latest blog entry. Click here to find out . . . if you dare!

Imagine!’s Assistive Technology Laboratory – We're Almost There!

We mentioned a while back that we have been working on creating an Assistive Technology Laboratory that will serve as our new headquarters for helping individual consumers identify, obtain, and learn to use the specific assistive technology devices that will allow them to reach their full potential. The lab will help us with the second phase of our SmartHomes project – expanding the use of technology beyond the SmartHomes into individual and family homes. We’re almost ready! Here’s some pictures of our tech staff putting some of the final touches on the lab. Exciting stuff!

Strategically Incorporating Technology

On October 14, 2011, Imagine!’s SmartHomes guru Greg Wellems gave a presentation at the annual ANCOR Technology Conference. Greg spoke about the importance of strategically implementing technology for organizations which are looking to use technology as a way to enhance services for individuals with developmental disabilities. This was a powerful and important message to share as more and more organizations are realizing the potential that technology has to offer, but aren’t quite sure where to start. Greg’s presentation offered solutions for building a solid foundation on which to develop technology use in the DD field.

Take a peek at his presentation below.

Strategically Incoporating Technology

View more presentations from Fred Hobbs

Leona Stoecker: Imagine!’s SmartHomes Giving Spark!

Today we’d like to offer a well deserved “congratulations” to Imagine! Foundation board member and past president (as well as a super SmartHome supporter) Leona Stoecker, who on Friday was awarded the Giving Spark Award at the Longmont Community Foundation Giving Celebration.

We’d like to quote here an email that Kathy Coyne, another Foundation board member, wrote to Leona last night after the ceremony, as it is said so beautifully and captures how we all feel. Kathy was attending on behalf of HospiceCare of Boulder & Broomfield Counties, which was a finalist for the Longmont Community Foundation’s Collaborative Excellence Award.

Leona,

It was so nice to see you tonight and I do hope I’m one of the first to congratulate you on the honor and award received at the Longmont Community Foundation Celebration!

You’ve been such a gift to the Longmont community and to Imagine! I can’t thank you enough for your efforts.

I wasn’t surprised, but everyone at my table mentioned how wonderfully you served the organization with your comments upon receiving the award. So perfectly done!

You’re such a treasure and I so appreciate your leadership!

Many thanks and congratulations again--also to your beloved Bernie, for his support of your efforts, as I know that means a lot to you and to our community!

Thanks so much, Kathy, and especially and always to our dear Leona!!

In the pictures above, Leona is shown with her award, and also with her husband Bernie.

Check Out Donna's Blog!

You may be aware that SmartHome resident Donna has been doing an online diary on the SmartHomes blog for awhile. She has become skilled enough with her speech to text software that she is now making more frequent dairy entries. So now is a great time to re-introduce her own blog – “Donna’s Diary.” Click here to check it out (the latest post is an original story about aliens!), and be sure to come back often for updates!

Gerald's Creative Writing

We’ve mentioned before how technology is helping Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident Gerald learn to read and write. Here are some pictures of his hard work coming to fruition as he writes his own creative story about Halloween using his DynaVox. Gerald uses the elbow switch on his wheelchair to type. He is writing as part of a creative writing class in Imagine!’s CORE/Labor department. Way to go, Gerald!

Presentable

Imagine! SmartHomes guru Greg Wellems and project manager Sterling Wind are presenting this week on SmartHomes and SmartSupports at the Maryland Association of Community Services Annual Conference.

Keep up the good work, guys!

Wes and Toby Connect 5

The video below features Charles Family SmartHome residents Toby and Wes. The video is of an EAC, or Educational Activity Curriculum. The activity is called Connect 5, and is in many senses a modified tic-tac-toe board. The board contains 25 squares (five across and five down). The board is further broken down into four color-coded quadrants: red, blue, yellow, and green.

The game is played as follows: each player begins by selecting either the corner square in any of the quadrants, or the center square. From there, the player may then move up to three times in any (allowed) direction before selecting a square. The player may choose a square at any time during those three moves. Players with two adjacent playing pieces receive five points, three pieces receive ten points, four pieces receive 15 points, and five automatically wins the game. Games may be played until a player places five squares in a row, or until a player reaches a predetermined score.

This activity is designed for users with communication devices, as well as those without. This activity allows players to learn colors, directions, communication device navigation (where applicable), peer socialization, and turn taking. Any of these skills can be learned by any player at any time, and multiple skills can be learned by multiple individuals, all through one activity, thus maximizing the efficacy of the staff member facilitating (The activity is designed for 2-10 participants, where possible).

Most importantly, the learning process is fun!

Happy Birthday Rebecca!

Wishing the happiest of birthdays to Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident Rebecca. Hope it is a great one, Rebecca!

SmartHomes Take Center Stage

We've done a couple of posts this week about Imagine!'s participation in the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities' Annual Conference.  The Coleman Conference is not actually the only conference around technology and the field of developmental disabilities that happened this week in Colorado. Actually, there were three of them, and Imagine!'s SmartHomes project played a key role in them all.

But let's let someone else do the "talking" today. Below is a post from Imagine! CEO Mark Emery's blog from last Friday where he discusses the conferences and Imagine!'s central role in them.


Next week, Colorado will be the epicenter of three great opportunities for people who serve those with one or more developmental disabilities to learn about what’s going on in our field.

On Tuesday, October 11 and Wednesday, October 12, Alliance will be hosting the Six State Summit, where leaders in the DD field from Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming will meet and discuss legislative issues and the state of their states.

On Thursday, October 12, The Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities will be hosting its annual conference.

And on Friday, October 13, ANCOR will be hosting its annual technology conference.

All three conferences will be held at the Westin Westminster Hotel, just down the road from Imagine!. And all three conferences will feature Imagine! and our use of technology prominently.

For example, I will be speaking at a roundtable discussion at the Coleman Conference on “Leading an Organization to Adapt and Use Emerging Technology,” and my esteemed colleague Greg Wellems will be speaking on “How Organizations Can Create Partnerships to Develop Innovative Tech Solutions to Improve Services.”

Even more exciting, an individual who receives services from Imagine!, Mandy K., will be participating as a self-advocate at a Wednesday Coleman pre-conference event.

Mandy lives in the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder, and Imagine!’s two SmartHomes are the centerpieces of our efforts to use technology to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our services. Participants in all three conferences have scheduled tours at our SmartHomes.

We will also have an information booth on our SmartHomes at the Coleman conference. The information booth will display a PowerPoint presentation that provides a simple overview of the who, how, why and what of the SmartHomes.

I am proud of our efforts to incorporate technology into our services and Imagine!, and it pleases me to see that so many other organizations are recognizing the power and potential technology has to improve the lives of so many.

Mark And Greg Speak At Coleman Conference

Imagine! CEO Mark Emery and SmartHomes guru Greg Wellems spoke today at the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities Annual Conference. Mark spoke on cloud computing and its implications for services, and Greg spoke about using technology for residential services. Enjoy some not so great photos of them in action.

Congratulations, Mandy

Congratulations to Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident Mandy, who is speaking as a self-advocate at a Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities pre-conference event today!

Guess Who's Touring The SmartHomes?

Touring the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome today to get a first hand demonstration of technologies being used there to improve the lives of those with developmental disabilities: representatives from Maine-based Charlotte White Center as well as reps from the Jacob Brewer Home (also from Maine).

Are you interested in touring our SmartHomes? Then click here.

SmartHomes (and Gerald) in the News

SmartHome resident Gerald is featured in the latest edition of ANCOR LINKS, the ANCOR newsletter. The story is about how he used technology to get a job. Really good stuff and well worth the time to read. Click here and find his story on page 15.

SmartHome Overview

Next week’s Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities Conference will feature Imagine! and our SmartHomes project prominently. Imagine! CEO Mark Emery and SmartHomes guru Greg Wellems are scheduled to speak, many participants are planning to tour the SmartHome, and we will have an information booth at the conference. The information booth will display a PowerPoint presentation that provides a simple overview of the who, how, why and what of the SmartHomes. Take a sneak peek below.

About Imagine!’s SmartHomes

View more presentations from Fred Hobbs.

Donna's Diary - September 2011

You may be aware that SmartHome resident Donna has been keeping an online diary. Up to now, she has only been posting once per month. Now, she has started using speech to text technology that is allowing her to more easily keep her diary up to date. Below are her diary entries from September. Look for more soon!

Tuesday September 6
I wrote a short story about eight little girls and their boyfriends. They got married and all of them lived in a huge house. The women cleaned up the house for their husbands, and the girls went and got stuff for their husbands at the store. They all ended up having kids and that made for a big family for holidays and stuff. Today I went to music class at CORE and was singing “When I’m 64,” a Beatles song. I am about to go start playing computer games with the rest of my house mates and that's all for now.


Today is September 13
Today I was in music class and art class. I really enjoyed doing art class. And story class where I ran my own stories. I made some drawings and sketches. I played the symbols in music class and when I got home I'd played a computer game that we earned points for. Today I got an anniversary card from a friend wishing my husband (Gerald) and me good thoughts from here on out. Yesterday my husband and I ran out for dinner. My husband and I went to Applebee’s for dinner and he had a spicy chicken and I had steak and potatoes and it was good.

PS: In the computer game that we played I tried for first place with another housemate.


Today is September 15
I went to CORE and then I went to work at In Clover. At work I did a box of treats for dogs. I was very proud of the work we got done. We worked for a new provider for the dog treats we have never worked with before. It took the entire day. When we got finished we cleaned up after we had eaten lunch. We ate lunch in a different building and met some new friends and that was enjoyable. And after lunch we went back to work and did a little more and were ready to come home for the day. I'm looking forward to a great weekend with my house mates.


Today is September 19
This weekend I hung out with my husband and we had some visitors at the SmartHome. We had some church friends come over and we read a magazine and sat outside. My friends brought over some chocolate chip cookies and boy were they delicious and were freshly made. We just sat outside and enjoyed the weather and we loved it and they loved it too. I am so happy that the dictation is working very well. I’m reading my blog and it's working very well.

Anthony Bakes A Cake

SmartHome resident Anthony has been learning new cooking skills with the help of task prompters in the kitchen of the Charles Family SmartHome. Check out some pictures of him making a cake. I hope he’s planning to share!

Guess Who’s Touring The SmartHome?

Touring Imagine!’s Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome today: Jane Fouchey and some of our FRIENDS from just up the road in Broomfield. They are building a new building and would like to see some of the ideas that have been incorporated into the SmartHome.

FRIENDS of Broomfield has a mission to enrich the lives of our friends with developmental disabilities and their families by creating opportunities for participation in every aspect of community life.

Welcome, FRIENDS!