Rebecca Signs, Gerald Sings

During last Friday’s CORE/Labor Source art show and performance, Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident Rebecca and some of her friends used sign language to interpret a song that others in the group were performing. Way to go, Rebecca! (Also note SH resident Gerald in the background, singing his heart out and rocking the guitar).

Check Out The Latest SmartHomes Newsletter

The latest Imagine! SmartHomes newsletter is online.

Check it out here. 

 

Mandy Reads Her Poems

At last Friday night’s CORE/Labor Source art show and performance, Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident Mandy read three original poems: “Cupcake Thief,” “Instructions for Snow in April,” and “The On the Air Incident.”

Click here to read “Cupcake Thief”

Technology Tuesday

Welcome to the first edition of “Technology Tuesday.” The SmartHomes team has moved fully into the second phase of our project, where we are taking technology out of the SmartHomes and getting it in other settings and into the hands of other clients beyond just those living in the homes. We want to share those stories with you, hence the new feature. We hope these stories will be short and easy to read insights into how technology is changing the lives of everyone served by Imagine!, not just those living in the SmartHome.

Today’s Technology Tuesday is about “Sam,” an adult receiving services from Imagine!. Sam is verbal, but can’t read or write. We recently set Sam up with an iPad to overcome his illiteracy and increase his ability to communicate.

Sam can’t type, so he uses Siri (Apple’s voice recognition software) to enter voice texts. He uses an iPad reader function (which reads text on the iPad aloud) to read news and to research topics he is interested in, leading to personal growth. He also uses the reader function to read and send email.

Sam has also started to use the calendar function on the iPad to keep better track of his appointments, which has been a challenge for him in the past.

Happy Birthday, Donna!

Wishing the happiest of birthdays to Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident Donna. Make it a great one, Donna!

Innovations Advocacy Council Tackles Important Issues

This post came to us because earlier this week, John (pictured below) told us about an Innovations Advocacy Council meeting that he’d be at.

Some of the agenda items from the monthly meeting included a discussion on the brochure they have been working on, titled, “Decision making-how much help do I really need?” The brochure provides information on guardianship and other important areas for people served by Imagine!. Also on yesterday’s agenda were discussions related to ballot issues for the 2013 elections, and how to help people who receive services from Imagine! to reach their full potential for reading.

When we told Donna (also pictured below) that trying to keep up with all the activities that the residents at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome participate in makes our heads spin, she replied, “We don’t sit around and let ourselves become couch potatoes.”

Pictured below, from the left, are Innovations Advocacy Council members Donna, Sam Towers (Behavior Health Manager for Imagine!'s Innovations for Children department), Lana, and John. Donna, Lana, and John are Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome residents who have been on the council since it began more than one year ago.

  

Gerald At The Fishing Derby

Great pic of SmartHome resident Gerald enjoying some fishing at the Outdoor Buddies Fishing Derby at Swift Pond, north of Windsor. The photos was taken by Shannon Bundy, who works at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome.

Donna Gets An Early Birthday Present

This post came to us during a visit and conversation with some of the residents at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome. Donna’s birthday isn’t until next Monday, the 24th, but her husband Gerald couldn't wait and gave her an early birthday present, this lovely bracelet Donna is showing off.

Teens With Disabilities Using Social Media To Connect

There was an interesting article recently in the Huffington Post about how teenagers with disabilities are using social media to meet friends, flirt, and find dates. We think this is a great example of how technology is breaking down barriers for individuals with disabilities, just like we are trying to do with our SmartHomes.

Check out the story here.

SmartHome Residents To Display Talents At Art Show and Performance This Friday

Imagine! clients in CORE/Labor Source art, music, dance, and creative writing classes, including SmartHome residents, have an art show and performance this Friday, June 21, at The Dairy Center for the Arts at 2590 Walnut Street in Boulder. The art opening and reception begin at 5:30 pm, and the performance begins at 7:00 pm. Admission is free.

Pictured below are Gerald and Donna rocking out at last year’s performance.

Rebecca Loves Science Class

One of the classes Imagine!’s CORE/Labor Source department offers to Imagine! clients is a Science Discovery class. One of the projects in the class is a liquid lab. Some of the liquid lab experiments the class has performed are mixing: oil and water; oil and vinegar; oil, vinegar, and baking soda; and oil and a bubble solution. In the photo, Hannah, the instructor for the class, is assisting SmartHome resident Rebecca in creating a liquid lab.

Anthony Likes His Job At Amcon

This post came to us during a face to face conversation with Anthony, who lives at the Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont. He takes great pride in being gainfully employed, and told us about his job at Amcon in Longmont. Anthony is a member of a work crew through Imagine!’s CORE/Labor Source supported employment program.

Here is what Anthony shared with us. “I work at Amcon every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We are making car seat covers. We put a cloth cover over yellow and black foam so the seat is more comfortable.”

Anthony's reliability and positive attitude has made him a valued employee with CORE/Labor Source for many years. Anthony is always ready to “be on the clock” if help is needed. Even with his remarkable work ethic, he keeps things in perspective and makes sure that helping out his family is the most important thing is his life.

Guess Who’s Touring The SmartHomes?

Excited to learn today that organizers of the 13th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth: Building Safe, Healthy, Equitable and Prosperous Communities Conference are proposing that attendees be able to tour Imagine!’s SmartHome as part of their conference experience. We’ll keep you posted!

John's Softball Game Photos

This blog post is a photo album taken at John’s softball game last Tuesday evening. John is in a Unified Softball League through the City of Boulder's Parks and Recreation EXPAND program in which teams are comprised of people with and without developmental disabilities.

John is a resident at Imagine!'s Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome and had invited the photographer to the game in an audio email last week. Residents at that SmartHome have access to an email program that allows people with limited writing and/or typing skills to send audio emails to their friends and family.

John getting a hit.

John throws the ball to his coach Jill, who works for Imagine!'s
Innovations department and is a volunteer for the
EXPAND program's Unified Softball League.

John plays first base while opposing player Lou Ella, who works
in Imagine!'s Innovations department and is a volunteer for the
EXPAND program's Unified Softball League, stands on third base.

John uses perfect form getting his glove down to field this ball.
John's coach Jill, behind him, had just been instructing John to put his
glove all the way to the ground on ground balls and John
shows he knows how to play shortstop.

John and his coach Jill are pots of gold at the end of the rainbow.

John And Chantelle Play I Spy

This photo came to us in an email from Chantelle, the Site Supervisor at Imagine!'s Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder, where John is a resident.

“While John and I are waiting for the bus to softball we play a little game called I Spy. John tells me ‘I spy with my little eye something on four legs and it’s a forest animal.’ He saw the deer! The deer were just hanging out in someone's backyard on Iris Street.”

Check out the deer lying on the ground behind John.

SmartHome Highlights

This updated was provided by SmartHomes Manager Sterling Wind to Imagine!’s Board of Directors in late May. We’d thought we share it with our blog readers as well. Enjoy!

Here are a few SmartHomes project highlights from this last quarter!

In addition to our regularly scheduled public tours, the SmartHomes team continues to provide additional tours to small groups from Colorado state, county, and municipal governmental officials, advocacy groups, and service provider organizations representing aging and elder care, cognitive and physical disabilities care, and special education groups across Colorado and the United States.

Recent special guests touring the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome and the Charles Family SmartHome have included a parents group with the Community Life Project (who have school age children who are not eligible for State funded services through Imagine!, but have benefited as participants in Imagine!’s Autism Spectrum Disorder program). Additionally engineers with PLEXUS Engineering Solutions in Louisville toured to learn about our project, as they are interested in donating company time and talent to assist our SmartHomes project. Other recent “tourists” include several individuals who are considering joining the Imagine! Foundation Board, colleagues from Albany, New York, and family members who have young children who are currently being served by Imagine!, and are interested in how SmartSupports might be used to support their loved one at home, at school, and in the community.

Interest in the Imagine! SmartHomes project continues to grow, as members of the Imagine! SmartHomes team continue to be invited to speak at conferences, meetings, and to consult with providers from around the United States. Our team is currently engaged in consultation services with providers in Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota, Long Island, New York, and Bangor, Maine. You can learn about presentations associated with the Imagine!’s SmartHomes project by clicking here. 

Consumers at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome and the Charles Family SmartHome are connecting with their family, friends, and members of their support team via an accessible email system (Endeavor Email). SmartHome consumers are currently using a newly developed accessible Facebook application with great excitement as they further connect with family, friends, and co-workers. These tools have been developed by one of our main technology partners, AbleLink Technologies in Colorado Springs, and this partnership continues to evolve thanks to the input from Imagine! consumers and staff members. SmartHomes consumers are sharing their experiences through a variety of blogs: I’d recommend that you check out my current favorite, Imagine! Voices.

Now that our SmartHomes have been in operation for several years, our team is focusing some of our attention on how we can best transition into the next phase of the project to demonstrate how technology and SmartSupports can be implemented in typical residential settings, out in the community, and at work to create a more sustainable long-term care service delivery system.

Happy Birthday, Mandy!

Wishing the happiest of birthdays today to Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident Mandy. Make it a great one, Mandy!

Chris Had Fun At The Zoo

This post came to us recently in an audio email from Chris, who is a resident at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder.

“Hey people, This is Christopher. I just want to let you know that I had a good time with Joan today. (Joan Handley is the founder of “Just for the Fun of It!” which offers tours and trips for people with special needs). I went to the zoo. I had a good time but got home a little bit late. OK, goodbye.”

Imagine! SmartHome Resident Employer In Clover Hosts Open House on June 13

In Clover is hosting an Open House on Thursday, June 13, from 11am – 3 pm at 3133 Indian Road in Boulder, and you are invited. Come ready to have fun, learn, and possibly win prizes!

In Clover, a Boulder company that makes pet supplements, has employed members of CORE/Labor Source work crews, including residents of Imagine!’s SmartHomes, for more than six years. In Clover employs crew members to weigh and package the pet supplements, and more recently has hired another crew to do janitorial work. In Clover employs up to 15 individuals who receive services from CORE/Labor Source and has been very supportive of the people we serve and great to work with. Pictured is Donna, a member of one of the In Clover CORE/Labor Source work crews, carefully sealing one of the packages of a pet supplement.

In Clover is dedicated to holding their products to the highest standards and is one of the few companies to receive the bench mark of quality from the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC). All products are made in the USA, and all ingredients are purchased from tested suppliers, and then undergo independent lab tasting to further check the quality.

Guess Who's Touring The SmartHomes?

Scheduled to tour the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome today: Steve Valente, Katy Dappen, Leslie Fredrickson, and Heather Baughman from Dungarvin, a national organization of privately owned companies that are dedicated to providing high quality, community-based supports to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.