Guess Who's Touring The SmartHomes?

Touring Imagine!’s Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont last week: representatives from TinkerMill, Longmont’s own (and Colorado’s largest) makerspace/hackerspace, “a place where like-minded people interested in art, technology, science and business can collaborate on creative projects, share tools, learn, teach, make things, prototype new ideas, products and services, start ventures, meet new people, and share knowledge.”

Technology Tuesday

Here’s a picture of Karen, who lives in Imagine!’s Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome, using a cool piece of technology – a standing lift. The lift has given her more control when she transfers out of her wheelchair, and has helped her build up her lower body strength. Looking good, Karen!

Guess Who's Touring The SmartHomes?

Touring Imagine!’s SmartHome last week: Dr. Mauro F. Cardoso Lins, a pediatric neurologist from Brazil. Dr. Lins was the chairman of the Task Force on Intellectual Disabilities at the recent National Plan for People with Disabilities at the Ministry of Health in Brazil, and was visiting the area to attend The Coleman Institute Conference and the ANCOR & AAIDD Technology Summit and Showcase. He wanted to learn more about Imagine!’s SmartHomes, because, as he told us, “The Brazilian population with a diagnosis of disability reaches almost 30 million people, according to recent estimates. We definitely need to learn new approaches.” Dr. Lins is pictured below on the left with Imagine! SmartHomes guru Greg Wellems.

Technology Tuesday

 

Last Friday, Imagine!’s Director of Information Technology Kevin Harding was among the presenters at the 2015 ANCOR & AAIDD Technology Summit & Showcase.

Kevin was part of a panel discussion titled “Assessment Tools: Matching Needs with Solutions,” and spoke specifically about a functional assessment Imagine! developed for measuring a person’s abilities across a wide range of physical and cognitive categories as well as a site based assessment in development at Imagine! for identifying necessary adaptations in a given setting.

Joining Kevin on the panel were Patrick Queenan, PhD, Director of Clinical and Behavioral Services at Ability Beyond, and Marc J. Tasse, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at The Ohio State University Nisonger Center.

Congratulations, Kevin, for presenting at this prestigious event and for continuing Imagine!’s legacy as a leader in the field of exploring how technology may be used to improve the lives of individuals with a variety of disabilities.

Guess Who's Touring The SmartHomes?

Scheduled to tour Imagine!’s Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder today: students from Indiana’s Wabash College. Wabash College is SmartHome funder and Imagine! supporter extraordinaire Bob Charles’ alma mater, and he arranged the tour so students currently attending Wabash could see first-hand how technology is changing the lives of individuals with a variety of disabilities.

Guess Who's Touring The SmartHomes?

Scheduled to tour Imagine!’s Charles Family SmartHome today: Simon Lewis, coming all the way from Australia’s Onemda, which provides support options to adults with intellectual disabilities, and Megan Davisson, a Colorado Joint Budget Committee Legislative Specialist with an expertise in services for people with disabilities.

Technology Tuesday

Mike, who receives services from Imagine!, is a wiz when it comes to addition, but subtraction skills are an area that Mike has been working on improving recently. Here you see a video of him using an iPad to generate subtraction problems, and then you see him going to his worksheet to work through the problem. In the span of one class period, Mike now has no trouble with the problem 25 minus 19.

Can’t see the video? Click here.

SmartHome Artists Share Their Work At Expo

Two weekends ago, artists from Imagine!’s CORE/Labor Source (CLS) department (including Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome residents Lana and Rae) sold their original artwork at the Handmade in Colorado Expo in Boulder. A little rain didn’t stop the enthusiasm of the crew! They sold almost $450 worth of fantastic art in total! Lana and Rae were fantastic ambassadors for Imagine! and CLS, getting community members interested in our program and what we work towards in the CLS art room. Congrats to all involved, and special thanks to Bridget Carroll for organizing the event and Cailin Belle Nygren for sharing these photos on our Faceboook page!

Guess Who's Touring The SmartHomes?

Last night, a group of students from the University of Colorado toured Imagine!’s Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome and Imagine!’s 19th St. Group Home. The students, Yiming Lin, Avery Ford, Caressie Palomino, and Thomas Dobrot (in the first picture below, with Imagine!'s SmartHomes guru Greg Wellems) are teaming up to undertake a case study about Imagine! as part of a CU Leadership Studies Capstone course.

The case study is about how Imagine! can face a new reality when it comes to recruiting a workforce. Currently Colorado’s unemployment rate is 4.2%, and Boulder County’s is 3.6% and dropping. As a result, our services are having trouble competing for the workforce to meet the needs. Compounding this challenge, aging baby boomers will be in the market for similar services, further shrinking the available workforce.

The students toured the homes to get a better understanding of our organization, the people we employ, and the duties a Direct Support Professional (DSP). We are excited to have this group of smart, talented, and engaged students provide their perspective on our organization and the challenges we face. We’ll keep you posted as the project moves forward.

Technology Tuesday

For today’s Technology Tuesday, we’d like to offer our congratulations to Meagan Little, who works for Imagine!’s CORE/Labor Source (CLS) department, on being selected as the October 2015 recipient of the Imagine! Excellence in Customer Service Award.

Below is some information from Meagan’s nomination, which demonstrates how she is using technology to improve the lives of those served by Imagine!:

Meagan is someone who consistently goes above and beyond her job requirements, and does so in a humble fashion. She recognizes the importance of quality service to CLS participants and has come up with creative methods to support this knowledge. Meagan has demonstrated an interest in communication and technology as a means of supporting individuals and has come up with and implemented creative ideas in her classes. In her iPad class, she has methodically determined everyone’s interest and ability levels, and designed a unit around "money management" that incorporates these elements. She determined which apps truly teach folks how to manage money, and used her knowledge to determine which ones each individual may potentially be adept at using. This method allows for a more individualized curriculum design and promotes learning on a scale respectful to abilities. This is just one of the amazing reasons Meagan absolutely deserves this award! 

Great work, Meagan, and congratulations on this well-deserved honor!

‘Tis The Season (For Pumpkin Spiced Lattes)

It is Fall, and the folks at Imagine! are “talking” about their favorite autumnal beverage. Check out Lindsey, Bridget, and Rebecca (who lives in Imagine!’s Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome) making the signs for the drink they are craving during an Imagine! CORE/Labor Source sign language class.

Can’t see the video? Click here.