Technology Tuesday

This week's Tech Tuesday finds us at Imagine!’s CORE/Labor Source (CLS) Longmont site, where two groups of CLS Assistive Technology Instructors recently met with representatives of Imagine!’s IT department to build and develop curricula for CLS classes. This collaborative effort is dedicated to developing tools for CLS Cause and Effect classes, Communication classes, as well as improving task prompting techniques.

The team also discussed ways to better utilize technology to improve employment opportunities employment for the people we serve. Stay tuned for more to come from this dynamic team!

Technology Tuesday

Today we’d like to offer our sincere gratitude to the Safeway Foundation for its donation of $2,500 to Imagine!. The funds will be used to build upon Imagine!’s CORE/Labor Source department’s use of iPads to support the employment goals of people who accept services from Imagine!.

How can iPads support employment? Check out the story below, about Kendra, who accepts services from Imagine!, to see one example.

A couple of years back, Kendra served an internship at Boulder Community Hospital. Like many of us, Kendra sometimes struggled to stay focused on her responsibilities. 

To overcome that challenge, Kendra was equipped with a smart tablet containing software providing task prompting for her job duties. When Kendra lost focus or was unsure of her next steps, the task prompter was right there to offer simple, step-by-step guidance through complex job activities. 

Using the task prompting system opened a new world of possibilities for Kendra. In years past, she would have required the constant attention of a job coach or a Direct Support Professional in order to maintain any kind of employment. The time and resources needed to support individuals with needs similar to Kendra’s would have likely been a barrier to her ever getting and keeping a job. Instead, through the use of a task prompter, she was able to become more independent and more capable of fulfilling her job responsibilities with a decreasing amount of supervision. 

Kendra's task prompter

Thank you, Safeway Foundation, for supporting your community and for helping to create more opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities to find meaningful employment.

Technology Tuesday

Sometimes it is the simple things that make all the difference. Here’s a picture of Charles Family SmartHome resident Anthony spending an afternoon catching up with family and news via social media while also engaging in range of motion exercises.

Shopping For Mother's Day

This past Saturday Charles Family SmartHome staff member Victoria Warren joined Emily, Stacey, and Loren on a trip for Mother’s Day shopping. Everyone enjoyed getting out and had a fun day with family and friends on Sunday.

Technology Tuesday

A couple of weeks ago, the Imagine! Foundation hosted an event to recognize some of its generous donors. Highlighting the evening were hands-on demonstrations of a variety of ways Imagine! is using technology to improve the lives of the individuals we serve. The demonstrations were accompanied by short videos with brief explanations of the technology. Here’s one of the videos, showing how we use “Pirate’s Cove,” a computer-based pirate-themed hangman game created by Imagine! staff members to increase literacy skills among the people we serve.

Can’t see the video? Click here. 

Technology Tuesday

Last Wednesday evening, the Imagine! Foundation hosted an event to recognize some of its generous donors. Highlighting the evening were hands-on demonstrations of a variety of ways Imagine! is using technology to improve the lives of the individuals we serve. The demonstrations were accompanied by short videos with brief explanations of the technology. Here’s one of the videos, showing how we use AbleLink’s Visual Impact Software.

Can’t see the video? Click here. 

Thank You, SmartHome Volunteers

Imagine!'s Bob and Judy Charles Smart Home has some fantastic volunteers that we would like to recognize. We are extremely grateful for the volunteer base at the home. They make it possible for the residents to participate in many different activities during the weekday afternoons.

On Mondays we have volunteers Dana Taylor and Courtney Russel. The ladies alternate Mondays to do arts and crafts and physical activity with the residents. Dana enjoys talking walks with Lana and John. Also, Dana and Courtney both bring in craft ideas to do with the residents. During the holidays visitors enjoy seeing all the cute holiday decorations that Dana and Courtney made with the individuals we serve!

On Tuesdays the Rusk family visits the home. They come every Tuesday and play board games with the residents. The Rusk family is very special to the Bob and Judy Charles Smart Home. Not only do they play board games with the residents, they bring much laughter and fun to the individuals we serve. They also speak Spanish which allows for Johnny to participate in Tuesday night activities and be able to communicate. A memorable event the Rusks facilitated was karaoke night. Everyone had such a blast singing and dancing together.

The Rusk Family volunteering at Imagine!'s Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome

On Wednesdays Soumya helps with technology in the home. She focuses her efforts on helping the residents stay up to date with their budgeting ledgers on their computers. The residents always ask when she is coming back so they can have her help them. She also has started helping Mandy with her specific tech goals of learning how to check her PayPal account and other internet sites. Soumya has also been helping Mandy use her iPad more and show her all the cool things she can do on it.

On Thursdays we have Nicole and her therapy dog Piper. They are a favorite in the home. All the individuals love having Piper come weekly and give her treats. Johnny especially gets a big smile on his face when Piper is around. He loves petting her for long periods of time and joking around with her pretending to give her treats. Rebecca really loves teaching Piper new tricks and giving her treats when Piper performs the trick!

Nicole, Piper, and John

Johnny gives Piper a well deserved belly rub

On Fridays we have our music volunteer Paul. He is still new to volunteering, but John has taken a liking to him. They both will “jam” together. Paul will play his guitar while John plays his keyboard. SmartHome staff members were impressed to see that John already knows how to play a lot of the songs in Paul’s music book.