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Michigan's Assistive Technology Program

Public Awareness and Training

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Please use the following to help scroll down this page: About Public Awareness and Training | Webinars | Veterans and Assistive Technology in the Upper Peninsula | Assistive Technology and Long Term Care | Wayne, Oakland and Macomb County Training on AT for Communication in Emergency Situations | Hearing Loss Association (HLA) of Michigan

About Public Awareness and Training

Michigan's Assistive Technology provides the state leadership activities of public awareness and training. Primarily, public awareness is provided through this web site, our Assistive Technology Connections newsletter and our work with Michigan's Centers for Independent Living to help increase their capacity for provision of information and assistance about assistive technology.

Training activities are instructional events designed to increase participants’ knowledge, skills and competencies regarding assistive technology devices and services and/or policy issues. The project has produced and delivered a variety of training sessions on assistive technology.

Some training and awareness activities have been through subcontracts with other organizations throughout the state. Current and recent projects are described below.

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Assistive Technology Issues Web Conferences

The AT Program is offering webinars using a conferencing system from IDEAL group "Online Conferencing Systems" which is designed to be accessible for people who use assistive technology. Announcements about upcoming conferences are made in our email newsletter "Assistive Technology Connections".

2 women with phones and other devices Presenting Hearing Technology Archived Webinar on Hearing Assistive Technology

The conference on Hearing Assistive Technology was presented on November 13, 2009 by members of the Hearing Loss Association of Michigan. Elizabeth Kobylak and Ann Liming are both members of the association who have hearing loss. They are trained Hearing Technology Resources Specialists who provide training and demonstrations through a contract with Michigan's Assistive Technology Program. (Please note, the person who is talking at the beginning is Ann Liming, we accidentally cut off the introductions!)

 

Archived Webinar on Assistive Technology Funding: Medicaid!

boxes connected by arrows "private insurance" to "medicare" to "medicaid"This conference on AT Funding: Medicaid was presented on April 8, 2009 by Amy Maes, Executive Director of the Superior Alliance for Independent Living (SAIL). SAIL works to provide demonstrations, training and public awareness of AT in Michigan's Upper Peninsula through a contract with Michigan's Assistive Technology Program.

Additional information and links provided by the presenter after the conference:

Medicaid provider lists - haven’t found any approved provider lists that include only DME, PT/OT/, etc. however, the various plans in Michigan provide directories that include the information on these approved providers.  I’ve placed the links for the ones that I could find.  Some are actual PDF file directories and some are searchable online directories.

MI MA health plans

Once you know which plan (most operate in specific geographic areas), their individual sites will provide a list of providers in the area that they cover most of these directories also include access to info on DME, home health, PT/OT, etc.

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Veterans and Assistive Technology in the Upper Peninsula

The Superior Alliance for Independent Living Center (SAIL) has received a subcontract to provide public awareness in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Veterans with Disabilities, their families and service providers. Please also see the page they created about AT and Veterans. SAIL provided training for the Centers for Independent Living on this topic in the winter of 2008.

Contact information:
Superior Alliance for Independent Living
129 W, Baraga, Suite H
Marquette, MI 49855
(906) 228-5744
(800) 379-7245

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AT and Long Term Care

The program expanded and updated the "small changes, Big Differences" assistive technology training and kits. 4 kits have been developed to be placed at organizations throughout the state These sites will provide both training and device demonstrations using the kit. Sites are:

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Wayne, Oakland and Macomb County Training on AT for Communication in picture of an AAC deviceEmergency Situations

The AT Program provided funding for a focus group in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties last year. The group identified resources and unmet needs for AT. They recommended more information be available through training and device demonstrations to help people with a variety of disability characteristics to communicate in emergency situations. Several training sessions have been offered in the area over the past two years.

For further information call: Cathy McAdam,
MDRC's AT Program Coordinator (313) 563-1412.

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Hearing Loss Association of Michigan (HLA-MI)

Michigan's AT Program was able to revive a program we had funded over 10 years ago: the Hearing Technology Resource Specialist(HTR Specialists) program. HLA-MI has trained over 30 volunteers across the state to educate their local communities about hearing assistive technology. Training is available on the use of devices to help people who are hard of hearing. Please contact htrs@hearingloss-mi.org for more information and to schedule a training session for your group!

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