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Design, Technology , and Engineering benefitting individuals with disabilities and older adults in the local community
January 15, 2020    
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Perspectives is the newsletter of the Stanford course,
Perspectives in Assistive Technology.

Bridging the Gap between Consumers and Products in Rehabilitation Medicine

This issue invites you to attend the next class session and encourages your participation in the course's Assistive Technology Faire.

Perspectives in Assistive Technology is a Winter Quarter Stanford course - entering its fourteenth year - that explores the design, development, and use of assistive technology that benefits people with disabilities and older adults. It consists of semi-weekly classroom discussions; lectures by notable professionals, clinicians, and assistive technology users; tours of local medical, clinical, and engineering facilities; student project presentations and demonstrations; an Assistive Technology Faire; and a film screening.

Course News

Course Statistics - A record number of students - forty-seven - have now enrolled in the course: twenty-seven pursuing team projects, thirteen opting to work on smaller projects, and six attending lectures. Four vendors have already registered for the Assistive Technology Faire on Thursday, February 20th.

Next class session - Thursday, January 16th at 4:30pm

photo of Debbie


Bridging the Gap between Consumers and Products in Rehabilitation Medicine
Deborah E. Kenney, MS, OTR/L
Stanford University, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, and Foothill College

Abstract: Occupational therapists (OTs) are critical players in the transdisciplinary rehabilitation team. An OT's job is to help people, who because of illness, injury, or aging, have experienced a decrease in their ability to function independently in the areas of daily living, work, play, and leisure. Treatment by an OT often includes the prescription of assistive technology. This talk will focus on the aspects necessary to effectively fit the technology to the individual and support the use of this technology in the home environment, and the impediments to providing this. She will be joined by a panel of stroke survivors: Albert A. and Michael W. who will discuss their challenges and the assistive technology devices they have used.

Biosketch: Deborah Kenney has been an occupational therapist working with stroke survivors and hand patients for the last 27 years. She currently splits her time, as a researcher, between Stanford and the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. She has collaborated on numerous design / development research projects with both engineers as well as with graduate, medical, and undergraduate students. Her work includes testing and integrating technology into the rehabilitation setting with individuals with Parkinson's Disease, CVA (stroke), spinal cord injury, hand and orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation, and balance problems related to aging. Ms. Kenney currently works with researching problems of hand rehabilitation and treatment related to post surgical pain and thumb arthritis and continues to develop novel treatments for post-stroke survivors privately in the community.

You are invited to attend this and all other class sessions - Class sessions will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30 to 5:50pm and are open to the greater Stanford community. You need not be a Stanford student to attend, no signup is required, and there is no charge. The full schedule can be found here

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Same classroom! - The course will be held in classroom 282 in the Lathrop Library located at the corner of Lasuen Mall and Serra Mall, adjacent to Memorial Auditorium and the Oval. It seats as many as 150 people in a flexible and accessible space. Here is a webpage with maps, directions, and photos.

Photo of the front of Lathrop Library
clip art of a faire

You are invited to participate in the Assistive Technology Faire - This eighth annual course event will provide an opportunity for students and community members to get an up-close look at a variety of assistive technology devices and learn about available services. Users of assistive technology products as well as small companies and agencies serving individuals with disabilities and older adults are encouraged to bring assistive technology devices and information to display, demonstrate, and discuss. Please browse to the Call for Assistive Technology Faire Participants webpage and contact me if you would like to be a part of this event as a user or vendor of assistive technology products or services. Everyone is welcome to attend the Faire.

The Faire will start at 4:30pm on Thursday, February 20th in the Lathrop Library, Classroom 282.

Here is the program, slides, and Matteo's, Krystina's & my photos from last year's Faire.

Upcoming class sessions:

Upcoming local events:

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SOMArts proudly announces the second exhibition in the 10th Curatorial Residency season, Recoding CripTech. Curated by Vanessa Chang and Lindsey D. Felt, Recoding CripTech reimagines enshrined notions of what a body can be or do through creative technologies, and how it can move, look, or communicate.

Working with a broad understanding of technology, from prosthetic tools to the built environment, this multidisciplinary community art exhibition explores how disability - and artists who identify as such - can redefine design, aesthetics, and the relationship between user and interface. Exhibiting artists engage with technology in manifold ways from conception to production and beyond. As the term "crip" reclaims the word for disability culture and recognizes disability as a cultural and political identity, so too do artists hack technologies to make them more accessible and inclusive.

When: Opening Thursday evening, January 23rd (6 to 9pm) and running through Tuesday, February 25th
Where: SOMA Arts Cultural Center - 934 Brannan St., San Francisco
Information: More information

Other

Support the course - Funding in any amount for the course and student projects is always welcomed. Monetary gifts support approved project expenses, administrative costs, honoraria for guest lecturers, and the end-of-term celebration. Refer to the Course and Project Support webpage for more information.

Email questions, comments, or suggestions - Please email me if you have general questions, comments, or suggestions regarding the course. Thank you again for your interest.

Dave

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