Teresa Westerbur – The Ultimate Assistive Technology Lab: Innovative Solutions for Functional Independence and Communication

Outline

Hands-On Lab: Today’s Best of Tech

• Explore cutting-edge technology for your patients
  • Virtual reality
  • Augmented reality
  • Wearables
  • Robotics
  • Eye-gaze computer access
  • Head tracking devices
  • Switches for scanning and writing
  • Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)
  • Wheelchair devices
  • Mounting systems
  • Keyboards and mice
  • Apps

How to Assess Assistive Technology Needs for A Variety of Impairments

• Sensory impairment
  • Vision
  • Hearing
  • Touch
• Motor impairment
• Loss of limb or deformity
• Writing and communication challenges
• Executive function
• Spasticity
• Tone
• Tremor
• Ataxia
• Nerve degeneration

Hands-On Lab: Innovative Assistive Technology Solutions You Can Use To:

• Empower patients to achieve their goals
• Increase functional independence
• Manage sensory and motor impairments
• Enhance writing and communication
• Reduce spasticity and tremors
• Enhance performance of ADLs
• Accommodate for tone
• Manage ataxia
• Increase mobility
• Enhance academic performance and productivity
• Improve executive function

Budget Your Way to Better Outcomes

• Creative, outside-the-box solutions
• Low tech/no tech interventions
• Easy environmental modifications
• Task modifications
• How to secure funding for assistive technology
• Funding support resources

Develop Comprehensive Solutions for Common Diagnoses

• Cerebral palsy
• Lou Gehrig’s
• Muscular dystrophy
• Spinal muscular atrophy
• Stroke
• Parkinson’s
• Limb deformity
• Congenital disorders
• Blindness and vision loss
• Deafness and hearing loss
• Learning disabilities
• Developmental delays

Don’t Leave Money on The Table!

• Coding and billing updates for assistive technology
• Justify therapy with the right progress measures
• Avoid denials and audits with these tips

Case Studies: Put Knowledge to Practice

• Case study 1: Develop an advanced plan of care for a student with cerebral palsy
• Case study 2: Recommend communication options for an adult with ALS
• Case study 3: Overcome cost and environmental barriers to effective strategy implementation
• Case study 4: Think outside the box – identify resources and design a therapy plan for a patient who falls outside the norm