Assistive Technology

COVID-19 is a long-lasting and complex disaster situation involving a public health emergency and an economic crisis, with particularly acute impacts for older adults, people with disabilities, and others with certain health conditions. States are responding with changes in policies and procedures to ensure individuals have access to public benefit programs (e.g. Medicare Savings Programs, LIS/Extra Help, SNAP, and LIHEAP). ADvancing States has a new brief highlighting where states are with benefit access and enrollment since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results in the brief comes from the 2021 ADvancing States Membership Survey: COVID-19 Benefits Access and Enrollment, a follow-up to the 2020 survey.

A panel of State Units on Aging senior leadership discuss their use, and the impact of, Joy for All robotic Companion Pets. They share the intended use cases, distribution methods, volume of pets distributed (if appropriate), and specific stories of impact. Leaders also speak to their plans regarding the ongoing use of Companion Pets to combat social isolation and loneliness post-pandemic.

The Assisted Living Research Institute has created a resource page detailing comprehensive research and insights on medical alert systems. The webpage provides a practical, clear overview of assistive technology options for fall prevention. On the page, there are also sections dedicated to helping individuals learn more about medical alert systems and compare them.

NVISION Eye Centers have created a resource page designed to increase access to information on various methods, features, and tools that can be used to improve internet accessibility for the visually impaired. The webpage provides a practical, clear overview of assistive technology options including built-in computer tools, internet browser extensions, and phone apps. There is also a list of references provided on the webpage for independent research.

The Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (AG WG) has published a First Public Working Draft of W3C Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 3.0. They are seeking input from evaluators, developers, designers, project managers, policy makers, people with disabilities, and others — particularly on the structure and the draft conformance model.

ACL recently released the Annual Report on Centers for Independent Living for program year (PY) 2019. CILs offer support for individuals with disabilities who want to live independently in their communities. The CIL program provides financial assistance to local CILs and other CBOs. This annual report includes data from CIL annual program performance reports, federal program staff oversight and compliance activities and publicly available information on grantee websites between 9/30/18 - 9/29/19

The Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Conference is hosted annually by ADvancing States (formerly known as NASUAD). This event highlights best practices from across the country in home and community-based services. The conference includes federal, state, and local policymakers as well as those who administer, manage, and deliver waiver and other HCBS programs. This link contains all of the slide presentations from the 2019 HCBS Conference.

This report explores innovations that have the potential to improve quality of life for Americans who live with physical or cognitive burdens due to aging or disability. The report identifies six opportunities for emerging technologies to help Americans live longer, healthier, and more independent lives. These six areas are: Key activities of daily living, Cognition, Communication and social connectivity, Personal mobility, Transportation, and Access to healthcare.

While faced with new challenges, reduced budgets, and growing populations requiring more services, states are stronger than ever, and the work they do is more effective than ever in reaching individuals and addressing their needs. The National Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Conference 2018 highlights these achievements, allowing states to share best practices, present unique partnerships, and recognize the work of their peers.

The AAHD Health Promotion Resource Center for People with Disabilities is intended to provide visitors with current and valuable information about multiple aspects of health promotion and wellness for people with disabilities.