Archive for the 'Advocation' Category

Tim’s Place: Restaurant Owned By Person with Down Syndrome

Published on March 8, 2013 in Advocation and Developmental Disabilities. 1 Comment Tags: Customized Employment, self employment, Tim's Place.

So I was just ending up my workday, and I came across a video that gave me an awesome dose of positive energy.

Here is the video:

So, of course I had to look a little more into this… Here is a link to the restaurant’s webpage: http://www.timsplaceabq.com

Tim’s positive attitude flies through this video, and you can tell why his business is successful. It also seems that he has a great support team, which is important for any business.

The restaurant is in Albuquerque, New Mexico, so if you are there, support this restaurant!

Good luck Tim, and keep up the great work!

Also, next time I am in Albuquerque, I fully expect a hug…

by Justin Blumhorst

Dragon Success Story for Person with Multiple Sclerosis #MS

Published on February 18, 2013 in Adaptive Technology, Advocation and Physical Disabilities. Closed Tags: Computer Training, Dragon Naturally Speaking, Multiple Sclerosis, success story.

I just was reading through my Dragon NaturallySpeaking Newsletter for February, and I came across a great article in it. It talks about how Evan Upchurch, a former Microsoft Employee, uses Dragon NaturallySpeaking to help make computers more accessible for him to use.

It talks about how he was able to really concentrate on his writing, and not his typing. Evan said that like in many other jobs, Microsoft had a high volume of emails. Using Dragon, he was much better at getting back to emails. I specifically appreciated his quote, “At Microsoft, email is lifeblood. If you can’t do email, you do’t exist.”

To check out the full article, check this link out:

http://www.nuance.com/ucmprod/groups/dragon/@web-enus/documents/collateral/nc_019870.pdf?elq=712b7f4b330247c4a6974ab342817552&elqCampaignId=677

Capabilities provides training on Dragon NaturallySpeaking in our Computer Assistance and Training Service. Contact us today to find out how we can help you use Dragon and many other accessibility programs.

by Justin Blumhorst

Education Report

Published on November 6, 2012 in Adaptive Technology, Advocation, Dayton Office, Offices and Services. Closed Tags: Capabilities Public Relations, Education Report.

Recently, Belinda Bockrath, Southern Area Manager, and I were interviewed on the Education Report with Gary Honert on a few radio stations near Dayton, OH.

Luckily, Justin Draper, the new Driver’s Education Manager at Capabilities, has a knack for doing some video editing. He kindly put together the audio from the event into some great videos. Here they are for your viewing pleasure.

First Segment

Second Segment

Third Segment

by Justin Blumhorst

Capabilities Staff Interviewed

Published on October 10, 2012 in Advocation, Dayton Office and Partner. Closed Tags: Belinda Bockrath, Public Relations, Radio Interview.

Here is a picture of station where we recorded at.

Just wanted to let everyone know that Belinda Bockrath, our Southwest Area Manager, and I were recently interviewed for a few Clear Channel stations. We are going to be on the Education Report, with Gary Honnert. Here are the stations, times, and dates that you can listen to us:

Date: Sunday, October 14th, 2012
Station and Time:

Mix 107.7 FM – 7:00 AM
Big 106.5 FM – 7:30 AM
94.5 LITE FM – 7:30 AM

We talked for about a half hour about a lot of interesting things, so please be sure to tune in!

If you can’t listen in at any of these times or are out of their coverage area, I am trying to get an audio version of this that we can share out to everyone.

by Justin Blumhorst

Interesting New Design for Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles

Published on September 27, 2012 in Adaptive Technology and Physical Disabilities. Closed Tags: Green Vehicle, Joystick Kenguru, Kenguru, Wheelchair Car.

I received an email from one of our Career Consultants today, and she sent me this picture:

So, naturally, I had to find out more about this vehicle…

It turns out that the Kenguru was actually developed in Hungary, but they assemble units for the United States in Pflugerville, TX (near Austin).

Here is a quick video about the car where you can see how it works.

Here is a more full feature video that talks about the company that makes them in the US (Community Cars), the CEO of that company (Stacy Zoern), and information regarding the joystick driven version that they are creating.

They are actually still trying to find funding for the joystick model. They are crowd sourcing the development through Rockethub. Here is a widget where you can find out about the current funding and get a link to the full Rockethub page.

Here is the website where you can find out more about the vehicle here in the US:

www.kenguru.com

You can also follow the Kenguru vehicle on Facebook. Find their page here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kenguru/252668804823810

by Justin Blumhorst

Android PoliceHulu Plus, HBO GO, And MAX GO All Updated With Closed Caption Support

Published on September 24, 2012 in Advocation. Closed Tags: Android Accessibility, Closed Captioning.

Check out this link for some great news about how a few streaming services on Android now offer closed captioning. http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/09/20/hulu-plus-hbo-go-and-max-go-all-updated-with-closed-caption-support/

by Justin Blumhorst

The Future…

Published on September 22, 2012 in Adaptive Technology and Low Vision/Blind Issues. Closed Tags: Self Driving Car.

So if Google gets this to work for the masses, accessibility issues for people who cannot drive vehicles in rural areas may be a thing of the past.

by Justin Blumhorst

From Perception to Perfection

Published on September 21, 2012 in Advocation and Low Vision/Blind Issues. Closed Tags: Christine Ha, Master Chef, visual impairment.

Check out this link for a great story about an individual who is legally blind, but has overcome that to be a winner on a reality television show. http://www.aisquared.com/blog/2012/09/from-perception-to-perfection/

by Justin Blumhorst