National Assistive Technology Act Data System

Statewide AT Program (Information to be listed in national State AT Program Directory)

Lead Agency

Implementing Entity

Program Director and Other Contacts

Person Responsible for completing this form if other than Program Director

Certifying Representative

G. Notes:

If a number is reported in E you must provide a description of the reason the individuals are excluded from the performance measure:

G. Notes:

I. Notes:

G. Notes:

C. Description of Training Activities

Describe innovative one high-impact assistance training activity conducted during the reporting period:

The Art of the AAC Assessment Karissa Riter, M.S., CCC-SLP, ATP, Wendell Fosters Campus presented as part of the KATS Summer AT Conference. The session discussed conducting an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) assessment to help determine the best communication method(s) for an individual. This included discussion of the knowledge required of various areas including language skills, cognition, positioning, sensory, vision, hearing, etc. This session also covered how the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Participation Model (2004) is used in conjunction with a capability assessment to help make decisions about appropriate AAC. There were 52 individuals in attendance, including staff from KY OVR, universities, secondary schools, ATPs, and community rehab providers (CRPs)

Briefly describe one training activity related to transition conducted during the reporting period:

Jacqui Kearns, Ed.D presented “Don’t let them leave without it!” at the Summer AT Conference. Communication is essential for participation in all of life from social engagement & friendships, literacy & learning, to decision-making & safety. Yet, many students with complex needs leave preschool, elementary school, middle school, and even high school without this necessity. While communication is multi-modal, AAC is an essential component for developing and maintaining relationships. This session discussed advocacy tips and guidance to ensure students have access to their AAC devices during and after school, etc. There were 52 individuals in attendance, including staff from KY OVR, universities, secondary schools, ATPs, and community rehab providers (CRPs)

Briefly describe one training activity related to Information and Communication Technology accessibility:

Using Microsoft Word to Create More Accessible Documents Microsoft Word has several features that help document creators and editors to create more accessible documents. And, more accessible Word documents create more accessible PDF files as well. Rob Carr, of Oklahoma ABLE Tech’s technology accessibility program provided training on tools and techniques in Microsoft Word to make sure that your documents are more accessible. Training was part of the KATS Network annual Summer AT Conference. Presentation included discussion and demonstration how Word supports creating accessible document titles, properly structured headings, properly structured lists, text equivalents for visual elements, more accessible data tables, using color more carefully, and providing descriptive text for links. Participants left the session with more confidence that their Word documents are more accessible to people with disabilities. There were 56 individuals in attendance, including staff from KY OVR, universities, secondary schools and community rehab providers (CRPs)

E. Notes:

B. Description of Technical Assistance

Describe Innovative one high-impact assistance activity that is not related to transition:

KATS program coordinator provided technical assistance to the KY office of Unemployment Insurance that included an accessibility review of a new web portal that they were having developed to allow individuals to file and manage UI claims. KATS recruited two staff from the OVR Rehab Tech Branch (one a screen reader user) to assist with testing. Testing included programmatic/automated testing and manual user testing/review of the site, including registering, logging in and filing a UI claim, managing a claim and editing user profile. Identified issues were recorded and reported back to Sandy Harp, Executive Director of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet and communicated with the site developers. Calls with the site developers were conducted to discuss issues identified during testing. A final report was sent to site developers with suggested course(s) of action needing to be taken to remediate accessibility barriers. Expected outcome being that the site/portal would meet Se

Breifly describe one technical assistance activity related to transition conducted during the reporting period:

C. Notes:

Public Awareness Narratives

Describe in detail at least one and no more than two innovative or high-impact public awareness activities conducted during this reporting period. Highlight the content/focus of the awareness information shared, the mechanism used to disseminate or communicate the awareness information, the numbers and/or types of individuals reached, and positive outcomes resulting from the activity. If quantative numbers are available regarding the reach of the activity, please provide those: however, quantative data is not required.

1. Public Awareness Activity Estimated Number Reached Newsletters 11574 Printed Materials 0 Listsrvs / Blogs / Social Media 36916 Internet Information 90814 Other Electronic Media 1675 PSA / Radio / TV 0 Presentation / Expo / Conference 58 Total 141037 Social media marketing was a strong focus during this reporting year. Facebook following tripled on our reuse page on Facebook. We highlighted partnership and by linking to our partners (Volunteer groups, nonprofits, DME suppliers) were able to drive more views to our page. Calls for action resulted in an exponential growth in certain post shares. In a time when gathering in person was mostly disallowed due to Covid the social media push was timely and effective. Highlighting partners has also aided in cementing those relationships and the reciprocal nature of social media was experienced as partners shared our posts and also highlighted our work.

2. Our partner site in northern Kentucky, Redwood Assistive Technology and Resource Center, celebrated National Assistive Technology Awareness Day with clients and staff at Redwood using many of their favorite AT items in their program rooms and publicizing the event on Facebook. This event was amplified by social media shares from the Coordinating Center.

Notes:

Overview of Coordination/Collaboration Activities

B. State Improvements

1. In one or two sentences, describe the outcome. Be as specific as possible about exactly what changed during this reporting period as a result of the AT program's initiative.

Provided technical assistance to Office for Vocational Rehabilitation and Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. Through our work with this team, KATS Coordinator served as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for accessible ICT. Areas of improvement were identified both on the cabinet level and agency (OVR) level to address accessibility of its Information and Communication Technologies as it pertains to both internal (employees) and external (the consumers served).

2. In one or two sentences, describe the written policies, practices, and procedures that have been developed and implemented as a result of the AT program's initiative. Include information about how to obtain the full documents, such as a Web site address or e-mail address of a contact person, but do not include the full documents here. (If there are no written polices, practices and procedures, explain why.)

Early successes include OVR hiring a dedicated Accessibility Coordinator through its Rehab Tech Branch. EWCD has also posted a position for a Cabinet level Accessible Communications Developer.

3. What was the primary area of impact for this state improvement outcome?

Technology (ICT accessibility and AT