Programs in
Assistive Technology Education
for End-Users in Europe

Name of the organisation
    IL/IA CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING
Address
    736 Federal Street
    Davenport IA 52803
    USA
    Telephone: +319 3241460
    Fax: +319 3241036
Key Person of the organisation
    Susan A. Sacco, director of programs

This organisation is a provider of social and/or health services mainly involved in training/education of end-users, providing information/advice, and public awareness raising. Training activities began 5-10 years ago and are addressed to end-users (persons with disabilities, the elderly, families and personal assistants) but also to professionals. In these activities, AT is considered a strong support for independent living and the issues of independent living and coping better with disability are also covered.

The educational activities carried out over the past 5 years can be classified as follows:

  • non-residential training courses, addressed to a target of end-users (persons with disabilities, the elderly, families);
  • seminars, in the sole form of topical workshops, mostly addressed to a target of teenagers and personal assistants;
  • information activities, represented mainly by conferences, round tables, mass media coverage, and exhibitions, addressed to a wide, mainly professional target (rehabilitation and education professionals, technologists, administrative officers, social workers);
  • activities addressed to the individual, in the form of peer counselling, information services, advocacy, self-help, addressed to end-users of all ages.

The role of AT is relevant to the first three categories mentioned above, while it is considered important or very important in the case of activities addressed to the individual.

TRAINING COURSES AND SEMINARS

Educational activities carried out over the past five years have been listed, and a general description is given below.
Title of the initiative
Typology
Year
Duration

(in hrs.)
Number partic.
Target
Number teachers
Self Determination non-resid. train. c.
1994
5
50
pers. disab., fam.
4
Self Determination non-resid. train. c.
1994
5
20
pers. disab., fam.
4
Self Determination/ System change non-resid. train. c.
1995
4
56
 pers. disab., fam.
1
Self Determination/ System change non-resid. train. c.
1995
4
28
 pers. disab., fam.
1
Self Determination/ System change non-resid. train. c.
1996
4
35
 pers. disab., fam.
2
IPAT - Assistive Technology Workshop top. work.
1996
3
18
pers. disab., elderly, fam.
1
IPAT - Assistive Technology Workshop top. work.
1997
3
24
pers. disab., elderly, fam.
1
ADA Business Sense top. work.
1997
5
13
other
3
ADA for Consumerstop. work.
1996
6
40
pers. with disab.
4
ADA for Consumerstop. work.
1997
6
42
pers. with disab.
5

Selection

All these initiatives were publicised through leaflets, fliers and brochures, in addition to radio and TV advertisements. The information was sent out to the organisation's address database, user organisations, family associations and support groups. No special criteria were adopted for selecting participants, and teachers and tutors belong to the organisation itself, but were also chosen for the their level of expertise, knowledge of an object, and for their popularity. Teachers and tutors with disabilities were preferred, and chosen both for their expertise and presentation skills.

Organisation

The activities were held in different places that were defined and found each time; these were chosen for their general comfort, paying attention to overall accessibility and for its proximity to public transportation services.

Organisation was comprehensive, including personal assistance when needed, assistance with travel reservation and accommodation, coffee-break and lunch break on-site, as well as welcome and farewell sessions. Participants were charged a token enrolment fee of US $5-10. During this phase preparatory meetings were held for the teachers to co-ordinate their different roles.

Implementation

The methods used for delivering contents embrace a wide range of lesson and group techniques (brainstorming, simulation, role-playing), supported by educational aids (overhead projection, video, handouts for the participants) and accompanied by hands-on sessions, mainly in the form of presentation/demonstration of products and individual use of them. The two pedagogical key-words chosen are good presentation and discussion, reflecting the two crucial aspects of delivering contents and soliciting public reaction. Information on participants was collected through their initial self-presentation, which also involved them expressing what they hoped to learn from the workshop. This information was then used to readjust contents on the basis of the real target, but also to redefine the objectives of the particular educational activity carried out. Teachers were required to be flexible, and if changes were to be made these were decided during breaks. A final questionnaire and an open final group discussion were used to collect feedback from participants; this information is used to readjust the contents and methods of the next edition of the same course, but also to readjust the organisation's entire educational activity, and refine its objectives. The participants are added to mailing lists for future workshops.