Free App for Searching Autism Apps!

Check it out! The EmergingEDTech blog recommends a FREE app at iTunes today. Apps for Autism is a tool that provides an easy way to search and find apps that may be of benefit to individuals with autism or other special needs. App listings include screenshots for iPhone/iPad, reviews, and an email-to-a-friend funcition. The blog says, “This is a really top notch resource and we highly recommend it.”

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A Call for User/Experts- make a difference and earn a stipend for your time and expertise!

A Call for User/Experts – make a difference and earn a stipend for your time and expertise!

The Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD) is creating a new User/Expert Lab in our Boston headquarters and is currently seeking to recruit user/experts to be part of our participant database and on-call for design research projects.

A user/expert can be anyone who has developed natural experience in dealing with the challenges of our physical, information, communication or policy environment. Specifically we are looking for candidates with a variety of physical, sensory and brain-based functional limitations including the incremental systemic changes of aging.

Participants will help to review the usability and accessibility of anything from physical environments to products, services and new technologies. Many different techniques will be used as each project is different. Some projects may take just one hour while others may involve participation over a longer period of time, cash stipends will be based on the type and length of a project. There is no need to have previous experience.

The Lab will have a physical space at IHCD headquarters in downtown Boston but some research could be done on location if the particular project demands it. We would work to coordinate timing with your availability. If you are interested in becoming a part of our User/Expert Database please email UserExpertLab@IHCDesign.org or fill out an application form

Your information is held strictly private and it is not released to any other parties. It is our intent to cultivate a relationship with a diverse set of users.

 

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Feasability Study for Durable Medical Equipment in MA

Do you have durable medical equipment such as a wheelchair, tub seat, hospital bed or walker that you no longer need and would like to pass on to someone else who needs it?

The MA Legislature is considering a feasability study for recycling durable medical equipment in MA. The House has accepted an amendment to HB 4127 for the study.   If you think this is something we should consider in MA please contact your state Senator to see if he or she would sponsor an amendment as well.  Also thank Representatives Jones (No Reading), Peterson (Grafton), Poirier (No. Attleboro), Hill (Ipswich) and deMacedo (Plymouth) for their support in the House. The legislative session is winding down so do it today!

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Effects of Medicare Bidding for Power Wheelchairs

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Separate Benefit Bill for Complex Rehab Launched in House

Separate Benefit Bill for Complex Rehab Launched in House

H.R. 4378 would formally distinguish complex rehab technology and its provision from DME.

By Laurie WatanabeMay 02, 2012

It’s official: The bill to finally and formally define complex rehab technology (CRT) – and to establish a separate Medicare benefit category for it – has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill – H.R. 4378 – was introduced April 16 by Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), a member of the House Ways & Means committee. The bill is named “Ensuring Access to Quality Complex Rehabilitation Technology Act of 2012.”

Don Clayback, executive director of NCART, called the bill’s introduction “a major milestone,” and added in a news statement, “With legislation now introduced, we will begin a much broader effort to secure additional sponsors and work to get the bill attached to a larger piece of legislation and passed. The Separate Benefit Category Steering Committee will continue to provide direction on the legislative activities and decisions as the bill moves ahead.”

The steering committee comprises the American Association for Homecare, the Clinician Task Force, NCART, NRRTS, RESNA and United Spinal Association. The bill’s introduction coincided with the complex rehab technology industry’s annual Continuing Education & Legislative Advocacy (CELA) event, during which industry members and consumers met with legislators and their staffers on Capitol Hill.

Among this year’s action points during CELA, Clayback said, was generating interest in a companion bill for the Senate.

A Definition, An Explanation, A Need

H.R. 4378 begins by defining CRT and the people who benefit from it.

The bill acknowledges that people “with disabilities and significant medical conditions…experience physical, functional and cognitive challenges every day.” Examples of those conditions are listed: cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, ALS and spina bifida.

The bill also lists examples of CRT: “complex rehabilitation power wheelchairs, highly configurable manual wheelchairs, adaptive seating and positioning systems, and other specialized equipment, such as standing frames and gait trainers.” These kinds of products, the bill explains, “enable individuals to maximize their function and minimize the extent and costs of their medical care.”

Consumer access to CRT is being limited by “inadequate coding, coverage and payment policies,” which also stifle the development of new CRT products, the bill states.

“Current Medicare policies often fail to adequately address the needs of individuals with disabilities, to consider the range of services furnished by complex rehabilitation technology suppliers, and to recognize and account for the complexity and unique nature of the equipment itself,” H.R. 4378 says.

CRT Is Distinct from DME

The bill goes on to explain that limited access to CRT is largely being caused by CRT being defined, from a payment perspective, as durable medical equipment (DME).

“CRT items serve patients with serious medical conditions that require a broader range of services and specialized personnel than what is required for standard DME,” the bill says. “Customizable CRT items also require more resources in the areas (of) configuring, training and education to ensure appropriate use and to optimize results.

“The Medicare program should recognize the specialized nature of the CRT service delivery model, the required supporting processes and technology-related CRT services, the credentials and competencies needed by the providing suppliers and critical staff, and the related costs involved. A separate benefit category for CRT items would allow for unique coding, coverage, and payment rules and policies that address the unique needs of persons with disabilities and acknowledge the extensive service component.”

An Orthotics & Prosthetics Precedent

Creating a separate benefit category for a highly specialized category of medical equipment has precedent, the bill adds.

“Congress has created a separate and distinct benefit category for orthotics and prosthetics (custom braces and artificial limbs), which have their own medical policies, accreditation standards, and payment calculations,” H.R. 4378 notes.

And Congress and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have previously acknowledged the unique characteristics of CRT by removing some CRT items from Medicare’s ongoing competitive bidding program for DME.

The bill includes a list of HCPCS codes that would be officially recognized as CRT. The CRT designation would not apply to adaptive automotive equipment or orthotics and prosthetics.

Medical conditions that would typically require CRT use would be defined as “Congenital disorders, progressive or degenerative neuromuscular diseases, or injuries or trauma that result in significant physical or functional needs and capacities.”

About the Author

Laurie Watanabe is the editor of Mobility Management. She can be reached at (949) 265-1573 or lwatanabe@1105media.com.

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Check Out the Latest MassMATCH News Quarterly!

Read what’s new to borrow in the Device Loan Library; get IPad funding advice; learn how the Wheelchair Reuse Program is empowering one Massachusetts resident; find out why new special educators in Massachusetts will soon be AAC/AT literate! Check out the spring edition of the MassMATCH News Quarterly!

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Wheeled Mobility Repairs

It seems at least once a week I get a call or hear a story about someone who uses a wheelchair or scooter that is facing weeks for a repair.  The most recent one was a man over 60 who lives in his own apartment and his wheelchair needed a motor repaired. He has spent the last 2 weeks in bed because he doesn’t have a back up chair and is facing several more weeks in bed because it will take that long to get his prior authorization for the repair approved, have the company order the part and then schedule to come back to make the repair. Meanwhile his health has begun to deteriorate due to his staying in bed.

If you are a wheeled mobility user or someone in your family is what do you do when the wheelchair needs to be repaired?  How many of you have stayed in bed or not left the house for fear your back up chair will break down?

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Making Information Accessible to Everyone

 

Global Accessibility Awareness Day is a great time to learn how new technologies can help make information accessible to everyone. As e-readers and e-books become more common, these technologies have the potential to open doors for people with disabilities. This is especially important in schools and colleges, where technologies can enable students with print-related disabilities to easily read the same materials as their peers. For example, students who are blind can listen to text using the e-reader’s built-in capabilities. Students with reading disabilities can make use of this same feature.

Unfortunately, many digital materials are not accessible. This lack of accessibility can make it difficult for students with disabilities to fully participate in educational programs. To address this problem, schools can turn to some new resources published by CAST, a Massachusetts organization internationally recognized for its expertise in this area.

CAST is suggesting that schools assert their power as purchasers to ensure that e-book developers design their materials for all users. When schools include accessibility as a decision factor in purchasing, developers will have no choice but to listen and take action. As a result, schools will have a greater variety of high quality materials to choose from, and students with disabilities will benefit. As an added bonus, many students without disabilities will also benefit from the supportive features included in accessible materials.


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May 9th is Global Accessibility Awareness Day!

Raising mainstream awareness about digital accessibility issues and individuals with different disabilities

To participate in Boston:

Join Mark Sadecki and Brian Charlson as well as many other area accessibility experts for an informational presentation on what accessibility is, who it benefits and how everyone can participate in improving access to information in the digital world. Live demonstrations of screen readers and magnifiers will be conducted as will a brief tutorial on how you can test your own web site for accessibility. See and hear what happens when a web site has been built to be accessible, and when it has not.

Wednesday, May 9th
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
The Carroll Center for the Blind
Rachel E. Rosenbaum Technology Center
770 Centre Street
Newton, MA
Learn more and register at this Carroll Web page.

Also, learn how to make eLearning and other online campus content and ICTs accessible to all students. Join Christopher Dobson at Harper College’s Center for Innovative Instruction for an introductory webinar session targeted to college and university faculty, staff and others working to support the use of technology in education on campus. The webinar is Wednesday, May 9th from 3pm to 4pm. Learn more about the webinar.

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Videos on how AT is benefiting senior citizens

At the March MassMatch Advisory Council meeting it was suggested to make short videos of how AT is benefiting senior citizens. I think this is an excellent idea. However, many seniors might not have access to the Internet. In addition to YouTube, I am thinking that MassMatch might want to consider working with cities/towns’ Council on Aging and/or Commission on Disability to produce such videos. They could be aired on cities and towns’ public access TV channels.
Paul

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