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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Center for Assistive Technology is all about gadgets and tech that help people with disabilities improve their quality of life.
But the underlying goal is to help keep people engaged in relationships with loved ones and friends, participate as fully as possible in their communities and be part of the workforce.
At the agency's 20th annual open house Thursday afternoon, vendors and agency representatives displayed the latest technologies to assist people with disabilities communicate, drive and travel by car, and manage other activities of daily living.
The open house is intended to help community members and service providers learn about the latest technology, devices and program offerings that can enhance the quality of lives of people with a wide array of disabilities.
Some of the approaches recommended by AgriAbility, a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that provides assistance to farmers, ranchers and other agricultural workers impacted by disability, are low-tech but effective.
Outreach specialist Darlene Carlisle said the program conducts assessments of farm equipment and practices, and recommends adaptations that can make farm and ranch work easier and safer. Sometimes that means equipping a tractor with hand controls or using a utility task vehicle to travel around a farm.
"A side-by-side is such an easy tool to get in and out of," she said.
The open house, conducted at the Center for Assistive Technology's offices at 1595 W. 500 South, also was a showcase of vendor products that help people with disabilities with daily tasks such as getting up and down stairs to communicating using tablets.
Chad Bingham, an assistive technology specialist with Prentke Romich Co., said assistive technologies help people with cognitive and physical disabilities reach their highest communication potential.
The technology, loaded on tablets such as iPads, helps develop language and facilitate communication.
"It definitely helps them connect with their worlds," Bingham said.
That's likewise the goal of Canine Companions for Independence, said Marilyn Koroulis, who is caring for and training a Labrador retriever as a service dog.
Koroulis, a junior high teacher, said she takes Newt to school to expose him to a wide array of experiences. Soon, he will return to the California-based nonprofit organization to be matched with person with disabilities other than blindness.
Dogs that work with people who use wheelchairs are trained to pick up personal items people drop, such as key, phones and remote controls.
"It saves people from bending over and possibly coming out of their chairs, and they're just wonderful companions," Koroulis said.
Service dogs also help break the ice in social situations.
"Kids who have skilled companion dogs, the parents say other kids used to make wide berths around their child. Now they're coming with up to them because the dog is there," she said.
Julia Pearce is an assistive technology trainer who trains teams that work in every school district statewide, helping them conduct assessments, try out technologies and create plans for students with disabilities.
While some communication technology helps students communicate "basic wants and needs," it also helps them enhance their independence as learners, writers and artists.
"What we're finding is kids need a way to just express themselves," Pearce said.
Some of the approaches are very low-tech, such as laminated flip charts with pictures, words or short phrases to communicate basic information.
But the assistive devices used in classrooms also include eye-gaze technologies, adaptive computer mice, computer software and apps loaded on tablets.
Pearce said the Utah Center for Assistive Technology once helped a mother who had Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, to direct her children to keep up with their homework.
"She said, 'Let me just be the mom. Can I just be a mom?' People just want to be who they are. Let's find a way," Pearce said.
