We were honored to host Governor Mike DeWine, First Lady Fran DeWine and the president of The Ohio State University, Dr. Kristina Johnson, to our offices at Assistive Technology of Ohio! We were also blessed to be joined by Kevin Miller, Director of Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities.
Assistive Technology of Ohio, based in the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University, runs a statewide disability technology lending libary, focusing on the types of technologies that help people with disabilities succeed in employment, compete in the workplace, and live more independent and interconnected lives.
We were able to spend some time with our honored guests on Wednesday, April 28, to show them the types of technologies available to be checked out and tried out by any Ohioan with a disability. The tour included a presentation by Brad Whitmoyer, a small business owner who is non-verbal, and who utilizes a power wheelchair. Brad demonstrated how he uses an Accent 1400 augmentatitve communication device made by Prentke Romich, a Wooster-based company that is a world leader in the area of AAC devices.
“Assistive Technology of Ohio is a hidden jewel at Ohio State,” DeWine said. “What they do can transform people’s lives.”
“Assistive Technology of Ohio is a hidden jewel at Ohio State,” DeWine said. “What they do can transform people’s lives.”
Other technologies which were shown to the governor included portable CCTV devices for people with visual impairments, the Clear Reader+ device, for blind users, which quickly transforms printed text to spoken words. The tour showcased assistive technologies made in Ohio, including HomeSense, made in Akron, which helps prevent kitchen fires by turning off unattended cooking food, as well as the Obi, made by Dayton-based Desin, Inc., which is a robot that puts people with disabilities back in charge of feeding themselves.
Governor Mike DeWine, First Lady Fran DeWine and OSU President Kristina Johnson watch Brad Whitmoyer communicate via a Accent 1400 device from Prentke Romich.
Ohio Disability Blog 