Fast forward to today, where our nation’s businesses are facing staffing challenges that could serve as a catalyst in the inclusive employment movement. We all know that there is a wonderful, untapped source for employment in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities that can fill these positions. But how do provider agencies adequately serve clients and optimize efforts in the inclusive employment movement while experiencing employee shortages of their own?

In times where providers are trying to do “more with less”, technology can help providers/job coaches:

• Streamline onboarding processes for new job coaches/staff.
• Minimize time spent in training employees by cutting out antiquated, manual processes.
• Monitor progress and setbacks of multiple employees on one dashboard. 
• Reduce time and money spent traveling from location-to-location to put out “fires”.
• Motivate employees to set and achieve goals.
• Automate fading techniques that help employees rely less on job coaches.
• Reduce the numbers of crises at the workplace.
• Create more satisfying and sustainable job opportunities for the clients they serve; reducing employee turnover.

It seems as if the pandemic has created a “perfect storm” of sorts in the industry we know and love – and technology is just the thing to keep us afloat!

If you need help keeping your head above the water – please reach out to us to learn more about assistive technology and its role in making strides in the inclusive employment movement – even when we are experiencing shortages, ourselves.

Until next time…

The post Working Smarter, Not Harder, in a Post-Pandemic Employment Landscape appeared first on CreateAbility Inc.

Antiquated, printed copies of care plans on are not mobile - and are not as easily changed as the person-served accomplishes their goals. Assistive technology grants individuals with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to feel more a part of the planning process as they carry it with them to help keep them on track.   

2.) Assistive Technology provides accessibility.   

Mobile technology opens the door for text-to speech; allowing  individuals who are print-challenged to “play” each section of  their plan. The user experience can be enhanced by enabling the person-served to independently select the specific section of interest that they wish to listen to. This helps prevent overwhelming them with too much information at once.   

3.) Assistive Technology provides succinct, actionable steps to a customized care plan.   

Care plans should not be approached as a one-size-fits-all solution and manual processes like creating written instructions, manuals, and binders take time and energy that could be spent elsewhere. Assistive technology provides a more malleable platform to establish and manage care plans that are more customized to the individual.    

4.) Assistive Technology is remotely supportable by Care Providers and Job Coaches.   

Assistive technology has afforded Care Providers with the ability to communicate with clients and monitor setbacks and progress in their person-centered care plan ANY TIME and ANYWHERE.  This is a big advancement in the quality of care that Care Providers and Vocational Rehabilitation agencies/organizations can offer their clients. It has equipped them with virtual “eyes” inside the homes of the people they serve without being intrusive to their lives.   

If you are looking to simplify and/or increase the efficacy of your person-centered plans with clients, we encourage you to check out FLOURISH, CreateAbility’s new app that helps you establish, manage goals…and helps your clients achieve them!

The post 4 Ways Assistive Technology Benefits Person-Centered Planning appeared first on CreateAbility Inc.

After taking a few deep, cleansing breaths, we want you to know that we are right there with you. 

In response, to help you to continue to remotely and safely support to the people you serve in these times, we are switching each of our popular MeMinder, Employment Suite, OnTracker and Avatalk solutions to a $7.99 per person-served, per month model for the foreseeable future. Customers who can pre-pay annually will receive a 15% discount. 

Because of incredible people like you, we will make it through this together! 

Steve 

If you are interested in securing our special rates on remote supports that will help you manage in these times, please email us at info@createabilityinc.com.

See the report at: https://www.ancor.org/newsroom/news/congressional-research-service-warns-some-states%E2%80%99-budget-reductions-during-covid-19 

The post CreateAbility’s Response to Budget Reductions During COVID-19 appeared first on CreateAbility Inc.

I totally get it – it’s easy to become infatuated with emerging technologies, but can I make a confession? It’s exhausting to track and make sense of every sparkly, new technology even for an ADHD tech nerd, like myself. But like I moth to a flame – I’m still drawn in.

Sometimes, we get so enamored with new technology that we forget to back out thoughts up to consider:

• How do we provide the necessary support for this technology?
• How do we provide training (and emotional support) to help the team become comfortable with this new technology?
• How does this technology integrate with our current workflow?

But the human condition doesn’t allow us to see into the future and organizations are assuming all kinds of risks in the technology selection and implementation process. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, “Increasingly customers can’t describe the experience they want to have; let alone, begin to imagine what they expect in the future.”  While these questions could be a good start, there is a calling for a more modern way to design sustainable systems for technology adoption and utilization.

With that, I’d like to share an even better way to implement digital transformations. It’s called behavioral design and this approach envelops a mixture of both behavioral economics and human-centered design.

Example:

The old script started with questions such as: “How can we use technology and analytics to affect the blah blah blah…?”

So, we flipped the script to a more people-focused set of questions:

1. What behavioral shifts will have the greatest positive impact on the people we serve? After we understand the answers to this question, we can ask:

2. What tools and techniques would support these behavioral shifts?

This is a sure-fire way to avoid “shiny objects” and make tech decisions within your organization that will result in effective adoption, staff and client support, and sustainability.

We encourage all of you out there to reconsider how you are approaching new technology and replacing it with a more “why” based approach. (We’ve been through the process hundreds of time and it really deliver results!)

If you would like examples on how we have helped facilitate these types of people-friendly transformations, please reach out to us at info@createabilityinc.com.

The post A People-First Approach to Technology Adoption appeared first on CreateAbility Inc.

DSPs and support staff members’ jobs are not just to keep their clients safe and healthy, but to also work with them on establishing goals for themselves and working to achieve them. Often times, people with IDDs also have a dual diagnosis; another behavioral challenge in addition to their intellectual developmental disability. Behavioral challenges can flare up during this goal setting process and hinder the individuals from achieving whatever it is they set out to do.

CreateAbility, in partnership with Dr. Julie F. Brown of Skills System, Inc. are nearing the last phase of development for OnTracker; an app that allows persons with IDDs to check in multiple times per day to gauge whether their thoughts and actions are aligned with their current goals. By running on popular Apple and Android tablets, OnTracker is a 24/7 coach to help them check in a self-regulate after experiencing an emotional triggering event, such as a conflict with a roommate or co-worker, or missing a bus on a rainy day.

After rating their feelings, the app enables them to employ the appropriate ‘skills’ to help them independently cope with their situation. The 9 skills include:

• Clear picture: Helps persons being served notice what is happening inside and outside of themselves at that moment.
• On-Track Thinking: Helps persons being served think clearly about what they want and what will work to help reach their goals.
• On-Track Action: Once they get a clear picture and have On-Track Thinking, this step helps them do something positive to move toward goals.
• Safety Plan: Persons being served plan how to handle risky situations that are happening right now and may happen in the future.
• New-Me Activities: Help the person being served focus their attention, help them feel better, distract them and help them have fun.
• Problem Solving: Taking time to solve problems in the person being served life so that they can be happier and reach goals.
• Expressing Myself: Person being served shares what is on their mind and their heart to help them reach their goals.
• Getting it Right: Helps the person being served work with people to get what they want.
• Relationship Care: Helps the person being served understand how to have with themselves and others.

The app will benefit people in day programs and in residential settings.

Should you be interested in participating in a pilot study or just wanting more information on OnTracker, please reach out to us at info@createabilityinc.com.

The post New App Will Help DSPs and Staff Work with Individuals with IDD and Behavioral Challenges appeared first on CreateAbility Inc.

As you pour yourself into others, try to remember to keep your own “cup refilled” by devoting time to self-care. Here are self-care suggestions to may provide inspiration during these times:

1.) Give yourself permission to take time off for self-care; time to do whatever it is that your heart desires. Put it on your calendar, set reminders, and let others know that this is YOUR time to decompress however you see fit. There is NO reason to feel guilty designating self-care time; you need to be able to sustain the care you provide during this time.

2.) First and foremost, in the heat of what feels to be a battle, it is so important to know that THIS IS TEMPORARY. Hard to see in times of struggle, we know – but true, nonetheless. While we do not know when successful treatments will be found, a vaccination invented, when things return to “normal” (or what the new normal even looks like), on thing is for sure – we will not live in this current state forever. Breathe and hang tight.

3.) If you are comfortable with it, accept help from those who offer it to you. For many who aren’t on the front line, it’s a love offering in a time where they too, feel out of control. Let someone deliver your dinner, mow your yard or pick up your groceries for you. You are important in this time and deserving of attention and it gives you more time to take care of yourself.

4.) Try not to isolate yourself; while you may feel alone, there are most likely others experiencing similar emotions you can talk to. Find a person (even if it’s just a single person), to talk to, cry or laugh with. However, you need to unload the baggage that has accrued at work – make sure you find an outlet to help you unpack it and diffuse some of the heightened emotion these times manifest.

5.) Look for the joys in every day. That’s right, joys are still happening in the world; they just might be a little harder to see through the lens of COVID-19. Be still and present; reconnect with your environment, nature, and the people around you. You will find beauty. Even if you find a single joy per day, journal each and string them together to form a bridge of hope that will help you get to the other side of this pandemic.

We will get through this together – and the CreateAbility Team is here to help you in any way that we can. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We are here and waiting to support you!

Similar Reads:  4 Assistive Technology and Remote Monitoring Solutions for COVID-19 Transmission Reduction

The post Care Providers: 5 Ways to Keep A Healthy Mental Outlook During the Pandemic appeared first on CreateAbility Inc.

Please take a few minutes and listen to Steve’s presentation here:

Key takeaways from this presentation are:

• A show of gratitude where gratitude is due
• Great resources to find COVID-19 information as it relates to the IDD market
• Research on why people with IDDs will face additional challenges in this time
• 6 key reasons why that there has never been a better time to implement assistive technology

If you need solutions to help you during these challenging times, CreateAbility is here to support you. Please email us at info@createabilityinc.com or call us at 317.798.4101.

The post CreateAbility President, Steve Sutter, Talks Gratitude, Pandemic Challenges, and Assistive Technology appeared first on CreateAbility Inc.

All devices will come ready-to-deploy with pre-loaded remote support tools and staff training can be handled via video and/or video conferencing format for rapid implementation.

Throughout this pandemic, CreateAbility is here to help you in any way that we can.

If you have questions about any of our COVID-19 Response technology solutions, please do not hesitate to call us at 317.728.6670 or email us at info@createabilityinc.com. Due to the time-sensitive nature of this pandemic, we will return all messages within 1 business day. 

The post CreateAbility Launches Assistive Technology and Remote Monitoring Tools for COVID-19 Response appeared first on CreateAbility Inc.

Our team has been brainstorming very hard on how we can utilize the technology we’ve built to help you through the COVID-19 pandemic. We realize that operations are not likely to be “normal” right now and you may have new responsibilities and requirements for you to manage. For that reason, we are reaching out to you today to let you know of a few ways that we may be able to help ease the burden:

• Limited-time Loaner/free MeMinder apps to assist your clients with the prompts they need for COVID-19 mindfulness/tasks.
• Limited-time Loaner/free Evalu8NOW apps to help you check in on clients’ health and emotional well-being between in-person visits.
• By serving as your technology resource for the creation of ANY COVID-19 related solutions that would help you manage during this time.

This is by no means a time to be opportunistic; but an opportunity for CreateAbility to do its part in the COVID-19 efforts.

We appreciate you and would be humbled to serve you and can be reached by emailing info@createabilityinc.com. We are sensitive to the immediacy of your needs and will respond to all messages within one business day.

Sincerely,

The CreateAbility Team

The post COVID-19: Words of Encouragement and Complimentary Help from CreateAbility appeared first on CreateAbility Inc.

“The issue”, according to Steve Sutter, President of CreateAbility, “is that people in the circle of care typically prefer to text when they want to quickly check in with someone. But this may not work in situations where the reside has difficulty texting or reading, or they are concerned that the person-served now has their cell phone number.”

Avatalk automatically renders the text message into a talking avatar to present the question and up to six answers to the resident, then converts the resident’s answer back to text to the remote individual. The technology was designed to provide a natural, non-intrusive mode of checking in on clients that is both engaging and commands response – as well as a provide agency staff with a platform they can use to get specific feedback on an efficient basis from individuals with Down Syndrome, autism, survivors of a brain injury, or older adults with dementia

Typical examples where avatalk may be used are: verifying that the resident is ready for pickup, took their medications, showered, returned home safely, secure during a storm, etc. This flexibility bridges potential gaps in understanding the residents’ health, safety, and satisfaction with their situation. This can provide an immediate solution for stop-gap coverage of the person-served, or supplement remote monitoring technologies.

“In a time when agencies are spread thin and healthcare is pushing toward more person-centric care plans, care providers are tasked with more responsibilities than ever.” States CreateAbility, Inc. President, Steve Sutter. “Avatalk gives them a tool that will allow them to check in with the people they serve and get quicker responses that are honed in tightly to the information they need to retrieve in order to perform their care of the individual more efficiently.”

For the resident, avatalk’s interface provides a less intrusive communication style that allows them to respond simply and efficiently. When in use, the app runs a personal slide show of their favorite places and people. When someone on their circle of care sends a question to them via text, an avatar (in which they have previously selected) will appear, ask the question aloud, and provide answers for them to select from. The answer they select is wirelessly transmitted and conveyed back as text to the care provider.
Avatalk will be available directly from CreateAbility by the end of October for Windows 10 and Android devices and will be available in the Android and Apple app stores by the end of November. Pre-orders are being accepted now at a promotional price of $74.95. To see a demo and receive promotional pricing on avatalk, please email info@createabilityinc.com.

About CreateAbility, Inc.
CreateAbility strives to improve the dignity, security, and quality of life for people who are trying to maintain varying degrees of independence, but who need assistive technologies. Our mission is to create innovative products that help them flourish beyond their current capability. Our interactive health and safety monitoring software solutions help caregivers deliver an affordable blend of care, 24/7 that nurtures independence. We serve caregivers, agencies, and organizations devoted to helping older adults, people with intellectual disabilities, brain injuries, and behavioral health issues.

Contact:
Kerri Pinger
Marketing & Sales Support Administration
CreateAbility, Inc.
kerri@createabilityinc.com

The post CreateAbility, Inc. Launches First-of-its-kind Communication Platform for People with Intellectual Disabilities appeared first on CreateAbility Inc.