HELENA, Mont. - People with disabilities face a number of barriers to getting the equipment they need in daily life. A program in Montana is helping change that.

The Montana Assistive Technology Loan program offers low- and no-interest loans for devices like hearing aids, screen-readers and even wheelchair-accessible vehicles, which usually aren't covered by private insurance or Medicare and can be costly.

Julie Williams, outreach coordinator for the program, said assistive technology is vital to people's lives.

"It can span a variety of different types of technology," said Williams. "But all of them are allowing people to live their best life, to be participating in society in ways that they might not otherwise be able to do."

The program is a partnership between the financial nonprofit Rural Dynamics and the Rural Institute at the University of Montana's assistive technology program MonTECH. It was able to expand through a federal grant last fall.

According to World Health Organization, about one billion people globally would benefit from assistive technology, but only about one in ten has access.

Ann-Margaret Periman, the disability resource coordinator for Rural Dynamics, said people with disabilities often have a hard time getting loans from traditional banks for these types of technologies.

"People feel stuck in the fact that some of this equipment and some of their needs are very expensive, and they don't have any means of getting that," said Periman. "Usually people are on Social Security, Social Security Disability, and their income is limited."

Williams said Rural Dynamics also has a financial wellness program.

One quadriplegic client applied for a $50,000 loan for a wheelchair-accessible van, but was denied. Over the course of a year, Williams said the organization helped the client get his finances in order to get a loan approved.

"We also helped him cut in half the amount of loan that he needed to take out to get the vehicle that met his needs," said Williams.

She said the program helped him find a van in the $20,000 range.

Thirteen students, ranging in age from 14 to 21, have just graduated from the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council Youth Leadership Academy.

The program's goal is to develop young leaders who learn skills that build their confidence.

A dozen students from Iowa welcomed one from Illinois who is attending school in Iowa. Together, they learned during the weeklong academy how to be more effective advocates for their communities.

That's exactly what 21-year-old Andrew Allen, who has been diagnosed with ADHD, autism and severe separation anxiety, was looking for when he applied.

"I got bullied a lot," said Allen. "When I was in school, I got pushed aside a lot and I thought, 'Enough is enough.' They taught me how to communicate, have conversation with special needs, and help our community."

The annual academy teaches students ways to advocate for themselves, become more civically engaged and to be of service in their communities.

19-year-old University of Iowa student Jackie Corless, who said she has an intellectual learning
disability, also took part in the Youth Leadership Academy.

She said the topics ranged from advocacy to communicating, and lots of useful skills in between.

"Leadership skills," said Corless. "I learned about networking, setting goals - you know, the difference between how to be an advocate and how to better strengthen your advocate goal. How networking really works within the disability world."

The Youth Leadership Academy is a partnership between the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council, Disability Rights Iowa, ASK Resource Center, the University of Iowa Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, and Access to Independence.



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New York disability-rights advocates are celebrating the 34th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The 1990 legislation prohibits discrimination against people with physical or mental disabilities. Along with becoming a standard part of employment law, it bolsters accessibility in the public environment.

As seminal as the ADA is, said Dr. Sharon McLennon Wier, executive director of the Center for Independence of the Disabled New York, more work must be done to achieve true accessibility.

"Even though ADA has been around for many, many years," she said, "there is still ignorance regarding what is true accessibility and how new construction at times can still be put up without following the principles of ADA universal access."

Downstate New York's transportation systems lack ADA compliance. Only 31% of New York City's Subway system is accessible to people with disabilities. Funding has been allocated to make the system 95% compliant. The work would have been done by 2055, but since Gov. Kathy Hochul paused congestion pricing, these plans have been put on hold indefinitely.

A New York City Comptroller report finds only 40% of the city's disabled population is employed. Statewide reports show post-pandemic employment for people with disabilities is recovering much slower than the nation.

To change this, said McLennon Wier, classroom instructional materials need to be more accessible, "having more raised line drawings, having more Braille available, having more assistive technology that can read various types of charts and diagrams."

She said she thinks certain industries are siloed, but once they open up to better comprehend universal accessibility, more people with disabilities will join them. One place this can work is in STEM fields, as only 3% of that workforce includes people with disabilities.

July is Disability Pride Month, and today is the 34th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Federal data show that more than 42 million Americans have a disability affecting their cognition, mobility, hearing, vision or ability to provide self-care or live independently.

"Studies over and over demonstrate that people with disabilities are a very solid
part of our workforce," said Joe Xavier, director of the California Department of Rehabilitation, which helps people with disabilities thrive at work. "They stay in their jobs, they're committed to the work that they do, and so there's much less turnover with people with disabilities, thereby reducing the cost and all the work associated with that."

Advocates have said companies are responsible for providing accommodation in the same way they provide chairs and technology for all their workers. They encourage companies to follow principles of universal design when building new spaces, so access is not an afterthought.

Britanny Comegna, a member of the State Rehabilitation Council, runs a company called Deaf and Disability Mediation Services and said people shouldn't be shy about direct communication with disabled people.

"When you meet a new disabled person," she said, "you have to ask, 'How do you want to identify? What do you need? And what can I learn from you?' Ask those questions because we really do appreciate that you're making that effort to connect with me and understand me as a person."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working to reduce health disparities among adults with disabilities, who have higher rates of smoking, obesity, heart disease and diabetes.


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