Rehabilitation professionals who assist people with disabilities in obtaining employment and living independent lives gathered in Greenville late last month for the third annual Global Rehabilitation Enhanced with Assistive Technology (G.R.E.A.T.) Conference hosted by the N.C. Assistive Technology Program (NCATP) and the N.C. Rehabilitation Association (NCRA).
The theme was “Follow Your Yellow Brick Road to Endless Possibilities,” and the timing coincided with October being National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
Secretary Aldona Wos welcomed attendees Oct. 23, thanking them for devoting themselves to public service and encouraging them to be “creative and innovative” in searching for opportunities to collaborate in order to provide services “to take care of the whole person.”
Highlights included the roll-out of a 25-minute video about what assistive technology means to people with disabilities, and the presentation of awards to individuals and businesses who have made contributions to the fields of employment and assistive technology for people with disabilities. Award winner Steven Allman, who works in the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services’ (DVRS) Wilmington office noted that the more than 200 attendees gathered represented more than “a thousand years of rehabilitation experience.”
Greenville Mayor Allen Thomas welcomed attendees on Wednesday, mentioning Greenville’s commitment to building an inclusive community. Keynote speaker Rachelle Friedman opened the conference sharing her experiences living with the spinal cord injury she sustained when she was pushed into a swimming pool at her bachelorette party in 2010. She and her fiancé, Chris, still pursued their plans to marry, and she now participates in numerous adaptive sports and has written a book about her experience. “Ex-Disney Guy” John Formica closed the conference by sharing personal anecdotes from his experience running hotels at Disney World, emphasizing the value of going above customer expectations to provide the highest level of customer service possible.
Assistive technology award winners included:
- Michele Proctor in the Professional, Advocate, Volunteer category for her work as the Coordinator of the N.C. AgrAbility Project to assist farmers with disabilities in remaining productive members of the farming community.
- Erik Fungunt, a young man who had the left side of his body shattered in a motorcycle accident, was recognized in the AT User category. As a paraplegic, he developed a bowel management system to help individuals with disabilities manage their bowel program in a more convenient and efficient manner; and he employed techniques used in animal husbandry that allowed him and his wife to become parents of two children at considerable savings to in-vitro procedures.
- Former NCATP employee Annette Lauber, who retired in March, received the first Lifetime Achievement Award. Unable to attend the conference in person, Annette thanked everyone by video and remarked how opportunities and assistive technology have allowed her to live a “wonderfully ordinary” life.
Attendees had the opportunity to participate in sessions on topics ranging from emerging technology for people with vision loss to service animals to workplace ergonomics to tele-counseling technology and had the opportunity to visit an exhibit hall featuring 43 assistive technology vendors showcasing products such as screen magnifiers to various all-terrain wheelchairs.