Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Zebreda Makes It Work!

by Rosemarie Punzalan, AT Network Training Specialist


Zebreda Dunham and Martin Sweeney recently presented at the AT Network's Southern California Quarterly Regional Meeting on November 20, 2012 at the California Endowment  in Los Angeles, CA.  To the delight of all of the individuals interested in AT at this meeting, they explored the low-tech, low-cost, down-and-dirty DIY world of assistive technology.   

Born in Maryland and now a resident of Pasadena, Dunham is a young woman constantly adapting and modifying the world around her. From a gate opener to smartphone remote, from an umbrella holder to a power soccer guard, from adapted scissors to a joystick helper, Zebreda shared her philosophy about accessibility as well as demonstrated some of the products she has created, adapted and/or modified.

Zebreda Makes It Work! is a series of videos and experiences that highlights a frame of mind about assistive technology and how to imagine, create, adapt and troubleshoot your world and overcome whatever obstacles you might encounter.  Below are some of the innovative videos Zebreda shared:

Door Stopper

Door Alarm

Key Turner

Gate Opener

As Dunham notes, “We need each other to survive in this world. I feel that just because you might be labeled as having a disability, you don’t have to disable yourself. Many times those doing the labeling are unaware of the true intelligence and abilities of the individual and more than likely they are the ignorant ones. You are as disabled as you make yourself. I don’t consider myself as being disabled—I consider myself as differently-abled.”

Sweeney was director of the AT Network (2006-09), founding director of the Assistive Technology Project at the Lanterman Regional Center (1998-2006), training consultant for the Center for Accessible Technology (2010-11) and is now a development adviser for the India America Assistive Technology Exchange in Mumbai and Bangalore.

Does Assistive Technology (AT) play a role in your life?

Have you created, adapted, and modified a product to make your life easier?

Want to show off the AT you use or the AT you have created?  Check out the AT Network's video contest on how to enter and you could win $400!

3 comments:

  1. New website inspired by zebredamakesitwork! What counts as engineering? Robotics, 3D printing, code? How about cable ties, or peel-and-stick hooks? I am pleased to share a new website project (http://engineeringathome.org) about adaptive design and engineering, which I co-created with my Olin College colleague Sara Hendren—and with the help of many others. Read about Cindy, a Boston-area woman who awoke in a hospital room in 2009 at age 63 in a profoundly altered body, and then set to work remaking her world. From small hacks on her hand cream jar to repurposing cable ties for pulling out drawers and salad tongs for holding a sandwich, Cindy has embraced an everyday engineering ethic that she never thought possible. Cindy’s story illustrates new ways of understanding who can engineer, what counts as engineering, and why this matters. Please like our Facebook page and share with others (https://www.facebook.com/engineeringathome). Cindy is eager to hear what others have created so she can expand her own collection!

    ReplyDelete
  2. New website inspired by zebredamakesitwork! What counts as engineering? Robotics, 3D printing, code? How about cable ties, or peel-and-stick hooks? I am pleased to share a new website project (http://engineeringathome.org) about adaptive design and engineering, which I co-created with my Olin College colleague Sara Hendren—and with the help of many others. Read about Cindy, a Boston-area woman who awoke in a hospital room in 2009 at age 63 in a profoundly altered body, and then set to work remaking her world. From small hacks on her hand cream jar to repurposing cable ties for pulling out drawers and salad tongs for holding a sandwich, Cindy has embraced an everyday engineering ethic that she never thought possible. Cindy’s story illustrates new ways of understanding who can engineer, what counts as engineering, and why this matters. Please like our Facebook page and share with others (https://www.facebook.com/engineeringathome). Cindy is eager to hear what others have created so she can expand her own collection!

    ReplyDelete