$1.5 million grant to focus on technology for people with mental retardation

LAWRENCE -- A $1.5 million U.S. Department of Education grant will fund the five-year Mental Retardation and Technology Disability and Rehabilitation Research Project directed by Michael Wehmeyer, associate director of the Beach Center on Disability at the University of Kansas, with codirector Sean Smith, KU assistant professor of special education.

The project's ultimate objective is to determine how technology can enable people with mental retardation and other cognitive disabilities to work and live more independently. Through conferences, national surveys and focused interviews with disability experts, technology developers and people with mental retardation and their families, the project will determine the state of technology for people with mental retardation.

"We will learn what current technology is being used, what current technology is not being used and -- if it could be modified for use -- what gaps in technology exist, and what emerging technology could benefit people with cognitive disabilities," Wehmeyer said.

Ironically, the promise of technology to enhance the quality of life of people with cognitive disabilities has gone largely unfulfilled because of design features, according to Wehmeyer. For example, such assistive devices as voice augmentation or motorized wheelchairs are often too complex for people with mental retardation to use.

In the workplace, computers' complexity excludes employees with mental retardation from jobs they could otherwise perform. At home, unnecessarily complicated controls of such appliances as microwave ovens can prevent someone with mental retardation from cooking for himself.

However, some emerging technologies show great potential for promoting the independence of people with cognitive disabilities.

"Individuals with cognitive disabilities often have difficulty with time management and retrieving information," Wehmeyer said. "One of our grant partners, AbleLink Technologies, has developed a palmtop system with auditory and visual prompts."

Wehmeyer points out that the principles of good design -- flexibility, perceptible controls and tolerance for error -- are good for everyone.

"Take the Velcro fasteners on tennis shoes," he said. "This design came out of occupational therapy as a means to increase independence for people who could not tie their shoes, but it became popular in kids' shoes."

Computer programs for e-mail, money management, Web browsing and scheduling, for example, could include voice-activated and visual controls, Wehmeyer said. As Baby Boomers age, manufacturers will have a larger market for products that are designed with cognitive limitations in mind, he added.

Today, most major technology developers have accessibility experts on staff, Wehmeyer said, and the project's panel of experts includes America Online's director of technology access, Debbie Fletter.

The Arc of the United States, the American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR), AbleLink Technologies, the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities, the Self-Advocate Coalition of Kansas and the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation are the project partners.

"The project's strength lies in its collaborative network -- The Arc, AAMR and the Kennedy Foundation are national leaders in policy, advocacy and practice pertaining to mental retardation," Wehmeyer said. "AbleLink Technologies is one of only a few technology developers in the country addressing the needs of people with mental retardation, and the Self-Advocate Coalition of Kansas has a strong grassroots network of people with cognitive disabilities whose perspectives will be critical to our success."

William and Claudia Coleman established the University of Colorado's Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities to research and develop innovative technologies to enhance the lives of people with cognitive disabilities. William Coleman is chairman and CEO of BEA Systems Inc. of San Jose, Calif., one of the world's leading e-business infrastructure software companies, and his wife, Claudia, is a former manager with Hewlett-Packard,

"Our partnership with the Coleman Institute provides an excellent opportunity for the universities of Colorado and Kansas to begin to build the capacity to address the needs of people with cognitive disabilities through technology design," Wehmeyer said.

The Beach Center is one of the 13 centers and more than 100 programs and projects of KU's Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies that serve rural and urban Kansans through research-based solutions to the problems of human and community development, disabilities and aging.

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