support Archives - Penn-Mar

Assistive Technology Solutions Enhance Supports for People with Disabilities

ggorham — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 19:15:48 +0000

This article was originally published in World of Possibilities Magazine’s Fall 2024 edition. It was written by Allis Kensing, Enabling Technology Manager at Penn-Mar.

My first experience with Assistive Technology (AT) solutions was in 2016 while working for a provider to find employment opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I was intrigued with its potential and the limitless possibilities beyond that function.

By definition, Assistive Technology is any item, piece of equipment, software program, or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of persons with disabilities.

When strategically adapted, it promotes autonomy, self-direction and community engagement and can help address direct care workforce shortages with different types of remote supports.

We are all familiar with the more common technology tools such as computers, tablets and cell phones. But there are many other items – both high and low tech – that can also be considered AT tools. They can be:

Simple low-tech items like Post-it notes, highlighters, and picture boards.
Adaptive tools for dressing, cutting, meal prep and dining.
Remote devices that make it easy to turn on the TV and seamlessly flip through the channels
Magnifiers in different shapes and sizes with options to increase magnification, turn on a light, or take a picture to enlarge type and make it easier to read.
Wheelchairs, canes, and walkers to improve mobility and provide safety.
Sock aids designed to assist with putting on socks more easily.
Talking alarm clocks that start the day on time
Medication dispensers hooked up to an APP to remind people what time to take their meds.
Headphones that deliver white noise and meditative music to help people focus on the moment and block out an overstimulated sensory environment.
Siri and Alexa voice assists, Google Home and virtual date planners.

I think you get the point: we’ve come a long way from the days of using picture boards to help people with disabilities create independent lives!

The Turning Point

Certainly, the pandemic created the perfect storm for providers to start thinking creatively about how they could connect with the people they support while they were homebound and unable to participate in Day Programs and community outings. FaceTime, Zoom, and Google Meet helped to bridge the gap, but the times demanded even more creative thinking from families, team members and the people supported themselves.

Organizations began to explore the vast potential of AT to better provide education, stimulation, connection and independence to counteract the imposed isolation as well as the shortage of Direct Support Professionals (DSPs). Subsequent studies and discussions in our field verify that this was the explosive moment for AT solutions.

Educate Yourself and Your Team

No doubt many of you are, and have been, using a variety of the AT items listed above. But how do you take the next step to ensure that your organization, your family member, or you yourself are equipped to employ a technological approach that meets your or someone else’s needs? How can you be best prepared to offer person-centered and customized AT solutions that align with people’s goals and personal outcomes?

You can begin by educating yourself or your team, starting with an overview of what AT solutions look like and the many different options and State resources that are available to support AT. This information can then be shared with your loved one, colleague, or fellow self-advocate. I’m certain you will find that the possibilities are endless.

Everybody can contribute to this type of creative thinking and within organizations, these ideas can be enhanced with e-learning solutions to help people infuse AT into the company’s culture and person-centered mission. With education about the advantages of AT, people will be more open to taking risks with their applications.

Start with a Mini-Assessment of Needs

To begin exploring what AT solutions are right for your family or the person you support, start the conversation by asking a series of questions:

What tasks are difficult for you?

Will the use of AT help you complete these tasks more independently?
Will you be able to use the AT in different places (work, home, social situations)?

What have you tried before?

What ways of doing things have you tried?
What materials, equipment, or tools have you used in the past?

How involved will you be in the process?

Will you be part of the decision making to figure out what AT you should try?
What do you hope the AT device will do for you?
Will you have a chance to try it before buying it?

How will you know if the AT device is a good fit for you?

Will you be trained on the new AT device?
Will you actually use it?
Will the AT device help you meet your goals?

Every state has an AT Program you can access, and you’ll find it to be one of your greatest resources. In addition to the services of knowledgeable staff, the states also house extensive AT Library collections that include high- and low-tech devices as well as medical durable equipment such as walkers, motorized wheelchairs and ramps that can be modified for your home. Operating just like a regular Library, you can take all the above out on loan and try it out before committing to a purchase. The state can also help you with financing sources if that is necessary.

When it comes to AT Solutions, one size definitely does not fit all! So, start with the self-assessment and share your discovery with your state’s AT department to begin finding the solutions you need to “increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of persons with disabilities.”

Allis Kensing works with her team at Penn-Mar Human Services to find technology solutions for the people with intellectual and developmental disabilities they support to help create new opportunities for providing increased independence and connectivity with the community. She created an Assistive Technology (AT) Lending Library at the organization and collaborates regularly with team members and vendors to test and procure new technologies that align with people’s goals and personal outcomes. Prior to joining Penn-Mar in 2022, Allis was employed by The ARC Baltimore for 20 years where she first implemented AT solutions to help the people they supported find employment opportunities.

Allis can be reached at: 443-491-9683 or alliskensing@penn-mar.org.

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Residents Cheer on Jessica Patchel as She Receives Her College Diploma

ggorham — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 20:15:48 +0000

A self-described “surreal” journey since applying to Penn-Mar “on a whim.”

Jessica poses with her husband in her cap and gown.

To say 2024 was a “trifecta year” for Jessica Patchel is an understatement. The Penn-Mar North Day Program Manager graduated from college, turned 30, and got married. “It was a very chaotic, hectic year, for sure,” she said.

Back in 2018 when she was applying for jobs, Penn-Mar was the first place to get back to her. In what Jessica describes as “the butterfly effect,” she went in for the interview and was offered a job as a Direct Support Professional (DSP). From there she was promoted to Senior DSP and then Residential Supervisor, before accepting the position of Day Program Manager this year.

Early on, Jessica felt a passion for her work and surprised herself when she realized she wanted to learn more about the field. “I literally was the superlative of ‘class clown’ in high school and didn’t take it as seriously as I should have,” she admitted. “So here I was, nine years after graduating high school, deciding to take a crack at college, in the middle of the COVID pandemic, no less! It was scary.”

She began her journey at Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC), majoring in Social Services and eventually switching to Human Services.

In two-and-a-half years, while working full time, Jessica graduated magna cum laude with an Associate Degree in Applied Science and Human Services, maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout — not to mention being inducted into the National Collegiate Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. She described the experience as being “like a fever dream.”

Jessica and James take a selfie.

Helping her with her studies during this time were James and Alexis, two of the people Jessica supported in their community home. Both were part of the residential group that gathered for a pizza party to virtually attend her college graduation via a YouTube link.

“She looked lovely,” gushed James. “I was proud of her and all the hard work she did. I helped her study, and I was so proud. She did a good job!”

Alexis helped Jessica with her essay questions and studied with her using flash cards. “I was smiling so big when I saw her walk on the stage,” she remembered. “She is the best person ever and very smart. She is a role model to me too.”

Jessica and Alexis take a selfie.

All the residents were cheering and clapping with excitement while watching Jessica’s big moment (so excited that they forgot to save her some pizza!). When she returned from the graduation to celebrate her accomplishment with them, James remembers her looking “beautiful when she walked through the door.”

Alexis gave her a big hug followed by a fist bump and admitted Jessica’s accomplishment has inspired her to think about going to school or college.

Looking back at all that has transpired over the past few years, it seems surreal to Jessica. “Where Penn-Mar has taken me is just incredible,” said the Career Ladders Level III Certified DSP. “They say, ‘find a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life,’ and that’s how I feel being here,” she said. “The sky is the limit, and I am hoping to go back to school and get my bachelor’s degree in human services or healthcare.”

Jessica admits to always having a nurturing heart. “I love helping others feel good, if only in that moment,” she said. “I tend to see the brighter side of life rather than the glass half-empty mentality. I love seeing the people we support grow as we help them reach goals, they thought they may not have been able to.”

For anyone considering following Jessica’s career path she says, “You have to have the feeling inside, it can’t be taught. You can teach people the mechanics of caring for someone but emotionally caring for someone is completely different.”

James and Alexis would agree!

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Ways To Help People With IDD

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 23:09:43 +0000

Most people want to make the world a better place. There are many different ways to accomplish this and make a positive impact. One of the most important ways is by helping others and by working towards a more inclusive community. However, knowing how to best go about this isn’t always simple and straightforward.

This can be especially true when it comes to supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). People with IDD are deeply capable. However, just as we all have things we may struggle with, some people with IDD can face barriers when it comes to communication, mobility, learning, body processes, and more. This can impact their ability to express themselves and communicate, and so some people with an IDD work with Direct Support Professionals (DSPs), who support them in their day-to-day activities and assist them in achieving their goals.

Whether you’re a DSP or simply someone who cares about making a difference, there are a number of ways you can help create a more supportive, inclusive community.

What Does the IDD Community Need and How Can You Help?

When trying to determine how to support individuals with IDD, one of the first things to do is ask, “what is the IDD community advocating for?” Answering that question is not simple and involves thought and research. But by listening to people with IDD and what they advocate for, we can gain a better understanding of what the IDD community needs and how we can assist in providing it.

That answer can involve providing something new altogether, increasing the capacity and funding of services that are already offered, expanding your or others’ understanding, creating more accessible spaces and tools, and more. Providing some types of support to individuals with IDD will entail large, cascading changes in society and certain industries. Other types of support are simpler steps that we can make in our everyday lives.

Here are some of the key ways that you can support the IDD community:

Education and Awareness – One of the main ways to support individuals with IDD is by educating ourselves and others about their experiences and the barriers they may face. Once we have a better understanding, we can then support the IDD community in bringing about beneficial changes for which they are advocating. One part of educating ourselves about individuals with IDD includes being aware of the way we talk about disability. For example, we can learn and adopt each person’s preferred terminology when discussing their disability. Some people with IDD prefer person-first language. This emphasizes the individual and not their disability. For example, saying someone “has autism,” versus calling them an “autistic person.” However, other people may prefer diagnosis-first language, and may ask to be referred to as an “autistic person” instead of a “person with autism,” when discussing their disability. While it can seem confusing, it’s important to remember that just like anybody, people with IDD are individuals who have individual preferences. Understanding how to talk about disability and making an effort to learn how to be more respectful and inclusive are all small steps that everyone can take to support the IDD community.
Increase Accessibility – Another way to create a more inclusive environment, especially for people with IDD, is by increasing accessibility. This can involve many things, like assistive technology that helps with communication and learning, improving the services people have access to and receive, making public spaces and buildings accessible for those with mobility disabilities, improving access to transportation, using closed captioning and designing accessible websites, and more. This option for supporting the IDD community will have to be the focus of organizations, businesses, and governments in order to bring about widespread change. However, individuals who are in positions to do so can help expedite some of these changes to improve accessibility.
Promote DEI Efforts – Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts have been increasingly focused on by businesses and organizations in recent years. These efforts involve celebrating diversity and the things that make us different from one another. They are also about being equitable and providing people with the resources, tools, and opportunities needed to achieve an equal standing in life. Finally, DEI efforts focus on including people in decision-making processes, particularly those who have been marginalized and underrepresented historically, like individuals with IDD, among many other communities. Continuing to promote DEI efforts will help all groups that haven’t had a voice in the past and have been under-resourced, including the IDD community.
Pursue a Career in Health and Human Services – One of the main ways to support adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities is by pursuing a career in health and human services. There are hundreds of different careers to choose from, but a few main ones are instrumental in assisting individuals within the IDD community. One of the primary barriers individuals with IDD face is a lack of services. Currently, there aren’t enough professionals who are devoted to supporting individuals with IDD. There also needs to be increased training opportunities for current professionals so they can better understand best practices for supporting someone with an IDD. If you are trying to help through a career, you can consider becoming a professional that specializes in working with the IDD community. One way to do this is by becoming a Direct Support Professional (DSP). DSPs are particularly important as they not only support individuals with IDD, but are a critical factor in someone with an IDD being able to live an independent life of their choosing. By being a DSP, you can directly impact individuals with IDD every day.

If you’re interested in working with individuals with IDD, then you’ve come to the right place! At Penn-Mar Human Services, our mission is to support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live courageous lives full of self-determination, independence, and equity. Our approach is innovative, person-centered, and successful. Through meaningful employment, community inclusion, and residential choice, the people Penn-Mar supports are empowered to live their best lives.

If you’re interested in a career in healthcare and want to make a difference in the lives of others, consider filling out an application to join our team! We offer a wide range of employee benefits and competitive compensation. You can also get involved by learning more about our services or signing up to volunteer with us today!

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