Rehabilitation Technology Program

OTHER WINNERS November 2005: David Fellows, Jutta Young September 2005: Sumter County DOT staff April 2004: Linda Nodine February 2004: SC Law Enforcement Officers December 2003: David Johnson September 2003: Richard Chesley August 2003: Paul Gowder July 2003: Walter Metz June 2003: SCDOT's Mabry May 2003: Rehabilitation Technology Program April 2003: SCETV

S.C. Vocational Rehabilitation Department
May 2003

Low-cost, low-tech solutions provided by the S.C. Vocational Rehabilitation Department's Rehabilitation Technology Program allow people with disabilities to work. Some examples:

• A Cayce grocery store cashier who is very short can work comfortably because of a platform that elevates her to the proper height.
  
  
• A Florence man who has quadriplegia works as a computer assisted drawing and design (CADD) technician at his home, thanks to a custom work surface and a document holder that supports large architectural drawings.
  
  
• An Anderson client has a prosthetic leg which made it difficult to perform his functions as a sheetrock hanger. A fabricated set of clip-on steps that serve as intermediate platforms on the existing scaffolding make it possible for him to climb safely.

S.C. Sen. Phil Leventis, who awarded the program with the Blue Granite Recognition on May 30, said its adaptive services are successful because they work with disabled people to develop solutions for what they want to do.

"They have helped these people with what they choose to do so they can support their families and the state, rather than the other way around," he said.

The program's staff of three engineers, an engineering assistant and an office assistant provides job accommodation assistance; computer access; mobility, seating and positioning services; telecommunications; sensory aids and devices; vehicle/driving modifications; home modifications; and aids for daily living for people with disabilities.

Many of the clients they serve benefit from devices adapted from items available in the marketplace or fabricated in the program's shop at minimal cost to taxpayers.

All of this program's services are directed toward providing accommodations and tools that make employment possible and/or more comfortable for people with disabilities.

"Without this program, many of the clients would be unemployed and dependent on disability benefits and Medicaid," said SCVRD Commissioner Larry Bryant. "With some assistance, they are taxpaying members of the workforce, supporting themselves and their families."

The staff members go about their jobs quietly, making life-changing differences in their clients' lives. Their reward is making it possible for a person with a disability to pursue an employment goal.

Staff members are: Tom Jackman, rehabilitation technology manager; Poornima "Pooni" Attigupam, engineering associate; Todd Batt, engineering associate; Raymond Whitaker, engineering assistant; and Jody Vassey, office assistant.

The Blue Granite Recognition is sponsored by S.C. State Credit Union.