What It Is
AT Champions is a six-month-long program designed to empower youth and build connections with young disabled activists in the Mid-Atlantic region. AT Champions hires and supports disabled students as interns to develop content related to assistive technology, including social media videos and flyers.
2024-2025 Cohort
Bridges’ AT Champions
The Maryland Bridges Technical Assistance Center is proud to support Kayla and Marie as our two AT Champions for the 2024-2025 cohort. Bridges AT Champions will also work with AT Champions from other states in the mid-Atlantic region.
Monthly projects
Each month, our AT Champions participate in a workshop with AT Champions and state project leads in the mid-Atlantic region. AT Champions Program Lead Alanna Raffel and her team at TechOWL created the curriculum and lead each monthly workshop.
Check out the AT Champions playlist on our Bridges Helpdesk and Technical Center YouTube channel anytime!
October: Introduction and why I want to be an AT Champion
Kayla and her Braille Note Touch+
Check out Kayla’s YouTube video as she shares with us her favorite piece of assistive technology Braille Note Touch+.
Marie’s favorite braille writer
Check out Marie’s YouTube video as she shows us one of her favorite pieces of assistive technology: her braille writer.
November: Assistive Technology Essentials
Kayla and the Assistive Technology Continuum
Check out Kayla’s Assistive Technology Continuum YouTube video as she shares with us two assistive technology tools she uses – one mid-tech and the other light.no-tech!
Marie’s NLS Book Reader
Check out Marie’s NLS Book Reader YouTube video as she shows us the NLS Book Reader.
Marylanders:
Get a chance to try out assistive technology for free by checking out the MDTAP Assistive Technology Library!
December: Assistive Technology Fabrication
Kayla Creates Assistive Technology Tools
Check out this Kayla Creates Assistive Technology Tools YouTube video where Kayla demonstrates her Assistive Technology Fabrication skills and how she uses what she creates!
Find out more! Assistive Technology Fabrication Resources web page
January: Assistive Technology Disability History
Kayla Finds Solutions For Accessibility Obstacles
Check out this Kayla Finds Solutions For Accessibility Obstacles YouTube video where Kayla shares some accessibility obstacles she has faced at her college. Bonus: Kayla provides multiple solutions to these challenges, including the use of low-tech assistive technology tools like Wkki Stix!
February: Assistive Technology Funding
Kayla Shares About Bookshare – An AT Funding Solution
Check out Kayla’s Bookshare YouTube video where Kayla tells us about a great assistive technology tool for accessible books: Bookshare! Kayla also shares ways to get Bookshare for free – for Marylanders and others in the U.S.
Here are some additional resources:
- About Bookshare Bridges Resource Library article
- Bookshare Reader Bridges Resource Library article
- Maryland Library for the Blind and Print Disabled Bridges Resource Library article (free Bookshare for Maryland Library for the Blind patrons of all ages!)
March: AT Champions Moving Forward
Kayla Shares About the AT Champions Program
Check out Kayla’s AT Champions Reflections YouTube video as she shares with us how she feels about her participation in the AT Champions program. Check it out and find out why YOU might want to apply to join our next AT Champions cohort!
Bridges’ AT Champions Project Support
Carlton Anne Cook Walker, Project Director of the Bridges Technical Assistance Center
Chris Nusbaum, Project Coordinator of the Bridges Technical Assistance Center
More About the AT Champions Program
Purpose
There is significant disengagement of members of the disability community due to systemic social barriers. The purpose of the AT Champions program is to develop and implement an outreach strategy that will improve authentic engagement with assistive technology by disabled people in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
Funding
This project was funded by the Mid-Atlantic ADA Center, operated by TransCen, Inc., which provides information, guidance, and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) within the Mid-Atlantic region (DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, and WV). The Mid-Atlantic ADA Center is funded under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR, grant #90DPAD0008). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The information, guidance, and/or materials provided are intended solely as informal guidance and do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, or HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government.