Using Technology to Increase the Independence of Older Adults with Combined Hearing and Vision Loss

Using Technology to Increase the Independence of Older Adults with Combined Hearing and Vision Loss

Description

The Helen Keller National Center for DeafBlind Youths and Adults (HKNC) is the only national Comprehensive and Vocational Rehabilitation Program exclusively for youths and adults with a combined hearing and vision loss. The residential-based training program located at its headquarters in Sands Point, Long Island, NY, provides vocational training and assistance to consumers in locating employment, housing and community resources in their community of choice. NOTE: During the COVID-19 pandemic, all classes are being conducted virtually.

Field services include 10 regional offices with 11 regional representatives, 11 DeafBlind specialists, 3 youth coordinators and a California based Community Services Program. 

Additional programs include:  Summer Youth Programs; a Senior Adult Program; a New York Community Services Program; an Information, Research and Professional Development Department; a DeafBlind Immersion Experience; and internships through a Professional Learning and Leadership Institute.

Video

Presenter

Megan A. Conway, PhD, has over 30 years of professional experience in the disability field, with additional experience living as a DeafBlind person.  She is currently an Accessibility and Research Specialist with the Helen Keller National Center for DeafBlind Youth and Adults (HKNC), where she works with the Information, Research and Professional Development (IRPD) department.

Megan Dausch:
Braille, technology and accessibility are the driving passions behind Megan’s life and work. She began her work with Helen Keller Services (HKS) in 2010 as a Braille Quality Assurance Specialist in the Helen Keller Braille Library, where she ensured students had access to their course materials by proofreading braille textbooks. In 2012, she joined the Adaptive Technology department at the Helen Keller National Center (HKNC), where she was a senior instructor, providing technology instruction to consumers so that they could thrive personally and professionally. Megan coordinated a project along with the DiCapta Foundation to make television alerts and captions accessible via braille display.
Currently, Megan is the Accessibility Specialist for HKS. In this role, she provides trainings on accessibility,,  evaluates products for accessibility and facilitates the organization’s accessibility committee.
Megan Holds a Masters degree in Language and Literacy. As an undergraduate, she studied English, Spanish and French.