Success Stories
What Matters - Charlie's Story
What
matters . . .is that Charlie wouldn’t have a voice without the
technology that creates communication boards that give him a
voice . . .or that makes worksheets that allow him to practice
his educational skills at home. The East Tennessee Technology
Access Center, an agency funded by United Way of Jefferson
County, has helped Charlie and his family since 2001 identify
the different kinds of technology he needs to learn and speak.
Five years ago Charlie couldn’t touch a toy or play
independently. Through training to his family, loan of many
different devices and software including adapted toys, and
technical support, ETTAC has enabled Charlie to gain many
skills. He is now working on using language to build sentences,
independently uses a computer, and is talking in complete
sentences with his communication device. With the help of United
Way, many more children and adults with disabilities in
Jefferson County can continue to receive the assistive
technology devices and service that allow them to live with
potential, dignity, and independence. What matters is that
Charlie is being given the support and services he needs to
learn and play like other children. For more information, call
ETTAC at (865) 219-0130,
“Going the Distance:” Jason McClure’s Story
Jason McClure was born with cerebral palsy, in 1977 in a rural East Tennessee
County, the youngest in a family of six older brothers and sisters. He attended
Sevier County Schools for 12 years and exited with a special education diploma
and three goals: to learn to read, to live by himself and to get a job.
In 1994 he came with his mother, Judy, to the East Tennessee Technology Access
Center in Knoxville, TN, asking for help in reaching those goals. The first
thing he knew he needed and wanted was a communication device that would help
people unfamiliar with him understand his speech. Through funding from insurance
and a local Sportsman’s Club, he was able to get a handheld device called a
Dynamyte that he learned to program himself and use in job interviews or in
meetings with his counselors from Vocational Rehabilitation.
ETTAC staff started teaching him to read, using different assistive technology
software and hardware devices. Books were adapted so that Jason could turn the
pages with one hand. He had already taught himself to use a computer and had
mastered the use of Microsoft Office applications, including drawing cartoons in
Microsoft Word. In six years, Jason has gone from a pre-first grade level in
reading to his current level of 8th grade, and he recently passed his GED.
Jason also wanted to live by himself, a dream he had since he was a little boy.
He says, “I didn’t want to wake up one day, be 40, and still living with my
mom.” In 2004 he moved into his own accessible apartment in Sevierville and also
went to Smyrna, TN to learn independent living schools. He now roams
Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg in his power chair in his spare time.
Jason loves history and music, and visits or attends whatever museums or events
are within range of the batteries of his wheelchair or the free accessible
trolley that runs between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. A multitude of reflection
strips on his wheelchair give him some measure of safety, although he admits
that he frequently is driving on the shoulder of the road rather than on
sidewalks.
Jason’s third dream was to get a job. Some counselors and advisors wanted him to
go to the local day program for people with developmental disabilities, but
Jason effectively protested against that recommendation. His sights were set
much higher. An interview (which he scripted on his Dynamyte) with a prominent
Sevier County resident landed a recommendation to be interviewed for a new
position at the Sevier County Library in the genealogy department. Jason capably
demonstrated both his ability to do the job and his work ethic, and he has been
working at this job part-time since May, 2006.
Jason says he has done more than he ever though he would, but he hesitates to
take the credit for his drive and ambition. In his words, “I want to go the
distance in life. I might not make it to the mountain top – I might only make it
half-way – but I want to go as far as I can.” Those of us who know Jason also
know that his future is limitless.