East Tennessee Technology Access Center, 116 Childress St., Knoxville, Tennessee 37920
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Our Mission | Board of Directors | Staff | Success Stories
About ETTAC
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,
€œGoing 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, €œI 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, €œI 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.