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PA Technology for All

Dr. Mark Friedman is no stranger to advocating for and creating systemic change. He’s now taking that experience to help promote the use of assistive technology across the state. In his long career, Mark has been the state advisor to Speaking for Ourselves, Vice Chairperson of the Pennsylvania DD Council, and been a technology researcher at Temple University.

Since the start of the COVID pandemic Mark and his team have trained 5,000 people across multiple states to help bridge the digital divide for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. They are now working to building off that success with a grant through the Pennsylvania DD Council.

Starting this summer, Mark and his team will start a multi-faceted project focused on assistive technology that includes weekly training sessions, webinars by national experts, a tech summit, and the development of a Community of Practice where people across the state will be able to learn from each other. The focus of these opportunities will be for self-advocates and families, with training partners like David Taylor sharing their own personal stories, experiences, and expertise with incorporating a range of technology into daily life.

Weekly training sessions are set to kick off the project and begin in September and will consist of 6 to 8 sessions around 1-1.5 hours each. Participants who successfully complete all sessions will receive a certificate of completion. Multiple rounds of these sessions will be offered throughout the year. From there a series of 10 bimonthly webinars by national experts will begin, with recordings available online.

Rounding out the project will be the technology summit/conference and development of a Community of Practice. For those interested in learning more about this work, visit www.mytechforall.com or sign up to be kept informed of future training events through their listserv at http://eepurl.com/ilsF0H

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