Initiative Description
Over the past year, MDTAP has worked closely with AbleGamers, a nonprofit focused on expanding access to accessible gaming for people with disabilities. AbleGamers had been donated, by Microsoft, hundreds of new AT switches including the Big Red, the Microlight, the Jelly Bean, and Specs. AbleGamers reached out to MDTAP to request help in donating these switches to organizations, schools, and individuals for the purposes of increasing access to computers, games, communication devices, and toys. In December 2021, MDTAP received nearly 600 boxed switches, and conducted extensive outreach and conducted a coordinated effort to identify recipients, catalog requests, and distribute these across the state.
Lessons Learned/Replication
As a result, we 557 switches/devices were distributed to approximately 140 recipients, many of which were school systems, providers, and individual families. We conducted a follow-up survey in June to all 140 recipients and received 13 responses. Of those responses, the vast majority noted that they used the device(s) with clients and students, primarily for communication and toy access. One educator from Talbot County also noted that the switches provided first-time access to a student who previously was unable to play video games. Although we don't anticipate replicating this activity in the future, we believe that getting these switches into the hands of schools, providers, families, and organizations helped to expand access for individuals with disabilities in Maryland.