WATR, the WIND Assistive Technology Recourses Department of the Wyoming Institute For Disabilities, held an open lab to show off the new technology the department recently acquired on Thursday.
Members of the University of Wyoming and the larger Laramie community were invited to come and see all the new potentially beneficial equipment that will be used to service the members of the community with disabilities.
The Interim Director of WIND, Sandy Root-Elledge said WATR received a $45,000 allocation from the University of Wyoming Special Services Department to spend on new equipment.
WATR is a service that started through WIND in 2005 to provide technology to the disabled in an effort to make daily tasks more manageable. It is located in the Health Sciences Building in room 151.
Every state has a department for the assisting of disabilities that receives federal funding. WIND services the entire state of Wyoming in terms of facilitating tasks for those with disabilities. WIND also operates within the university, allowing students to gain insight into both cognitive and physical disability.
WATR loans out a large variety of devices such as Ipads and brail devices to families and individuals. This is done to gauge if the person utilizing the device might benefit from it, and potentially want to purchase one of these devices after the trial period.
The introduction of the Ipad has been monumental for those with disabilities. Wendy Alameda the Assistive Technology Specialist with WATR said, “For children who need special equipment in classroom, the Ipad is both user friendly, and discreet, other classmates wont ask what it is.”
Technology gets dated quickly, so the WATR department is constantly selling its old equipment at highly discounted prices. The funds from the sale of these older devices go toward the purchase of new equipment.
Currently the WIND department would happily take students for work-study programs.
“We would love for more students to join our department. It translates well for a lot of majors,” Alameda said. “If you get a kinesiology degree and become a PE teacher, how would you know how to handle a child with vision impairment?”
The WATR Department is holding another open lab on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 1 p.m. in room 151 of the Health Sciences building. For more information you can refer to the WATR website at www.uwyo.edu/wind/watr/.
