HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — On April 13, the Guam System for Assistive Technology will be hosting an assistive technology expo as part of the 30th GSAT Conference and Expo, themed Assistive Technology: Empowering Our Island with Limitless Possibilities.
“We have our assistive technology expo at the Micronesia Mall on Saturday, and we are trying to get our biomedical equipment suppliers to do (a) showcase to highlight the assistive technology equipment that they have at their store,” said Leah Abelon, project coordinator for the University of Guam Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service, or CEDDERS.
“We want to encourage them because a lot of the clients that do come in here want to know where they can get devices. Basically, (at) the Guam System for Assistive Technology, we are a device demonstration and loan center here within the University of Guam campus,” she further explained.
The month of March is National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, but GSAT opted to host this year’s event in early April.
April 17 is National Assistive Technology Awareness Day, Abelon said.
Assistive technology is any item that can assist an individual with disabilities in their daily life, Abelon said.
“Your phone, for example, has some accessibility features that can help a person who has lost their eyesight to read information on their phone. Another one would be sound recognition. It’s a built-in accessibility feature that recognizes sounds so a person that is deaf or hard of hearing … would be able to be notified on their phone that it is, in fact, ringing,” she explained.
Though eyeglasses, wheelchairs and ramps are also examples of assistive technology, said Abelon, at the expo, attendees will be introduced to the latest technology on the market, like Amazon Echo.
“With the advent of technology constantly being updated to more advanced technologies, we want to give them a different view of technology. (An) innovative view of technology, and (they can) be on the same level internationally, (as) in the states and globally,” she said.
The expo will be held at the Micronesia Mall and is open to the public from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“We encourage people with disabilities to attend because there’s really insightful information that can be shared. All veterans with disabilities, service providers that do provide services to these individuals, we also encourage family members and caregivers to attend,” she said.
In addition to this, GSAT will be hosting a conference April 5 at The Westin Resort Guam.
“Charlie Hermosa, our keynote speaker, will be speaking on the topic (of) virtual reality in a changing world. There’s going to be a breakout session (and) concurrent session. We will also have a resolution presented to us by Sen. Roy Quinata,” she said.
Registration for the conference closed last Friday. The conference is from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
