Assistive Technology Support Program

Technology is everywhere—it’s all around us. For most of us, technology provides convenience or makes our lives more interesting. But, for people living with disabilities who often face significant barriers and challenges in the world, technology is more than that—it’s essential to everyday life.

A power wheelchair can provide independence, a specialized walker can provide freedom, a porch lift can provide access, and a speech recognition device can allow a mother to hear her child say, “I love you” for the first time. Assistive technology helps break down barriers, eliminate obstacles and enrich lives. For people living with disabilities, technology opens up their world and changes their life. But this technology is expensive and the financial burden on families is tremendous.

That power wheelchair can cost more than $25,000. That specialized walker can cost up to $2,500. That porch lift can cost upwards of $5,000. Add to that all the other expenses that families face—and the fact that children outgrow their costly equipment like they outgrow their clothes—and it becomes clear why many families turn to Easter Seals for help.

Programs like the Assistive Technology Support Program offer people with disabilities financial assistance for the purchase of assistive technology and specialized equipment.  This life-changing equipment and technology provides a means to move, to communicate, to experience the world and to access life. For those living with disabilities, programs like this can turn a world of limitation into a world of possibility.