Overcoming Disabilities: Margaret's Inspiring Journey

Background/history: Margaret is a 38 year old woman who lives in Conway Massachusetts. Margaret’s primary disability includes ADHD and a Processing Disorder, which impacts her focus and concentration. She experiences a secondary disability of Fibromyalgia and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Margaret stated during the evaluation that she too suffers from PTSD, General Anxiety Disorder, Major Depression and a sleep disorder and is presently taking medication. She went on to say she has arthritis in both her hands and her shoulders pop out of socket easily.

Margaret has made many attempts to complete a Bachelor’s degree. She states it has taken her 14 years to complete her associate’s degree and has attended many colleges to do so. The list of

She does not have a computer or printer. Although, she says she knows how to utilize a personal computer and she is able to access the internet, email on her phone, and she has limited typing skills.

Reading: Margaret states she can read but has difficulty with reading comprehension. She stated that each time she reads the same passage she finds information that she has missed. The ATS wanted to present two reading programs the Read and Write Gold and the Kurzweil program. Due to a lack of internet, the ATS could only show Margaret the standalone edition of the Kurzweil program. The ATS demonstrated the Kurzweil program features and functions and informed Margaret that both programs are able to read, highlight and extract text. Margaret felt being able to highlight text and extract them into an outline can help her with the writing process. The ATS is recommending Margaret utilize the Read and Write Gold program provided by Greenfield Community College. The Read and Write Gold program will allow Margaret to watch the instructional videos if she were to forget how to work a specific function. Also, if Margaret were to run into difficulty with the program she would be able to seek support from the Assistive Technology Department at Greenfield Community College. When material is not available in a digital format Margaret will need to

The ATS showed Margaret the features and functions of the LiveScribe pen. The ATS explained how the pen can record class lectures and important information without the worry of taking precise notes. The ATS observed Margaret as she wrote a small note, made a recording and played back the recording from the notebook. Margaret did not have difficulty maneuvering the pen, as she wrote the small note. Margaret stated the pen was a good fit and felt comfortable in her hand as she wrote. After that, the ATS showed Margaret how her notes are transferred from the pen and notebook to the LiveScribe Desktop and how to access her notes and lecture once more. What appealed to Margaret was having the ability to navigate the class lecture using her computer or pen/notebook. The ATS is recommending Margaret is provided with the LiveScribe Echo pen 2 GB and a 4 pack of