Annette Bergesen

OTA 1210
UATT Conference Reflection
February 12, 2015

The UATT conference took place in Ogden on February 4th and 5th 2015. I had high hopes
of learning many new things about assistive technology and to understand how to incorporate
technology into treatments, but I came away a bit disappointed. I think that some of the sessions
that I attended where more useful for someone who is working in the school district and they
really had nothing to do with occupational therapy.
The first day I attended the keynote session with Chris Bugaj. He was very energetic and
had many interesting and good ideas on how to change the way traditional teaching in the
classroom is being done. What I learned from that session was that its very important to be
creative and think outside the box when we teach and treat children with learning disabilities.
I collected a lot of interesting information in the vendor hall. Im not very familiar with
the many various assistive technologies that are available, so I was quite surprised to see what
the vendors were showing. I think the technology I found most fascinating was Eagle Eyes, an
innovative eye-controlled technology that acts as a mouse replacement and helps children and
adults with severe disabilities to interact and learn how to use a computer.
I talked to the representatives from the Utah Parent Center and received great information
and handouts regarding disabilities resources in Utah. I was pleasantly surprised to see how
many various support organizations there are in Utah, like Utah Centers for Independent Living ,
NAMI Utah, and Autism Council of Utah to name only a few. I will use that information to build
my own resource binder that I can use when Im in practice to help the clients and families I will
be serving.

The first day I attended three breakout sessions. Tricia Jones-Parkin was with DSPD and
her lecture was directed to educators in the school system, and I was quite lost in that session.
James Gardner, an OT, talked about and demonstrated electronic devices that make
technology assessable to clients with hi-level spinal cord injury, neurological disorders and other
disabilities affecting the upper extremities. He talked about and demonstrated the use of Google
Glass, Moto Hint, Tobii PC EyeGo, Eye Tribe and more. That session made me realize that in
order for me to be a resourceful as helpful COTA to my clients, I need to learn more about how
to use technology and how the various equipment works. It honestly was a bit intimidating.
My favorite session was the last one that day; MacGyver AT solutionsVelcro, Duct
Tape and Beyond. They shared low cost solutions on how to improve the life of those living
with disabilities. They really inspired me to use my creativity and to think outside of the box.
They showed how using everyday material such as Velcro, duct tape, a variety of moldable
plastics, and PVC pipes can be used in creative ways to build one-of-a-kind tools and
interventions that can be very useful in improving functional skills.
The following day I learned about assistive technology to help with improving executive
function in students who struggle with memory loss, task flexibility, problem solving among
many things. Lorie Coates, who taught that session, stressed the importance of taking time to
find out what the childs real problem is when doing evaluations.
A few of us student thought that it would be a good idea to attend Bradie Ormonds
lecture. We thought it was going to be about goal writing, which the program implied, but I think

all of us were disappointed as she spoke of evaluation tools is the school system and nothing
about goal writing.
The last session of the conference I attended was apps for the visually impaired. Quinton
Williams, who is blind, demonstrated how he uses technology in his daily life and what apps he
thinks are useful. This session was very good and the information was useful as these
technologies can help not only the vision impaired but the also the geriatric population.
Overall I think that this experience was a good one as it opened my eyes to the
possibilities of what assistive technology can do.