Students to Present Assistive Technology Expo

Human services students at Pennsylvania College of Technology will present an Assistive Technology Expo on May 2 in the college's Field House.

The expo, scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., will feature a broad range of services and equipment to assist individuals with disabilities. The displays will focus on mobility, recreation, communication, tracking systems, home accessibility and education.



Admission is open to both those who use the technology and to providers, such as those in health care, human services and education. The expo is free to people with disabilities and to college students with a school ID. A $5 donation is requested from professionals. A drawing for door prizes is planned. Registration for the event is not required.

This is the second year Penn College students have organized the Assistive Technology Expo. Vendors offered positive feedback following last year's event, most saying they looked forward to returning this year.

"It fills a gap," explained Shirley Larson, of Loyalsock, a human services student who is helping to plan the event, because similar expos are held in other areas of Pennsylvania but are not easily accessible from northcentral Pennsylvania. "The area's health-care, human-services and education professionals and consumers can access a whole range of technological advances in one place, in one day, in their own community."

Larson is one of five students enrolled in a course called Technology and Human Services who are organizing the event with help from their instructor, LaRue R. Reese, assistant professor of human services and social sciences.

The course introduces students to technology and its effect on various consumer populations in the human-services field, including adaptive devices, surveillance, medications and record-keeping.

The other class members are Julie A. Bair, of Linden; M. Collette Brandt, of Coal Township; Monica B. Freeman, of Williamsport; and Cindy L. Rosencrans, of Dewart. Brandt is pursuing a bachelor's degree in applied health studies with a concentration on occupational therapy assistant. Her four classmates are pursuing bachelor's degrees in applied human services.

For more information about the Assistive Technology Expo, e-mail Reese .

To learn more about the human services majors or other academic programs offered by the School of Integrated Studies at Penn College, visit on the Web , e-mail or call (570) 327-4521.

For more information about Penn College, visit online , e-mail or call toll-free (800) 367-9222.