620-Lancaster Famine, Saturday, Marcli 14,1967
Mid-AHantic Workshop For Disabled Focuses On Practical Applications
BY SHARON SCHUSTER
Maryland Correspondent
WESTMINSTER, Md. - Far
ming is one of the most hazardous
occupations of all. Dr. William
Field of Purdue University has
identified farmers as “one of the
highest of any segment of the
population affected by physical
impairments.”
Disabilities related to the far
ming community were addressed
in the third Mid-Atlantic Workshop
for Disabled Individuals and Their
Families in Rural and Agricultural
Communities on March 6 and 7 at
the Ag Center in Westminster, Md.
The focus of the workshop was on
practical applications for those
who have difficulty, due to
physical impairments, in com
pleting everyday tasks. Vera
Stauffer, an Extension agent from
Pennsylvania State University
specializing in rehabilitation,
outlined the steps to problem
solving in her presentation of Task
Analysis.
“What is your problem,
anyway?” asked Stauffer.
Whether the task is home
management or farm
management, Stauffer said in
dividuals must learn to maximize
the benefits of their resources.
Resources such as “time, physical
and psychological energy, money,
skills and knowledge, and en
vironmental” must be considered
when completing a task, she said.
Taking it a step further, Stauffer
said that problem solving can be
likened to a philosophy of
mechanics to which she subscribes
- “they didn’t build it all in one
piece;” just as a piece of
machinery can be taken apart,
your problems can be solved by
examining the parts more closely.
“Define the problem, look at the
alternatives, choose the best
alternative, take action and take
the responsibility for that action,
and evaluate,” suggested Stauffer.
One method of attack is to break
the task down into parts. “Look at
the three W’s - the Work, the
Worker and the Workplace,” she
added.
Tom Rothrock, 41 years old and
blind from birth, made his second
appearance at the conference this
year, by popular demand.
Rothrock offered specific
suggestions for ways of “doing
things without looking at them.”
His bag of tricks included handy
devices such as a Braille writer, a
talking calculator, and a knife with
a built in cutting guide for
regulated thickness.
“A lot of us are impatient,”
cautioned Rothrock. He advised
the audience to be “slow and
systematic and to keep everything
in a certain place.” Rothrock said
dealing with denial of an acquired
impairment is one of the most
difficult things. Through practice
and the aid of friends he has run
three marathons, including a 50
mile hike and run in Hagerstown,
Md.
Joann Guthrie, associate
professor of home economics at
West Virginia State University,
gave an enthusiastic and in
formative presentation on
Adapting the Farm Home. While
assisting West Virginia families to
adapt their rural homes to ac
commodate a handicapped person,
Guthrie is often faced with the
problem of low financial resources
and even homes with no indoor
plumbing.
“Housing for the handicapped
doesn’t look different,” said
Guthrie. In her slide presentation
she showed completed projects
such as ramps for accessability r
widened doorways, handrails,
removed doors, etc., and all at
little or no cost to anyone. Guthrie
attention to the interface areas of
workplaces. They pay a lot of
attention to placing a person in a
job; I contend they have not paid
nearly enough attention to the
same man’s driveway,” said
Guthrie.
Many brochures were available
at the workshop. Some were
geared to adapting homes and
clothing, and many were resources
for farmers and rural families.
Tractor lifts, starting at about
$BOO, can be designed to lift a
farmer in his wheelchair right to
the tractor seat. “Breaking New
Ground” is probably the most
innovative and complete resource
guide for farmers. The publication
is produced by Purdue University.
Attendance to the workshop was
down from about SO last year to
just a handful. “We have the in
formation, but the people who need
it just aren’t here,” said program
coordinator Gary Smith of the
University of Maryland
Cooperative Extension Service.
Some of the resources for in
formation and/or equipment to aid
persons with disabilities follow.
PrenJdeatial Communion on Employment
of the Handicapped
111120th Street, NW
RoomOM
Washington, D.C. 20030
Phone (202) 65M044
Jerome Bollinger and Ronnie
tractors equipped with chair lifts,
his hands or legs.
The American Occupational
Therapy Association, Inc.
1383 Piccard Drive
Rockville, Maryland 20690
Phone (301)0484026
National Rehabilitation
Hospital
101 Irving Street, NW
Ridgely, both of
A diving accident
Washington, D C 20010-2049
Phone (202) 877-1000
National Rehabilitation Information
Center
The Catholic University of America
4407 Eighth Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20017
Phone (202)6308826
TDD (202) 639-3884
S TT?
ft'.’’'*
Sykesville, Md., examine photos
left Bollinger, left, without the use
ABLEDATA (202) 835-6080
REHABDATA (202) 635-5822
Cleuinfhouie on Ike Handicapped
Dept. ofEducation
Switzer Building, Room 3132
330 C Street
Washington, O.C 20202
Phone (202) 732-1241
(Turn to Page B 21)
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