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Blackanthem Military News
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Last Updated:
Mar 15, 2010 - 5:06:48 PM |
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Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program Brings Real Solutions to Federal Workers and Service Members with Disabilities
By Patricia Opong-Brown, TRICARE Management Activity
Oct 27, 2007 - 12:05:56 PM
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Blackanthem Military News
 FALLS CHURCH, Va. - A federal employee we will call Jennifer, was severely burned over 70 percent of her body in an office explosion. She felt hopeless, wondered if she would be able to live independently or ever return to work. Jennifer went to the Department of Defense (DoD) Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP) to see what they could do for her.
After seeing a demonstration of the voice recognition technology, and how it could enable her to work and live independently, she realized there was hope. The CAP office does not refer to Jennifer as a Workers’ Compensation claimant; rather they refer to her as a Pentagon survivor. That office explosion happened September 11, 2001; it was her second day on the job.
CAP was launched in 1990 as the centrally-funded, reasonable accommodations program for DoD employees with disabilities. The program is under TRICARE Management Activity. Amazingly, many of the technologies cost less than $500 – but their value is immeasurable.
"The program is meant to cover a couple of specific populations; employees with disabilities working within DoD or in the 65 federal partner agencies we support, and our war-wounded active duty service members," says Dinah Cohen, CAP Director. CAP is there to make information more accessible to federal workers or service members with disabilities and remove roadblocks to employment opportunities. It supports people with cognitive or communication disabilities, people who are blind or have low vision, people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and people with dexterity disabilities.
Before purchasing the assistive technologies, CAP conducts a needs assessment to ensure the proper assistive devices and training are provided. The assessments are done on a case-by-case basis because disabilities are not "cookie cutter" conditions. The CAP staff looks at the individual, their job and possible solutions when conducting the assessment.
The technology for blind people includes Braille and auditory accommodations. The station at the CAP Technology Evaluation Center (CAPTEC) has a computer with a standard keyboard as well as a refreshable Braille display. Refreshable Braille is an electro-mechanical device for displaying Braille characters, usually by means of raising dots through holes in a flat surface. The display usually sits under the computer keyboard In addition, "anything that is on the computer’s monitor (MS Word document, MS Excel spreadsheet, Internet Browser, Email, etc.) is provided in an auditory format giving the user equal access to electronic information," said, Mark Rew, CAP Blind/Low Vision Team Leader.
When evaluating a candidate, Rew asks a series of questions to get to know what kind of work the individual does, how much time will be spent on the computer, how much of the work relies on hard copy (print) and if equipment is needed to convert text into Braille hard copy. For instance, a service member who lost his eyesight as a result of an explosion in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was evaluated at CAPTEC, located in Room 2A259 in the Pentagon. He got the necessary equipment, returned to his military career, got a promotion and is back in school to further his education.
 CAP also offers technology for people with dexterity disabilities. "These disabilities impact quadriplegics, paraplegics, individuals with multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy, and individuals who have developed disabling conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis," said Michael Young, CAPTEC Manager. The technology available for this group is voice recognition. It allows an individual to speak into a microphone and the software "translates" their voice directly into text in various programs, such as word processing, data bases or email. "It is very easy to achieve 98 to 99 percent accuracy," said Young.
"By fulfilling the mission of providing real solutions for real needs, CAP is helping to make the Federal government the model employer for people with disabilities," said Cohen. Since its inception, CAP has filled over 61,000 requests for job accommodations and continues to grow every year. Fifty percent of users have some form of dexterity disabilities, 30 percent have visual disabilities and the other users are deaf or hard of hearing.
Many of those helped recently by CAP are service men and women who were injured in Afghanistan or Iraq. Through the CAP Wounded Service Member Initiative, "we support wounded service members by providing needs assessments, assistive technology and training throughout all phases of recovery and the transition to employment," said Ms. Cohen.
CAP works with Medical Treatment Facility staff such as case managers, physicians and liaisons to increase awareness of assistive technologies and training available at no charge. CAP is committed to ensuring wounded service members have the tools early in their recovery and rehabilitation to ensure re-employment and positive life experiences are part of their futures.
Helen Keller once said, "The public must learn that the blind man is neither genius nor a freak nor an idiot. He has a mind that can be educated; a hand which can be trained; ambitions, which it is right for him to strive to realize and it is the duty of the public to help him make the best of himself so that he can win light through work." CAP brings Keller’s words to life.
More information about the CAP program is available by visiting the CAP Web site at: www.tricare.mil/cap.
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