Kate May
In grade school, Kate's teachers and therapists helped her learn icon sequences in Minspeak, encouraging early steps to success. "They empowered me to become an effective Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ACC) user, which allowed me to have many optimal life opportunities," she says. Her successes include her high school's speech award, competing on the high school's debating team, and graduation from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a Special Education degree.
For the past six years, Kate has worked as an Assistive Technology Teaching Assistant, "fulfilling my passion to encourage others to be empowered by AT." She models communication using her AAC device for students who use speech generating devices (SGD), "so they can get a clear picture of what it is like to interact using a SGD." She also uses the Pathfinder Productivity Bundle, scheduling her work and appointments, and using the Pathfinder with her computer to compose emails and documents, and search the Internet.
With AT, she says, "I am an active participant and contributor in society, less reliant on my care givers and government subsidy to support me. I am more productive as an AT Teaching Assistant: producing emails, written documentations, and surfing the internet, with the use of technology to reduce the amount of key strokes. I communicate directly with others, reducing the amount of time attendants interpret for me." In short, says Kate, "I can live the American lifestyle. I tend to focus more on what I can do and not on what I can't!" With those words, Kate May expresses her philosophy of life.
Challenged by Cerebral Palsy from birth, Kate's motor control and speech are affected and she relies on others to help with many basic needs. But as an Assistive Technology Teaching Assistant, she must travel district-wide every day. Kate says, "One of my prominent daily challenges is my inability to drive a vehicle. I rely on attendants to drive in my wheelchair accessible van. Finding caring, reliable, and patient individuals to work for me is a challenge in itself." She has struggled with how others perceive her. "Due to my inability to speak clearly, it is often assumed my cognitive level is impaired. When I communicate using my speech generating device (SGD), new communication partners are not always patient while I compose my messages. Often people will address my caretakers to find out what I need," she says.
Although Kate is also a child of the age of accessibility, she's old enough to remember the simplest of technologies. She recalls, "One of the first pieces of AT in my life was a manual wheelchair. Manual wheelchairs have always been very limiting due to my inability to propel myself. Upon going into middle school, I received power mobility. Now I use a Permobil Chairman 2K with power tilt, recline, and leg rest, and a seat elevation. Power mobility has given me an unimaginable degree of independence. It has allowed me to live in my own apartment, attend college, independently access my community, and have a career. She reflects on this integration of AT in her life: "Whenever my power wheelchair is out of commission and I am in my manual chair, I say, 'I feel so disabled.'"
In many ways Kate's growth mirrors the growth of AT. "My elementary speech pathologist first introduced and recommended Prentke Romich Company's (PRC) augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)," she says. "At a very young age of six, I dedicated myself to learning and communicating with PRC's AAC devices and language application called Minspeak/Unity," and over time her communication devices have included Memowriter at age 6, Touch Talker at age 12, Liberator at age 17 and Pathfinder today.
Rev. Donna du Bois, MPH,RN,C,CLNC Back to top Julie Miller
Areas of expertise:- Neurology/Head Injury
- Nursing Standards
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Gerontology-Nursing Home
- Assisted Living Facilities
- Group Homes
- Expert Witness
- Medical Malpractice - Plaintiff or Defense
- Personal Injury - Plaintiff or Defense
- Consulting Firm
- Registered Nurse
- 15 years experience with long term care regulatory
- 10 years with Texas Department of Human Services Long term, Care Regulatory
- Former Nursing Home consultant and D.O.N.
- Certified in Gerontology Nursing
- Certified Legal Nurse Consultant
- 1989-1992 Graduate School
- 1989-1990 Houston Graduate School of Theology, Houston, Texas, M. Div., Pastoral Care
- 1984-1987 University of Texas School of Public Health, Austin, Texas, M.P.H., Community Health
- 1975-1978 Brackenridge School of Nursing, Austin, Texas, R.N. Diploma, Graduated with honors
- 1964-66, 1968-1971 University of Texas, Austin, Texas, B.A., Psychology
- Basic Certified Investigator/Inspector Training, June 6, 1995
- Certified as Gerontology Nurse - December 1, 1997
- Completed Forensic Nursing Certification Course, Kaplan University, April, 2005
- Certified as Legal Nurse Consultant - March 15, 2002
- LEO Training - Local Expert On-site computer resource person for Investigations Department, Texas Department of Health Services, 2001-2002
- Kaplan Forensic Nursing Certification Course, 10/29/04
- American Nurses Association
- American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants
Julie Miller Back to top
Julie earned her B.A. in Education as well as her M.Ed. at Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos. She has also earned her ATP Certification from Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society of North America. In the past 6 years, Julie presented at Texas Speech Language Hearing Association, Assistive Technology Industry Association, California State University Northridge and Region 13 Educational Service Center, Austin. She is an Adjunct Instructor in the Department of Communication Disorders, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX. She has been employed as a Speech-Language Pathologist by Austin ISD for the past 24 years and has been on the District Assistive Technology Team during the last 12 years.
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