Adaptive technology
helps disabled veterans continue doing what they love at the National Wheelchair Games.
Steve Kirk leans into his air rifle, tucking it into the crook of his neck, eyeing the target and steadying it slightly with his semi-clenched left hand.
When it’s time to pull the trigger, the long-haired 69-year-old U.S. Army veteran places his mouth over a “sip and puff” extension similar to a flexible straw.
When he inhales sharply, the rifle fires.
“It’s very helpful for me,” Kirk said. “Without the technology, I wouldn’t be shooting. I have no finger grasp.”
The Deltona resident is among the 650 athletes competing this week in 21 sports at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games at the Orange County Convention Center.
Smiling slightly, Kirk, president of Central Florida’s chapter of Paralyzed Veterans of America, rattles off his improving scores during the past three years of the competition: 120 out of 600, then 160, and finally 300. That represents a highwater mark for Kirk, who served in the Army from 1967 to 1970.
But it also illustrates how adaptive technology has helped veterans with disabilities like Kirk do things they enjoyed before their injuries.
Kirk has limited movement in his arms and legs, a result of a 1980 skiing accident during which he dislocated his neck. The crash rendered him a quadriplegic, and he has been in a wheelchair ever since.
The device on his air gun is a customized solution to a problem for veterans, said Christina Lafex, recreational therapist and coordinator of Orlando VA Medical Center’s adaptive sports program.
Lafex, who started the program last year, has been working with veterans who want to compete in several sports.
“It all comes back to a traditional rehabilitation goal using a non-traditional approach,” Lafex said, who added that inhaling is used to fire Kirk’s gun because it’s easier to accidentally exhale.
Lafex helps them create customized sports equipment that specifically takes a person’s disability into account.
For instance, a quadriplegic’s cycle could need specialized handles or different pressure points on seats for greater comfort.
The gear helps these athletes feel better about their training, Lafex said.
“It allows them the opportunity to forget that they are disabled for a little while,” she said. “Otherwise, they might get quiet and dig into a cocoon and just stay there.”
For the first time in its 38-year history, the wheelchair games has set off a small portion of exhibition space to highlight high-tech products for people with disabilities.
The idea was a collaboration between Full Sail University and the VA, who wanted to reflect the games’ approach toward adaptive tech, said Jacob Kaplan, the school’s creative projects strategist.
“The Wheelchair Games aim to help veterans increase independence and quality of life,” he said. “We wanted to create an interactive experience that allowed for technology to do the same thing.”
One display featured a virtual reality set up that allowed users to experience a digital representation of hang gliding.
Another, built by Doghead Simulations in Orlando, opens a virtual meeting room for a company’s employees to hang out in. That was less a showcase of products specially made for those with disabilities as it was an illustration that as tech matures, it can create fully accessible situations.
“Any veteran who has been injured and loses the ability to hang out with people in some capacity could have issues adjusting,” said Doghead cofounder Chance Glasco, whose Orlando-based company builds a platform that provides digital meeting rooms that allow people to virtually “sit” next to each other and interact.
At times, Kirk says he does think back to the accident, marveling at how technology has helped others in his situation.
“If it happened today, I’d probably be able to walk again at some point,” he said. “But it’s not about staying home and feeling sorry for yourself.”
But being able to shoot and enjoy a competitive hobby helps him move past what has happened and lets him bring out his competitive nature, he said.
“You just want to do as good as you can,” he said. “When you see other people do it, you realize that you can, too. I used to sit around and watch other quads and how they do things.”
“It allows them the opportunity to forget that they are disabled for a little while. Otherwise, they might get quiet and dig into a cocoon and just stay there.” Coordinator of Orlando VA Medical Center’s adaptive sports program