T.K. Martin Center director speaks to Rotary Club
The Starkville Rotary Club heard a presentation on the mission and scope of one of Mississippi State University’s most well-respected programs at its meeting Monday.
T.K. Martin Center for Technology and Disability Director Kasee Strattongadke gave the club an overview of the center’s many services to those with mental and physical disabilities, as well as an update on the center’s COVID-19 response and plans for the future.
The T.K. Martin Center will be the club’s philanthropy this year, receiving a donation in honor of each of its weekly speakers under President Grant Arinder.
Stratton-gadke first spoke to the center’s project Insuring Mississippi Parents and Children Tomorrows Preschool (IMPACT) for children with special needs, one of the center’s best-known programs.
“Right now the center’s Project IMPACT Preschool serves about 45 preschoolers, who are otherwise needing special education services,” Stratton-gadke said. “We have three classrooms and we have three teacher assistants who help support our primary teachers, and then we’re also able to provide speech, occupational and physical therapy in-house for those who come for our services.”
The preschool is funded primarily through the Mississippi Department of Education, and is free of charge for those who attend it.
“We have some families that travel upwards of three hours in one trip to be able to bring their child to our services, because they’re so specialized for what they need, which is really humbling to us to know that families are trusting us with that care, but also speaks to the impact of that program and what wonderful support our staff gives,” Stratton-gadke said.
She said she hoped the preschool would one day be able to add some elementary classrooms servicing students up to third grade.
The preschool has been operating virtually through the novel coronavirus pandemic.
She also discussed the assistive technology programs at T.K. Martin, which help those with disabilities with everything from speaking to driving to finding a safe and comfortable place to sit.
“Anybody who may be beginning to drive, or may need to re-learn to drive, we’re able to provide that service at T.K. Martin,” Stratton-gadke said. “We also offer bioptic driving, for someone with vision concerns who would otherwise be able to drive, and we’ve also started to partner with folks who might have a mental disability who are interested in beginning to learn to drive to be able to come to us with more of our focus on disability, to be able to teach them from the very beginning.”
Another adaptive service offered is communication devices for those who may not be able to speak normally.
“We’re not only able to teach them how to use that device, but how to use it in combination with something like a wheelchair,” Stratton-gadke said.
She also discussed some of the mobility and seating options the center had available to help determine what would be best for a given person in need.
“We’re able to provide adaptive seating equipment, as well as wheelchair accommodations for anyone who uses a manual or power chair, and be able to customize that chair to their needs,” Stratton-gadke said.
“We have chairs at our clinic for people from as soon as they start sitting up, through old age, so we have a really specialized service there, as well as classroom accommodations for that furniture.”
She also discussed some of the research
the center was involved in, including using virtual reality to help a person learn how to safely operate a power chair. The center is also working in collaboration with the MSU Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures on 3-D printed copies of artifacts to help those with visual impairments experience them.
She said the center was now in a good place financially, following some serious
financial concerns at the center in the spring of 2019. The financial issues came to light prior to Stratton-gadke taking the helm at T.K. Martin in July 2019.
“We have been able to maintain every contract we had prior to me coming in, particularly with the Department of Rehab Services, one of our largest vendors,” Stratton-gadke. “We have acquired some new grants.”