O.T. "MacGyver" Makes Life Easier With Speedy Tools

[Max]

O.T. "MacGyver" Makes Life Easier With Speedy Tools

Libraries
Medical News Keywords
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY, AGING, DISABILITY, ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY Contact Information
Available for logged-in reporters onlyDescription
Occupational therapy faculty member Therese Willkomm calls herself “MacGyvette.” But Willkomm doesn’t fight crime like the resourceful 1980s television sleuth; rather, she fashions tools from everyday objects -- like Plexiglas, PVC, duct tape, even business cards -- that make life easier for people with disabilities.

Newswise — University of New Hampshire faculty member Therese Willkomm calls herself “MacGyvette.” But Willkomm doesn’t fight crime like the resourceful 1980s television sleuth; rather, she fashions tools from everyday objects that make life easier for people with disabilities.
Willkomm, clinical assistant professor of occupational therapy and director of ATinNH at the Institute on Disability at UNH, is a specialist in assistive technology, which she describes as “solutions for easier living, learning, working, and playing.” And while the users of her solutions have some form of disability – from an aching back to extensive paralysis – Willkomm’s work rarely deals with expensive wheelchairs, specialized computers or complex communication systems. “Eighty percent of assistive technology costs $100 or less,” she says.
Willkomm’s assistive technology solutions employ custom items she “MacGyvers” from inexpensive, ordinary items such as Plexiglas, PVC, and assorted tapes as well as off-the-shelf products like wheeled carts, easy-grip tools or two-way radios. And like MacGyver, Willkomm is speedy and resourceful – her trademark is creating solutions in five minutes or less.
“One of the things I’ve struggled with is how long people have to wait for a solution,” says Willkomm. “Often times, people are literally


http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/524389/