KU receives $1M to expand technology access for Kansans with disabilities

LAWRENCE — Supporting and improving quality of life among Kansans with disabilities is the aim of a project at the KU Life Span Institute, which has been awarded $1 million by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS). 

The supportive technology grant will help meet a state goal to become a “technology first” state, a national designation researched and developed by longtime University of Kansas disability data scientists. The grant is one of three totaling $2.6 million that KDADS recently awarded to Life Span Institute researchers for projects that support Kansans with disabilities across not only technology use and access, but also employment and health care navigation.  

Shea Tanis, KU associate research professor and director of the State of the States in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Project, together with Abby Azeltine and Thomas Manthey, co-directors of Assistive Technology for Kansans (ATK), will lead the $1 million technology project. Through a variety of in-person and online activities planned for late summer and fall, it will involve Kansans with disabilities and their families from across the state. 

Tanis said that becoming “technology first” means transforming the systems to ensure people with disabilities have access to the technologies they need and want to support meaningful participation, social inclusion, self-determination and quality of life.  

“The University of Kansas is the entity that defines and measures technology first nationally,” Tanis said. “Kansas has been identified as an ‘intermediate state’ based on their current progress. This new partnership will develop the tools and resources needed to reach the technology first ‘advanced state’ benchmarks.” 

For more than 40 years, the federally funded State of the States project has tracked the public spending invested in intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) services nationwide and distributed data, analysis and trends. ATK, which is also federally funded, has a statewide infrastructure that aims to increase access to technology for all individuals with disabilities.  

Through the grant, scientists and staff with both projects will conduct research, develop resources and talk directly with people who are using or seeking greater access to technology, or are among people employed to help support people with disabilities. 

Activities include: 

• An online survey of 500 state residents, designed through prior research to be cognitively accessible, which will provide a baseline of understanding technology needs and barriers. 
• Training sessions for targeted case managers across the state and establishing a professional development group that will be focused on supporting individuals with disabilities to access and use technology to meet their individual goals. 
• Development of a statewide advisory council and convening a think tank event in Lawrence, planned for September 2025.  
• Adding 300 prioritized assistive technology devices to demonstration sites in Topeka, Salina, Oakley, Garden City and Wichita and Parsons, which are existing locations that offer ATK technology support and access. 
• Offering virtual workshops for individuals with disabilities across the state, focused on key areas such as technology needs for housing, daily living, memory, communication and employment. 
• An in-person Assistive Technology Fair will be held 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library to allow individuals with disabilities, professionals, service providers and advocacy groups from across the state to explore and discover assistive technology (AT). 

The project affirms the role of technology to improve quality of life, which has been well documented by researchers and by the federal government. “Technology first” was listed as one of six principles for high-quality home and community-based services in a 2024 federal report, which cited research by the State of the States project.  

“While efforts across the U.S. were already scaling up, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the community to think differently about the ways in which services and supports were provided to people with disabilities and their families,” Tanis said. “Technology solutions allowed for greater autonomy of individuals with disabilities, cost savings and program efficiencies.” 

Manthey said that ATK’s longtime experience and statewide infrastructure made it a good fit to partner with the State of the States in advancing technology first in Kansas. 

Azeltine added, “ATK strives not only to help individuals across the lifespan identify funding for assistive technology, but also to ensure everyone has the knowledge and resources needed to make informed decisions about assistive technology, empowering them to live as independently as possible.”