All I Want for Christmas is these Two AT

Chef'N Veggie chopper with a clear bowl with blade assembly and a top with a pull cord to cause the chopping motion of the blades.

My colleagues and I are coming up with holiday wishlists of AT (assisitive technology). Since one of my favorite hobbies is cooking, of course, I want some things to help me out in the kitchen.  I have chronic upper back pain that usually flares up if I have to do a lot of chopping or…

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AT for My 8 Month Old

My daughter, Anneliese, is turning 8 months old next week. Her brother, Theo, turns one year and 11 months old today. Having two kids under two is exciting, enlivening, and life-changingly wonderful, and busy. Having both of our kids in our 40s after a long battle with infertility and losses, and having worked and lived…

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The Quest for Sleep

by Aimee Sterk, LMSW, MATP Staff I first wrote this piece in 2013 and have dug it up to share again in honor of my respiratory therapist, David Gritter, retiring. He actually retired in May, but I was on maternity leave so I’m sharing this in my first post since returning. Dave is among a…

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Don’t Fail that Fall

by Aimee Sterk Did you know that one out of three adults age 65 and older fall each year? Disability.gov had such a great post about falls prevention, and safety, we wanted to share it here. Falls are the number one cause of fractures, hospital admissions for trauma, loss of independence and injury or deaths for…

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Panic Attack? There’s an app for that!

the front page of the PTSD Coach App

I had my first panic attack exactly 3 years ago, outside my doctor’s office. I’ve also had some PTSD flare ups recently so wanted to share this older blog post about my first panic attack as a reminder to myself and hopefully a help for others who have panic attacks. In 2015, stress from recent…

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Pregnancy AT to the Rescue!

my new tub set up with my shower bench installed and my handy handheld showerhead

By Aimee Sterk, LMSW, MATP Staff I’m just about to hit 32 weeks pregnant. With my age (42), and gestational diabetes making for a big baby to carry around, I’m starting to get very tired very fast. I’m also much more awkward and find myself having to grab things to catch my balance. Luckily, I…

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Dating, Intimacy, Sex, Disability and AT

red and pink interlocking hearts

By Aimee Sterk, LMSW, MATP Team This week has been a really weird conglomeration of anniversaries and news that are all muddling together in my head. Eleven years ago this week, I went on my first date with my husband. Two years ago this week, we put a deposit down for IVF that led to…

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Advocacy Help for AT

By Aimee Sterk, LMSW, MATP Staff My friend contacted me last week asking about the process for working with a nursing home to get his father, a resident in the home, a new wheelchair. It seems the nursing home suggested a very specialized wheelchair to meet his father’s needs, but when the home was told…

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Weighed Down for Better Sleep

By Aimee Sterk, LMSW, MATP Staff I have a long history of battling insomnia. Lately, I have been having even more problems sleeping following a series of life traumas and increased anxiety. My therapist suggested trying a weighted blanket. I had previously heard of weighted blankets as calming options for people on the Autism Spectrum.…

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