Dissemination

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Jo Meyer, President of SoftTouch/KidTECH

In Bakersfield, CA, Jo Meyer, President of SoftTouch/kidTECH, develops software for children with disabilities. In Columbus, OH, Hope Borghi, CEO and President of Open Minds™ Inc., publishes books about inclusion.

What do these entrepreneurs --living 2,000 miles apart -- have in common? Both are graduates of the CAST/Harvard Graduate School of Education Summer Institute, a 11-year-old program that teaches educators to use universally designed technologies in classrooms. Influenced by their training at CAST, Meyer and Borghi have gone on to spread the word about universal design and inclusion in their own communities, and nationwide.

The Institute’s immersion training programs -- sessions that provide both conceptual and practical frameworks for using universally designed technologies -- are powerful vehicles for change. The Institute draws talented educators from around the world who bring to CAST a wealth of experience and ideas. CAST's Director of Professional Training Skip Stahl says, “Parents and teachers come to the Institute to understand more about their own kids or their students with disabilities. They often leave thinking about how they might foster change on a much broader scale.” Indeed, people like Jo Meyer and Hope Borghi have not only altered the course of their own lives; they have also influenced thousands of students and educators.

In 1991, Meyer, a teacher of preschoolers with disabilities, came to CAST to spend the week learning about adaptive equipment and programming. “I never intended to start a company,” Meyer recalls. “I simply wanted to create software for my kids.”

But Meyer realized that she had not only learned about using technology in her own classroom; she could now build universally designed software for others. On the plane back to California -- with her colleague and soon-to-be partner Debbie McPheeters -- Meyer came up with the name KidTECH for her fledgling company.

Five hundred workhours later, Meyer and McPheeters had created “Old McDonald's Farm,” an accessible preschool activity program that teachers loved. “They wanted to buy it from us because they didn't have the resources to create it themselves,” Meyer recalls.

Today, KidTECH (now SoftTouch/kidTECH) has evolved into an educational software company that markets its programs nationwide. Three major distributors -- Don Johnston, RJ Cooper, and IntelliTools -- market and endorse SoftTouch/kidTECH products, accolades that surprised Meyer at first.

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In SoftTouch/kidTECH's software Teach Me To Talk, children with language difficulties can touch pictures on the screen to hear words read aloud. The company's universally designed software was inspired, in part, by CAST's Summer Institute.

"When RJ Cooper applauded 'Old MacDonald's Farm,' I thought: 'This can't be. I'm just making this for my kids.'"

Meyer, who still teaches, continues to design software with her students in mind. "A program will develop from the idea that if my kids need this, then maybe others do too." Once designed, new software is donated to area schools, where teachers test it before it goes into production.

Educators and students love SoftTouch/kidTECH's universally designed software, which employs music, graphics, and built-in access features. The company's newest software, Teach Me To Talk, uses pictures and digitized sound to support language development in children with speech difficulties.

Meyer is humble about SoftTouch's success. "SoftTouch/kidTECH is both a gift and a responsibility. I will work as hard as I can to help fit curricula to meet students' needs."

A year before Jo Meyer, Hope Borghi had come to CAST not as a teacher, but as a parent. Borghi's daughter Kathryn, who had cerebral palsy, had been using the computer since age three, thanks to her mother's conviction that the child could participate in school. But the Borghis had had little support from Kathryn's teachers.

Hope Borghi recalls her excitement when she arrived at the CAST/Harvard Institute: "Suddenly, here were people who understood what I'd been doing with Kathryn all along. CAST had the same vision I did, and they had the tools and knowledge I needed."

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Hope Borghi of OpenMinds, Inc. finds inspiration and solace in her memories of daughter Kathryn, who died in 1996..

Armed with information, Borghi returned to Upper Arlington, OH, to educate Kathryn's teachers about the importance of inclusion. In 1991, she wrote a grant - Project ABC: Access By Computer - that brought trainers (including staff from CAST), computers, and software into the schools. As Borghi fought for Kathryn's right to inclusive learning, she became a tenacious advocate for all students with disabilities. Today, the teachers and administrators she and Kathryn worked with are "believers" and are implementing many of Borghi's recommendations.

Borghi has also championed her cause by writing children's books and accompanying teacher/parent guides about inclusion. In 1995, she started Open Minds™ Inc, a company that publishes books for students ages 8-14, in which characters with disabilities are included "subtly" in the stories. For example, in Down the Aisle, the main character is a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding; but not until the end, when she comes down the aisle in a wheelchair, do readers realize she's disabled.

Borghi says, "Our literature is based on real stories of inclusion. The focus is on the person, not the disability. Models for inclusion enable students to...embrace their disabled classmates."

Borghi's stories, many of which are based on Kathryn's life, recently have become a source of solace for Borghi. In December, 1996, Kathryn died unexpectedly at age 15. Having dedicated so many years to educating her daughter, Borghi now sees her mission as educating others. Along with publishing books, she lectures and distributes other books about people with disabilities through Access Fair™, the distribution branch of Open Minds™ Inc.

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In Borghi's books, such as Down the Aisle, children with disablities are included subtly in the stories..

Schools of education nationwide are now using Borghi's books and teachers' guides to train future educators about inclusion. "While raising Kathryn, I hoped that I could change attitudes through literature. Today, I feel that I am influencing the world in a small way," Borghi says.

One of her goals is to publish Open Minds™ Inc.'s materials in universally designed, digital form under the Access Fair™ trademark. According to Borghi, "To teach in an Access Fair™ environment, educators must provide equal access in their learning materials using the universally designed concepts of CAST."

She is proud to include CAST in her Access Fair™ definition. "At first, I was grateful for what CAST did for my child. Now I realize that what they did has had a compounding effect."

CAST is equally indebted to Hope Borghi -- and Jo Meyer, and the many others who have come to its Summer Institute to learn and share ideas. These individuals are not only helping to spread CAST's message, but are also creating new ways of thinking about inclusion, technology, and universal design. As graduates continue to influence the lives and attitudes of students and teachers, CAST will look to them as important partners of change.