OUR SERVICES
Ability provides a complete range of services designed to help a person with a disability benefit from modern technology. These services start with advice on suitable equipment, moving to the supply and customisation of systems, right through to training and support.
At every point in your assistive technology journey, Ability is there to help you.
We assess our clients' needs to find the solution that best suits them.
We recommend equipment and services based on each client's needs.
We offer technical support every step of the way.
Our expert staff are available to conduct workshops and in-house training sessions.
Assessments
Ability's expert staff working with you to find how you can best use a computer, tablet or smartphone, or control your home (e.g., phone, doors, lights, home entertainment and home security) to achieve your goals.
Assessments are available for all disabilities and all ages. An essential part of an assessment is for us to listen to you - your feelings, your frustrations, your hopes and plans. It usually involves trialling various equipment options, to find the best for you.
We prefer to conduct an assessment at your home, school or workplace. However facilities are also available at Ability's head office located in Forestville, Sydney.
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Members of the Ability team are available to conduct assessments in Inner Western Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, in addition to those based in Forestville.
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If you are in a rural community, sometimes preliminary interviews can take place via phone or even videoconferencing (e.g. Zoom, Skype or FaceTime) or through our frequent country trips.
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Following an assessment it is often important for a client to trial the recommended equipment and/or software. This can often be arranged through the Ability tryIT loan pool.
Reports
Reports are prepared following an assessment. These can vary from a simple list of recommendations to a detailed report prepared for medico-legal purposes.
They include recommendations for equipment and also services, such as setup, customisation, training and future support.
Support and Training
Having the right equipment is important. But knowing how to use it is equally important. Ability's training services guide you through the early stages, until you are confident enough to move ahead on your own.
Training can take place at your home, workplace or school. It can be for you alone or for a small group. We can design training outlines that can be used by other trainers.
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Our expert staff can assist you to set up your equipment. This can include loading special software and installing the hardware you need. We are on hand to customise your system to your special requirements. This is very important to ensure you gain the maximum benefit from what you have purchased.
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No technology is perfect - problems can occur. Our technical staff will be there to offer you support should that be needed. We can undertake repairs. We can activate warranties on your behalf. We can liaise with (or complain to) manufacturers and distributors should that be required.
Support is also available remotely - we can solve many problems by linking our computer to your computer. It's as if we are sitting next to you!
Workshops
Our expert staff members are available to conduct workshops and in-house training sessions for groups and organisations. We can speak about the functional benefits of various types of assistive technology and give independent comparative evaluations, as well as demonstrate the devices that are available.
If you would like an Ability Technology professional to contribute to your workshop, expo or in-house training or development day, then please contact us today!
TryIT Equipment Rental Scheme
Trialling technology solutions over a longer period is the best way to make sure recommended equipment is suitable for a client.
We have been bulking up our TryIT loan pool recently and it's now stocked with some very interesting and useful devices!
We now stock:
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Eye gaze devices
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iPads loaded with all the main communication apps
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A portable kit with Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Siri
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Housemate home control units
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Laptops with speech recognition
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Trackballs and joysticks
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Mouth-controlled computer mouse options
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Head-controlled computer mouse options
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And more!
NDIS Equipment Brokerage
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Have you received funding for equipment you can't find a provider for?
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Ability has been contacted by many people who have been unable to find a Provider through which to purchase NDIS-approved equipment. These have included iPads and other generic technology from major retailers like Apple and JB Hi-Fi, who are not NDIS Providers.
To get around this service gap, Ability offers a brokerage service for NDIS participants who need to purchase certain equipment from a Provider.
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We purchase the equipment on your behalf and process the payment as if you were buying it from us!