Alphapointe, one of the nation’s largest providers of rehabilitation services and employment for people who are blind, announced the completion of extensive renovations to the organization’s Adaptive Training Apartment.
Alphapointe provides comprehensive rehabilitation services to thousands of people of all ages every year and the renovated Adaptive Training Apartment is a space for people with visual impairment or total vision loss to practice and redevelop “Activities of Daily Living” skills such as cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and much more.
“Needing to relearn how to do things people have been accustomed to doing for their entire lives is one of the most intimidating aspects of developing vision loss,” said Alphapointe President and CEO Reinhard Mabry. “If you suffered sudden vision loss, how would you cook your food? How would you clean? How would you do your laundry? How would you use a computer? The building blocks for empowerment start with being able to perform these types of daily tasks. Our new Adaptive Training Apartment will mean that thousands of people now have access to a state-of-the-art training facility where they can become empowered to achieve their goals and aspirations by redeveloping these skills.”
The renovated Adaptive Training Apartment was reconfigured to add several hundred square feet of space with modern appliances installed for activities such as cooking, doing laundry and having a dedicated workspace featuring a computer with the latest adaptive technologies such as audible software and specialized keyboards.
The Adaptive Training Apartment features a new lighting system that allows for simulations of different environments such as restaurants and office spaces, which is essential to provide people with vision loss the confidence they need to be comfortable in a variety of situations.
The new layout also features expanded storage space, which allows people the ability to have a personalized training experience because individuals perform Activities of Daily Living in different ways. Additionally, the apartment includes an expanded dining room area, which facilitates learning in both individual and group settings.
Renovations were made possible by generous support from the William T. Kemper Foundation, Centric, Crossroads Construction, Midtown Demolition, Jim & Karen Day, Accurate Mechanical Plumbing, Regents Flooring, In & Out Painting, and the Robert F. & Polly A. Zimmerman Foundation.