The Mission of the T.K. Martin Center for Technology & Disability is to ensure that persons with disabilities are able to continually benefit from technological solutions and advances in the field of assistive technology.
In order to empower individuals with disabilities through leading edge technologies the T.K. Martin Center for Technology & Disability maintains a state of the art clinical, research and training program focusing modern technologies, in a comprehensive and integrated manner, to the needs of persons with disabilities.
The services of the T.K. Martin Center are made available to persons with disabilities regardless of age or diagnosis. Impairment has many limiting effects, which can be broadly categorized into the following, none of which is mutually exclusive:
- mobility
- dexterity
- communication
- seeing and hearing (sensory function)
- learning and understanding (cognitive function)
The T.K. Martin Center provides comprehensive, multi-disciplinary evaluations to remove these limitations through the application of assistive technology, allowing individuals to participate in educational, vocational and leisure activities to the fullest degree they choose. The comprehensive nature of the services offered ensures that the correct solutions are achieved efficiently and effectively, with needs being met in a one-stop shop.
The staff of the T.K. Martin Center consists of a specialized team of Speech-language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Special Educators, and Rehabilitation and Biomedical Engineers. Facilities at the center include adaptive computer laboratories, design and fabrication workshops, a vehicle augmentation lab, a seating and mobility center and specialized evaluation rooms. The fusion of modern facilities and resources with a staff dedicated to the realization of untapped human potential ensures a comprehensive approach with integrated, composite outcomes for persons with disabilities.
The T.K. Martin Center is unique in the field of Assistive Technology because it is a direct clinical service center located on the campus of a major research university. This allows academic programs the opportunity to experience first hand the benefits of assistive technology as well as promote interdisciplinary research crucial to the application of assistive technology. The clinical service aspect of the Center also provides a site for practicum, internship, and cooperative study placements of students from Mississippi State University as well as other universities and training programs.