{"id":5376,"date":"2020-12-17T07:00:47","date_gmt":"2020-12-17T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/totscouting.org\/how-two-eagle-scouts-are-making-assistive-technology-more-accessible\/"},"modified":"2020-12-17T07:00:47","modified_gmt":"2020-12-17T13:00:47","slug":"how-two-eagle-scouts-are-making-assistive-technology-more-accessible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/totscouting.org\/how-two-eagle-scouts-are-making-assistive-technology-more-accessible\/","title":{"rendered":"How two Eagle Scouts are making assistive technology more accessible"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/p>\n

This story is shared here from the Scouting magazine app. For more of the content you\u2019re used to from Scouting magazine<\/a>, download the Scouting magazine app today! It\u2019s available now in the App Store<\/a> and Google Play<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

In a 1996 robbery gone wrong, jewelry store owner Mark Chilutti lost the use of his legs. In 2015, a tragic auto accident made TOPGUN instructor Buddy Marshall a quadriplegic.<\/p>\n

But disability isn\u2019t the only thing that connects the two men\u2019s stories. Both are Eagle Scouts. Both began their recovery at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia, where Chilutti now serves as assistant vice president of development. And both have worked to create the Buddy Marshall Assistive Technology Center at Magee.<\/p>\n

The center, which opens this winter, is designed to introduce patients to the latest in assistive technology, teach them how to use it and inspire them to regain their independence.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Courtesy of Mark Chilutti<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Assistive Technology in Action<\/h2>\n

\u201cBuddy\u2019s whole goal for the center was that people have the ability to see the equipment and try it and learn what works for them,\u201d Chilutti says. \u201cThrough some donors, we have the ability to provide equipment for people to use at home who can\u2019t afford it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much of the equipment in the center is specialized \u2014 like GlassOuse glasses that function as a computer mouse \u2014 but some of it is mainstream.<\/p>\n

\u201cVoice recognition was essentially built for people to be lazy,\u201d Chilutti says. \u201cThe disabled community has really become the hidden beneficiary of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marshall uses about 20 different pieces of assistive technology on a regular basis, but it took him more than three years to figure out what would work for him and allow him to live as independently as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that I\u2019ve found what works for me, I don\u2019t want people to leave the hospital without seeing what is possible and knowing that they can restore function through technology,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Courtesy of William Marshall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIntroduce, Educate and Inspire\u201d<\/h2>\n

One reason it took Marshall so long to embrace assistive technology is that it takes time to process the reality of living with disability and discover the most effective solutions. Magee assigned him a peer mentor, but\u00a0Chilutti\u2019s\u00a0regular visits had more impact \u2014 in part because of their Scouting connection.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike the peer mentor, who was in one day and out the next, Mark was always there,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Marshall and his family helped raise more than $186,000 for the center, blowing away a $125,000 goal. Now that fundraising is complete, he is creating videos that Magee therapists can use with future patients who visit the center \u2014 all part of his goal to introduce, educate and inspire.<\/p>\n

Chilutti sees Marshall as the embodiment of Scouting values.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be able to not just survive that injury but thrive and really live a great life and be able to help others \u2014 that\u2019s kind of what we were taught as kids in Scouts,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve done a lot of fundraising projects in my almost 20 years at Magee, but this collaboration has been extra special for me.\u201d<\/p>\n