Our mission is to ensure that children with disabilities get the customized equipment they need to participate fully in home, school, and community life. The central elements of our mission are to design and build individualized equipment for children in New York City, to engage the community in the process of creating that equipment, and to promote the widespread establishment of adaptive design services and education.

The equipment is designed and made by specialists at ADA who have years of education and experience in the field of adaptive equipment. Input from parents, therapists, teachers, and social workers is critical to assure the greatest potential of the equipment.

“To corrugate” means to shape into parallel grooves or furrows. The equipment is made from corrugated cardboard for the following reasons:

• It is malleable and highly designable. It can be easily cut and folded into an infinite variety of shapes to meet user needs.
• It is environmentally friendly. Composed of 35-60% recycled material, it can again be recycled after use.
• It poses no direct threat to our forests.  It is primarily made of wood fiber residue, which means that no high-quality trees are cut down for this purpose.
• It is lightweight.
• It is safe for children, in that it will not splinter or shatter.
• It is structurally sound.

We asked Columbia engineering students to perform rigorous vertical and flat compression tests on the corrugated cardboard we use. An ADA chair was tested to see how much force it could withstand. The chair failed after a person with a simulated weight of 384 lbs repeatedly jumped on the chair, which is much more force than one would imagine being applied by a child. And, just by turning the direction of the cardboard, it could be made to withstand at least 650 lbs! 

Basic equipment is usually produced in about four weeks. It takes up to six weeks for more complex constructions. The first step is the collaborative assessment and brainstorming session. Those ideas are then processed into a mock-up of the actual equipment. Once this stage is completed, there will be a fitting to ensure that the equipment is sized properly before the final construction.

Because equipment designed and produced by ADA is individualized, it will last until the child outgrows it physically, or the child’s needs change.

The factors that are considered in pricing a piece of equipment are:

• The cost of the materials used.
• The amount of time devoted to both design and production.
• The expertise of those producing the equipment, without which production would be virtually impossible.

ADA relies first on funding from government agencies. Children from birth to three years old are usually helped by the Early Intervention Program of the Department of Health. The Pre-school Program helps children from three to five years old, and the Department of Education helps those from five to eighteen. Where there are funding gaps, ADA seeks the support of private foundations and individuals who understand the need for individualized equipment.

Even though an item is paid for by a government agency, the item is owned by the parents. Our hope is that when the item is no longer needed, it will be returned to us or passed on to another child. 

ADA responds to individuals. When your child’s needs change, please contact ADA to be part of the team which will find the next customized adaptive solution.

Everyone! Parents, teachers, the child, family members, teachers, aides, social workers, therapists, and ADA staff—we never know where the best ideas will come from!

Definitely! No special skills or experience are necessary, and it is fun! Contact ADA to set up a training session!

The IDEA is a federal law mandating that children with disabilities receive special education services from birth through graduation from high school.

As a result of the IDEA, each child with disabilities has a right to the following: free appropriate public education (FAPE), an individualized education program (IEP), and the least restrictive environment (LRE).

The Individual Education Program Plan (IEP) is a written plan developed by the parents and the school’s special education team that specifies the student’s academic goals and the method to obtain these goals.

During the IEP or IFSP meeting, someone (parent, teacher, therapist, or doctor) MUST make sure that the adaptive equipment is spelled out in the IEP document. Once the customized equipment is part of the IEP, it can be ordered and will be paid for by the appropriate government agency.

As of October 2008, the only people who can initiate a special education evaluation are the child’s parent, the principal, the state commissioner, the designee of a public agency with responsibility for educating the child or a designee of an education program affiliated with a child care institution with Committee on Special Education responsibility.

The parents must give written consent for the school to begin providing special education and related services to the child for the first time. If the parents do not agree with the IEP or the placement of their child, they may discuss their concerns with other members of the IEP team and try to work out an agreement. If they still disagree, parents can ask for mediation, or the school may offer mediation. Parents may file a complaint with the state education agency and may request a due process hearing, at which time mediation must be available.

The IEP team must review the child’s IEP at least once a year to see whether the child is achieving the annual goals articulated in the IEP.