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Your weekly dose of information that keeps you up to date on the latest developments in the field of technology designed to assist people with disabilities and special needs.
Show notes:
Financial Planning and Assistive Technology with Gordon Homes of MetLife | ghomes@metlife.com
2016 AgrAbility National AgrAbility Workshop http://buff.ly/1P06UuY
Temple Grandin on her search engine | KurzweilAI http://buff.ly/1RAc3eV
App: Toca Life School www.BridgingApps.org
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GORDON HOMES: This is Gordon Homes, financial advisor with MetLife, and this is your Assistance Technology Update.
WADE WINGLER: Hi, this is Wade Wingler with the INDATA Project at Easter Seals crossroads in Indiana with your Assistive Technology Update, a weekly dose of information that keeps you up-to-date on the latest developments in the field of technology designed to assist people with disabilities and special needs.
Welcome to episode number – wait for it – number 250 of Assistive Technology Update. It’s scheduled to be released on March 11 of 2016.
I can’t believe we’ve gone all the way to 250 episodes of the show. It’s an interesting and exciting episode today. We are going to have Gordon Homes, who is a friend of mine from MetLife, talk about how financial planning can have an assistive technology impact, how to use phones to make sure the people with disabilities have what they need now and in the future financially and how that deals with assistive technology.
I’ve got an interesting clip here from in a video about Temple Grandin and how she describes her mind working as an image search engine; and then we have some information on an app called Toca Life School from BridgingApps.
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I don’t normally do this. I do get some feedback on our show from time to time and I don’t normally at one of those feed pieces of feedback to our episode, but I thought in celebration of our 250th episode I would add a really interesting call that we got from Daniel who tells us how he uses assistive technology update, this very show, in a class he teaches as an assignment on assistive technology. We love to get your feedback, please do call our listener line and let us know whether you like the show, what you like, what you don’t. Give us questions, feedback. We love that kind of stuff. The number is 317-721-7124. Or you can also shoot us a note on Twitter or check out our website at www.eastersealstech.com. Here is the feedback.
SPEAKER: Hey, Wade, my name is Dale Martin and I’m from the state of Virginia. I am an assistive technology teacher and I work for the school for the Virginia blind and deaf. I just want to say thank you for your assistance technology weekly update podcast. I use it with my students. I started teaching this semester with them in January. Each week I have them listen to your podcast and write about what they’ve learned and how it would help them in college or in the work environment. I just want to say thank you for your weekly update. I think some of the students like it and some take it as a challenge. I do appreciate it. They’ve been really need an educational for my students so that when they get out they can be more independent. Again keep up the good work and I want to say thank you.
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WADE WINGLER: Listen to this clip.
SPEAKER: And Tesla definitely today would be diagnosed autistic. If you got rid of all of the genes that cause autism, you wouldn’t have Carl Sagan, Mozart. Einstein today would be labeled autistic. He had no speech until he was two years old. While the people that work at the big tech companies have at least a mild version of Asperger’s. If you didn’t have a little bit of those Asperger/autistic genes, you wouldn’t have any computers.
WADE WINGLER: What you are hearing there is an excerpt from a video that was produced by PBS. I found it on a YouTube video. The way I found it was from the Kurzweil Accelerating Intelligence newsletter. The thing about this video, the voice you heard is Temple Grandin who is a very is person with autism who has done a lot of impressive things. In this video, she talks a lot about her background in the equine and meat producer industry.
The thing that fascinated me was she describes how her brain works in terms of an image search engine, sort of like Google images which will find you all sorts of associated images based on a topic or thread or stream of consciousness, she goes into some detail describing her brain worked as a person with autism and how it’s very visual and how everything is interconnected. The points she makes are that the way her brain works is logical and makes sense, but it’s kind of different from what you might expect and it lends itself to certain skill sets. She talks about how the computer industry is full of people who may have Asperger’s or autism or autistic tendencies and how we need to embrace that sort of thought process and the benefit of it. Fascinating video, it will take about five minutes of your time. I’ll pop a link on the show notes so that you can check out this interview with Temple Grandin about how her mind is like an image search engine. Cool stuff. Check our show notes.
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Speaking of Temple Grandin, she will be the keynote speaker at the National AgrAbility Training Workshop that’s going to be held April 11-14 of 2016 in Fort Collins, Colorado. You can learn more at AgrAbility.org. If you don’t know them, great organization that does allow with farmers and ranchers and other agricultural kind of folks who have disabilities or use assistive technology. Check our show notes.
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Each week, one of our partners tells us what’s happening in the ever-changing world of apps, so here’s an App Worth Mentioning.
AMY BARRY: This is Amy Barry with BridgingApps, and this is an App Worth Mentioning. Today I’m sharing the Toca Life School app. This is a fun early learning app that helps develop pre-reading, language, and fine motor skills. The engaging app also encourages creativity, problem-solving, and so much more.
One of the best features of the app is the freedom for children to explore and discover on their own and at their own pace. With five unique locations for telling stories about life at school, users can head out to the playground and coach a basketball team, conduct a science experiment in the classroom, and even jam with a band in the youth club. All the characters are digitally manipulated, and anything they are holding can easily be moved around between locations where they are virtually playing.
Users really love the in-app activities like wearing funny costumes and throwing a party. They can mix colorful liquids and a chemistry lab, climb a tree, and play a game of hide and seek. The youth club is always open for fun activities like pool, ping-pong, or playing instruments. There are treasures that are hidden everywhere in Toca Life School, and with the free and app content channel it is easy to find out about them. Located at the top right corner of the start screen, Life Weekly updates every Thursday and gives users fun insights into the whole world of Toca Life.
Another neat feature is the in-app recording feature. Exclusive to the Toca Life series, the recording feature will help users share the stories that they create counsel by recording sound and screen, they are able to save up to two minutes of video on their camera roll. Easy-to-navigate and well designed with beautiful graphics, Toca Life School keeps kids engaged and entertained for hours.
We have used this app with typically developing children as well as students who have speech and language delays and also students with autism between the ages of three and 12. Yep, you heard that right, I said 12. We were really quite surprised to see tween’s who typically use apps like Instagram actually enjoying themselves and having fun on this app, which is geared towards younger users. It really is a favorite among many of the children that we work with.
The Toca Life School app is available at the iTunes and Microsoft stores for $2.99, and it works on both iOS and Windows devices. For more information on this app and others like it, visit BridgingApps.org.
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WADE WINGLER: The following is a disclaimer that I was asked to put before this interview by MetLife. Gordon Homes is a senior financial planner of MetLife Securities and senior financial services executive and special needs financial planner of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New York, New York. Securities products and investment advisory services are offered through MetLife Securities Inc., a member of FINRA and SIPC, and a registered investment advisor. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and MetLife Securities Inc. art MetLife companies. Gordon Homes is personally responsible for the content of this interview. The views that are expressed are not necessarily of MetLife or any of its affiliated companies. Nothing mentioned on this interview should be taken as legal, accounting, or tax advice. For advice in those areas, please consult your own legal or tax advisor.
And now on with the interview.
I’m excited about today’s conversation for a couple of reasons. One, I have a guest in studio. A lot of my guests are on the Internet or on Skype or one of those kinds of services. I’m also excited because this is a friend of mine that I have stood in booths with and gone to exposed to and I have presented following this guy at all kinds of disability related sorts of things. I have talked Gordon Homes, who is a senior financial planner with MetLife, to come in and we’re going to talk finances, we are going to talk finances in a way that specific to special needs and this ability and try to throw a little bit of an assistive technology spent on it here as we have our conversation. Before we jump into all that stuff, Gordon, thank you for being here today.
GORDON HOMES: You’re welcome.
WADE WINGLER: You and I have known each other for a number of years. I’ve been here 22 years. How long you been doing this?
GORDON HOMES: About 17.
WADE WINGLER: So we have known each other for a long time. We’ve kind of gotten to know each other because we sort of walk in the same circles at events and public things like that. I know that your job is really about finances, financial planning, with kind of a special slant on special needs. I’m going to ask you about your job, but the first thing I’m going to do is ask you about these letters after your name. I thought I had some letters after your name but you have CLUC, FCC, LTC, CFP. Tell me a little bit about these credentials and what they mean.
GORDON HOMES: The CFP is certified financial planner. That, like some of the other credentials, is obtained through a combination of education, testing, and continuing education. Years ago, in order to try to stay current, be cutting edge and what I do, I pursued these credentials and no work to maintain those through continuing education.
WADE WINGLER: I guess for our listeners, the main message behind those is you are somebody who has studied an educated and demonstrated that you know your stuff when it comes to financial planning.
GORDON HOMES: That is the hope.
WADE WINGLER: Excellent. Our audience is worldwide and deals with technology mostly. So this is a little bit off of our normal topic. Tell us a little bit about your main business and how you got to be here. Because not everybody who does financial planning focuses on disability and special needs related stuff. Tell us about yourself and your business and how you got here.
GORDON HOMES: Sure. About 17 years ago, but life launched an initiative, an effort to have advisors assist the special needs community with their legal, financial, and government benefit issues that they were facing. It was actually the impetus of MetLife Associates with children with disabilities. About the same time, I was transitioning out of management back into private practice and was seeking to redesign or organize my practice. At the same time, I had a son who was diagnosed with some issues, and surprisingly found myself a part of the special needs community and really felt led or called to move my practice in that direction. So it started out as something small, and over the years it has grown responding to the need. At this point, I work out of offices in Indianapolis and Louisville in the region is pretty much the state of Indiana and a good part of Kentucky. The initiative that MetLife took which is called the Center for special-needs planning, has also grown and expanded over the years and I’m pleased to say that there are over 200 advisors like myself nationwide to assist the special needs community in their respective areas.
My practice takes the form of several things. I do a lot of advocacy and education. As you said, we are at conferences together, so I speak to national conferences, state conferences, parent support groups. I work a lot with school corporations and special needs co-ops trying to bring helpful information to both empower and encourage parents and families to take steps to plan for the future of their loved one that has some challenges or a disability in order to preserve their quality of life and to help them be all that they can be.
WADE WINGLER: Obviously financial planning is important, and in fact we just had a seminar here yesterday about mock retirement and thinking forward about some of the security I want to make sure that I have for myself and my family and those kinds of things. Tell me a little bit why this is different, or is this different? Only talk about families or people with disabilities or special needs, why is that sort of a special interest for you and format and why should we pay attention to that?
GORDON HOMES: I’m pleased to say that MetLife has a rich history of being a good corporate citizen. When the Associates of MetLife with children with special needs took it to the leadership, they got an encouraging response. Again, the program was launched. As far as my motivation is concerned, the need to work in such a way, I put my personal thumbprint on it meaning it is what it is because of what I give of myself and what I feel and what is in the heart, has always been important to me. The ability to do that in a special-needs area really gets my motor going. In addition to that, having a child with special needs, learning disabilities and other issues, it created a sensitivity in me. Frankly, Wade, when I first started having my practice in that direction, it was born out of not just the desire to serve both frankly I was hungry to try to learn. I thought as much time as I spend with the work, what better way to learn than to immerse myself among people like yourself and parents on a daily basis. In essence, if I can offer them something to help with their journey, and then they can share helpful life experience with me, then I really thought it would be a win-win. Indeed over the 17 years, it’s been very much that.
WADE WINGLER: Yeah. So when you’re meeting with families or folks with disabilities, what kinds of things you do to help? I know this is a very mission-based driven thing that you do, but what are the results actually look like?
GORDON HOMES: The typical situation will start with speak to a group, that kind of thing, and parents that hear me want to meet with me and I provide a free no obligation consultation, and they gather up their materials and information and bring it in. We look at things from the standpoint of the current state of their finances. We also look at government benefits as appropriate for their family member with special needs. That family member may be anywhere from a newborn to one in their 40s or 50s. We look at things such as Medicaid and Medicaid waivers and Social Security and other government benefits and trying to ascertain the extent to which what programs are available and what they are trying to access and this type of thing. And then also how do we keep those benefits going? And then how do we supplement them? Invariably there is some focus, especially by parents, and how do we keep all of this going even when we are either old or young or type of thing? How do we help ensure that the good things we put in place continue beyond us? So we look at ways to do that. So maximizing on the current situation, government benefits and opportunities and so forth, and at the same time trying to plan in such a way that keeps these opportunities coming in the supports coming and being able to continue to enjoy the quality of life that we want for our loved ones.
WADE WINGLER: You bet. My experience, just personal experiments, with financial planning, a lot of this is about risk and minimizing the risk that we might face. Do you find that there are risks that are specific to people in the special-needs situation that are kind of different?
GORDON HOMES: A couple of things. One, you mentioned a moment ago, retirement planning. If you listen to talk radio these days, the big focus is on not running out of money.
WADE WINGLER: Yeah.
GORDON HOMES: Success is basically not running out of money, meaning if you spend your last dollar on your last day, then you won, you did okay. That works for many, but if you happen to have a dependent or family member whose quality of life is in some way impacted by either help or support you provide or the legacy you might leave, then there is a concern, because if nothing is left, then it may undermine that quality of life for the good works you’ve been doing while you are here as it relates to the family member with special needs.
So it’s financial planning and estate planning as well to make that plan appropriation for the future. It’s a combination of financial and also legal. I have strategic alliances with attorneys that assist with creating estate planning documents and that type of thing. Sometimes there are guardianship issues that come up. Sometimes government benefits may be a little tough to get, so we have to fight the fight or appeal things and so forth. It’s trying to really approach the special-needs planning process in a comprehensive way as opposed to, as I say, just handling one slice of the pie. We try, through ourselves and nonprofit partners and others in the special-needs community, to embrace the family or come up underneath them and provide support as well as a way forward.
WADE WINGLER: That makes a lot of sense. As I’ve been around this a little bit and as I was doing a little bit of research for our interview today, I keep running into the term special needs trust. Can you tell me just a little bit about what that is and why it might be helpful?
GORDON HOMES: That legislation was passed in the late 80s and early 90s as a result of a lot of lobbying for Congress to bring about special needs trust. There are actually different types of special needs trust, different trustee options and different ways to fund them. The principal is based on trying to provide the opportunity for someone to enjoy as best a quality of life as possible, to as I say let the government do as a much heavy lifting as possible through various government benefits. And then to allow resources to pay for what the government can’t or won’t. In many cases it is the extras, what is wanted or needed beyond simply food, shelter, and health care. Which could certainly include technology. Oftentimes while parents and family members are here, they are paying for things and providing for things like the extras. Especially in each trust, it provides the opportunity to set funds aside so that those things can continue to be provided for their loved one, for many years to come. As opposed to leaving assets or resources directly to the family member that may have government benefits or are dependent upon some level of support or help, those assets or resources, if left to a properly established special needs trust, then do not impair their ability to benefit or enjoy the government support, etc., and resources than can be used to provide for what the government can’t or won’t. Because many situations, without government benefits, what legacy a family or parent may leave for someone may be excessive very quickly. But again, if the government is doing some heavy lifting, possibly in the form of Medicaid, Medicaid waiver, Social Security, etc., what resources go into a special needs trust me last four years and years.
WADE WINGLER: That makes a lot of sense. I know that some of my audience members are thinking I dialed into the technology show today and I’m hearing a lot of financial stuff. But I also know that everybody who deals with assistive technology knows that there is a cost associated with it. Give me a little bit about how financial planning and what you do might help a user of assistive logic, a child who has a medical device needs or a student who might need to go to college and utilize assistive technology. Bring me home on the technology side of this.
GORDON HOMES: Technology is funded from a variety of sources as you and I were talking earlier. The extent to which voc rehab or other government benefits, there can be some help towards assistive technology. We want to structure things financially in such a way that the individual will be able to maximize on what government support or help can be achieved. At the same time, as we know the government doesn’t pay for everything. So the question is, for the supports, the technology, maybe the latest thing or what would be most helpful if that’s beyond what the government will cover or pay for, and how do we pay for it? Do financial planning, resources can be accumulated. A special needs trust can be funded. Sometimes special needs trust provide an opportunity for grandparents or other extended family to kind of get in on being supportive and helpful. What we try to do is help ensure that resources are there to help pay for things like assistive technology, which no doubt contribute to both what a person can contribute, the quality of life they can enjoy, and just how far we can take the journey. I get excited when my work contributes to sing that resources are going to be there to fund in these types of programs and support for people.
WADE WINGLER: That makes a whole lot of sense. We are just about out of time for the interview today. If people wanted to learn more, if they wanted to reach out to you and you said you have counterparts in other places around the country, what kind of contact information should we make sure that our audience has?
GORDON HOMES: I can be reached by a toll-free number, email, that type of thing. If anyone wants to reach out to me, I’m delighted to certainly be helpful or get them connected with my fellow associates across the country as each of us passionately seek to serve our respective special-needs community. Many of my special needs planners have children or family members with special needs. They are my passion for trying to be supportive and special, where they are at. My email is ghomes@metlife.com, the toll-free number 1-800-903-6380. Feel free to reach out.
WADE WINGLER: I will pop those in the show notes so that as people are listening on their computers or phones, they can have the information right there. Gordon Homes is a senior financial planner with MetLife and has been a friend of mine for years. I’m very glad to have you in our studio today to talk about an important topic. Thank you.
GORDON HOMES: I appreciate the opportunity.
WADE WINGLER: Do you have a question about assistive technology? Do you have a suggestion for someone we should interview on Assistive Technology Update? Call our listener line at 317-721-7124. Looking for show notes from today’s show? Head on over to EasterSealstech.com. Shoot us a note on Twitter @INDATAProject, or check us out on Facebook. That was your Assistance Technology Update. I’m Wade Wingler with the INDATA Project at Easter Seals Crossroads in Indiana.