AgrAbility Partnership helps Nebraskans with limitations
CURTIS, Neb. – Extension provides a local gateway for Nebraskans who have experienced an injury or disabling illness, said Sharry Nielsen, Extension Educator focused on farm safety in West Central Nebraska. To get assistance in finding ways to work with a disability, the local extension office can be a first stop for programs to help.
“It’s important for ag producers to know they can return to their jobs with proper assistive technology,” said Rod Peterson, Nebraska AgrAbility Rural Rehabilitation Specialist.
Peterson said that the first thing he does when he meets a new client is to get to know the individual and the operation. He learns everything he can about the disability and how it limits the client.
Peterson visits the farm or ranch and sits down at the kitchen table with the person struggling with a disability. He asks about tasks that have to be performed.
After that initial interview, he goes outside with the client and watches him or her perform those tasks, so he can see how the client is limited. Based on these assessments, Peterson makes a recommendation.
“It’s very important to be on the farm and see the client do the tasks so I can see what limitations she or he is faced with,” Peterson said.
Some tasks may have to be reassigned, but more often Peterson can recommend something that will allow the client to do the work.
Peterson serves clients with any kind of disability from minor arthritis to quadriplegia.
“We have clients who have MS and those who have back injuries; we serve anyone who has a disability that interferes with farm or ranch work,” he said.
The largest number of requests is for help accessing equipment. The first step onto the tractor may require an additional step or a complete new set of steps. Depending on the disability, it may require a lift.
The assessment might reveal a need for a different tool or a modification to an existing one. It might indicate a major adaptive device that helps get the job done.
For more information about assistive technologies for farmers and ranchers, call Peterson at (800) 471-6425, Sharry Nielsen at (308) 832-0645 or your local extension office.
