“If I Need to Go Somewhere, I Go”: One Driver’s Story Shows Why AT Act Programs Matter

Celebrating National Assistive Technology Awareness Day

What does freedom look like?

For Mike Huddleston, a Maryland man who has used a power wheelchair for the past decade, it looks like pulling into his adaptive van, locking his chair into place, and driving wherever he needs to go. No waiting. No asking for help. Just independence.

Mike's story recently reached a national audience thanks to MotorWeek, the Emmy Award winning automotive series produced by Maryland Public Television and one of the longest running shows on television. In Season 45, Episode 33, reporter Stephanie Hart dedicates a segment to the growing world of adaptive driving technology and the people whose lives depend on it. You can watch Mike's portion of the episode starting at the 7:40 mark and running through 12:12.

Mike was diagnosed with a progressive condition at 16. By 52, he was using a power wheelchair. Today, his van is equipped with a Q-lock system that secures his chair, and a "push and rock" hand control that lets him brake and accelerate without foot pedals.

"If I need to get up and go somewhere, I get up and go somewhere. That's 90 percent of it, if not more."

The segment also highlights how these vehicles are built. Conversion companies like BraunAbility and Vantage Mobility International take standard vehicles and completely rebuild them with automatic ramps, kneel systems, and self-tensioning wheelchair straps, a process that takes four to six weeks per vehicle.

These vehicles are life-changing, but they are also expensive, and health insurance does not cover them. What the segment does not mention is that Mike obtained his van through an Alternative Financing Loan from the Maryland Technology Assistance Program, Maryland's AT Act Program.

Every state and territory has an AT Act Program offering services like device loans, demonstrations, equipment reuse, and financial loan programs to help people access assistive technology.

"People within the disability community, they just want to live their lives. They want to have independence. They want to contribute to this life just like everyone else."

This National Assistive Technology Awareness Day, find out what your AT Act Program can do for you or someone you know. Find Your State or Territory AT Act Program

Share this story. Explore what is available in your state. And help us spread one simple truth: assistive technology changes lives, and AT Act Programs are here to help.

assistive technology. everywhere. everyone.

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