Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation is collaborating with United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania for an informative webinar on resources for the 2026 tax season, such as the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.  

VITA is a free tax service provided to people who need assistance in preparing their tax returns, including people who make $67,000 or less, people with disabilities, people with limited English proficiency, and people ages 60 and older with questions about pensions and retirement. VITA sites are operated by IRS partners and volunteers who have passed tax law training, and services are free and reliable. Learn more during our webinar! 

Attendees will also learn more about filing basics, such as who needs to file, available tax credits, how to avoid high-priced tax preparers, safe banking options, PATF loans, and more. 

Registration is required. ASL, CART, and Spanish interpretation will be available. 

Register today. 

Pennsylvania Office of Developmental Programs Removes Lifetime Cap on Funding for Assistive Technology 

In December, Pennsylvania’s Office of Developmental Programs announced that it was removing the lifetime cap on its Consolidated, Community Living, and Person/Family Directed Support Waivers. PATF has pushed for this change for a long time, as we see the need in the communities we serve. This is exciting news for Pennsylvanians as more people will be able to access more assistive technology over the course of their lives. PATF sends its congrats and thanks to all who helped to advocate for this change. 

Meet the Team Members Who Joined Us in 2025

Eric Saul – Chief Financial and Lending Officer 

Eric joined PATF in February as the Chief Financial and Lending Officer. Prior to working at PATF, he was the Chief Financial Officer at Valley Forge Military Academy and College and the Executive Director of a statewide nonprofit in Delaware. He has over 25 years of experience in finance and education. In his free time, he enjoys playing golf and sporting clays!  

Bethany Flaugher- Program Director 



Bethany joined PATF in September and brings over nine years of experience in supported employment and career readiness for people with disabilities. She is PATF’s Program Director and has a wealth of knowledge and experience for resources for people with disabilities. Bethany enjoys hiking, thrifting, live music, and volunteering with her kids’ roller derby team in her spare time. 

Thanks for Celebrating AT Awareness Month with Us!

We had a successful Assistive Technology (AT) Awareness Month social media campaign this November. We partnered with three people with disabilities or who are parents to a child with a disability to highlight how they use AT for work, school, play and every day. They also spoke about how they were able to fund their AT, such as using their PA ABLE funds, wages, donations, gifts, and more. Join us as we review some of the videos that were shared! 

In this video, Chris shares how his six-year-old daughter with autism can have a challenging time transitioning between activities. Their family uses Alexa as assistive technology to set timers that support smoother transitions. Alexa also helps his daughter navigate the day by answering questions about the time, weather, and when the sun rises and sets. 

Sara highlighted that assistive technology (AT) doesn’t always have to be high-tech. Sometimes low-tech solutions are the best fit! In this video, she shares how she uses simple, everyday tools as AT, including sticky notes for reminders and jar openers that make opening jars easier and more accessible. 

Ben uses ChatGPT as assistive technology (AT) to support communication on social media, rewrite a Christmas letter, and stay informed about current events. AI tools like ChatGPT can serve as valuable AT by simplifying language and topics, summarizing information, creating schedules, and assisting with sentence structure. As AI becomes increasingly popular, it’s important to recognize its potential as an AT tool for people with disabilities. 

We thank Chris, Sara, and Ben for their time and for sharing how they use AT. We also thank Highmark Wholecare for sponsoring our campaign and making our collaboration with Chris, Sara, and Ben possible. 

In December, we hosted a webinar, Real-Life Stories: Building a Comfortable Smart Home, where Kirby and Suria shared their story of how they began using smart home technology and how it has evolved.  

Over 200 people registered for the webinar, representing 22 states, the District of Columbia, and six countries around the world, including Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, Ghana, Guam, and Malaysia. 



Recordings of the webinar are now available. Recordings with ASL and Spanish interpretation are available. A PDF of the PowerPoint presentation is also available. 

In 2025, we partnered with the University of Pittsburgh to begin implementing an AI chatbot named Aida on PATF’s website. Our hope is that Aida will make navigating resources more accessible to people with disabilities. People who are visiting our website will be able to ask Aida about resources during all hours of the day, so even when staff is not in the office or if you prefer not to speak with a live person, you can still have your questions answered.   

We had a competition, The Great AI Chatbot Persona Search, to personify our chatbot, and Leah was our winner!

We hope to have a live version on our website in the coming months. Stay tuned! 

Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation (PATF) helps Pennsylvanians of all ages, all disabilities and health conditions, all income levels, and all communities and cultural backgrounds. We offer information about acquiring assistive technology (AT), funding resources, financial education, and financial loan programs. For more information, call 484-674-0506 or visit www.patf.us.

PATF is a state and federally-certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and is the Commonwealth's designated Alternative Financing Program (AFP) under the federal Assistive Technology Act.