Blog Archives - MonTECH

MonTECH 2024 Annual Report

Posted on February 7, 2025 by itdirector

MonTECH Serves Montanans! Download the 2024 Annual Report LOANS In 2024, MonTECH loaned 1,859 items to 793 Montanans. MonTECH ranks 11th out of 56 assistive technology (AT) programs nationwide for […]

Libby Folks Float the Kootenai with a Little Help from MonTECH and Missoula Parks & Rec

Posted on May 29, 2024 by Shawna Hanson

A group of smiling people in llife jackets give rock-on hand gestures while floating down a slow river in a raft. Some have developmental disabilities. Two are wearing life jackets in patriotic stars and stripes.

Libby lies south of Lake Koocanusa in the midst of the Kootenai National Forest. It is breathtakingly beautiful country and Stephanie Munts wants her clients to experience it first-hand. Stephanie […]

Seeing AI for Android (It’s About Time!)

Posted on December 22, 2023 by Shawna Hanson

Dave holds up an Android phone and an iPhone. He stands in front of a MonTECH sign festooned with Christmas lights.

Written by Dave Gentry As a low-vision user of assistive technology for over 30 years, it’s hard to beat Microsoft’s Seeing AI. I have been using Seeing AI for the […]

Montana Woman Purchases Massage Chair Thanks to Low-interest MATL Loan

Posted on December 22, 2023 by Shawna Hanson

Older woman smiles from a large massage chair. Her lower legs are receiving pressure from the chair.

Teri Owens lives with scoliosis and cervical spinal stenosis, and the torture of neuropathy and pinched nerves affects every aspect of her life. “The neuropathy is a feeling that is […]

Michaela and Her Mom Find Freedom with Assistive Tech

Posted on March 27, 2023 by Shawna Hanson

Young woman with Down syndrome smiles while toasting her mom with a chocolate chip cookie she baked at her new bakery job.

Michaela Turner moved to Montana last year. The 32-year-old has Down syndrome and was well supported in Massachusetts. Here? “It was a shocker,” Mom Becky remembers. “Michaela is now on […]

MonTECH 2022 Annual Report

Posted on January 20, 2023, Edited January 20, 2023 by Shawna Hanson

Cover of 2022 Annual report show Michelle smiling, working with a teenager with Down syndrome who is laughing, and an older woman smiling while exploring adaptive kitchen tools. Text reads: 2022 Annual Report. MonTECH provides technology, support, and services that improve the quality of life for Montanans of any age with any disability.

This year was amazing for MonTECH and the Montanans we serve. We rounded out our loan inventory for Montanans living with memory loss and their caregivers, and for outdoor enthusiasts […]

Crafting Again Thanks to AT

Posted on March 29, 2022 by Shawna Hanson

Woman smiles while sitting in MonTECH's lab using a video magnifier.

Barb DeVore simply lived with her macular degeneration, adjusting and coping as her vision worsened. But this Christmas, she hit a wall. “My husband set up the Christmas tree in […]

A Team Approach for Thomas

Posted on March 29, 2022, Edited March 29, 2022 by Shawna Hanson

Little boy lays smiling on the couch with stuffed toys.

Four-year-old Thomas has conditions that cause strokes and tumors. He lives with complications and limitations caused by them, and his parents work hard to ensure his needs for comfort, communication, […]

From One WWII Vet to Another: the Ability to Read Again

Posted on June 30, 2021, Edited August 16, 2021 by Shawna Hanson

White-haired gentleman adjust the magnification on his CCTV

Charles “Chuck” Webber is no stranger to tough situations. Over 23 years in the U.S. Air Force, he served as navigator on 60 missions during World War II. One harrowing […]

Alexa a Workaround for Dyslexia and Dyscalculia

Posted on June 30, 2021 by Shawna Hanson

Woman crouches beside small sheltie, holding a very small dog in her other arm and smiling.

Kelsey Lastowski knows the intense anxiety of navigating school with a hidden disability. As a student with dyslexia and dyscalculia, she worried people wouldn’t think she was smart. Because she […]