In 1981, Alex Truesdell, an early childhood teacher at the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston, met Erin, an infant with severe multiple disabilities. A few months later, Alex’s aunt lost the use of her fingers and thumbs following a spinal cord injury.   “I had never heard of adaptive technology, but suddenly found myself waking up in the night thinking of adaptations. I rolled towels into bolsters, carved notches in toys, and threaded straps through seat backs.”  With the help of her Uncle Frank, a skilled builder, Alex learned to work with all kinds of materials, and together, they transformed ideas and frustrations into highly customized solutions for Erin and her Aunt Lynn.

Over the next few years, Alex set up a small workshop in her basement and made many more adaptations for children on her caseload.  Alex was eventually hired fulltime by the Perkins School to start the Assistive Device Center, a program now in its 30th year.  In 1998, Alex relocated to New York City with the goal of replicating the practice and philosophy of adaptive design, and adding an internship program for women re-entering the workforce through Alternatives To Incarceration.  Through a great stroke of luck, Alex met Antoinette LaSorsa and they developed a pilot called “Creative Constructions,” and in 2001 they established the Adaptive Design Association as an independent nonprofit.  

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In 2015 The MacArthur Foundation recognized Alex's innovative approach to solving a critical global problem and awarded her the MacArthur Fellowship. 

Over the last 20 years, ADA has created thousands of adaptations for children in NYC, provided hundreds of hands-on classes and internships, and enthusiastically supported people launching Adaptive Design centers in Syracuse, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Guatemala; Ecuador; and Peru.  Dozens of individuals and small groups are building adaptations and looking for the resources to start a center in New York, Oregon, Michigan, Texas, Maryland, Argentina, Romania, Haiti and elsewhere.

The users, dreamers, and makers found at the Adaptive Design Association can be found everywhere. Like Alex, so many of us are affected by the disabilities of loved ones and the urge to adapt their environments to fit their needs. Where there is a will there is a way, and it is the mission of ADA to provide anyone interested with the skills, materials, and confidence needed to turn inspirations and ideas into functional products that can change the way we look at disabilities all over the world.

To learn more about Aunt Lynn and her adaptations, visit her blog at lynnvalley.net