Story by Jayati Ramakrishnan
Photos by Kyle McKee
Design and Illustration by Lauren Beauchemin
Tim Holm approaches the concept of rifle use with the breezy affirmation of a gun enthusiast: “I’m fairly confident it’s safe,” he says, hardly batting an eye. Of course, the gun Holm refers to is attached to a stationary mount that can be fixed to his wheelchair. It is controlled by a switch he can operate with his chin and a trigger that can be activated by simply sipping on it like a straw. It doesn’t even require a person to use their hands.
This rifle mount is part of the collection in the Device Loan Library at Access Technologies, a nonprofit organization based in Salem, Oregon, that strives to make everyday activities easier for people with physical disabilities. The organization also rents out recreational equipment for indoor and outdoor activities. Elisha Kirsch, an assistive technologies specialist who has worked with the company for four years, emphasizes that Access Technologies does not design or manufacture any of its products. “We do a lot of testing in here before we let anything out the door,” she says. “A lot of what I do is research. Finding ways to help an individual be more independent is so exciting.”
Employers often refer clients like Holm to Access Technologies in the hopes that the company can outfit an individual’s workspace to be more compatible with his or her needs. Holm has quadriplegia as a result of an injury to his spinal cord caused by a 2008 motorcycle accident. Holm, a former policeman, lost much of the use of his limbs, but eventually returned to work as a public works dispatcher for the City of Salem. His supervisor found Access Technologies, and the organization adapted the front door of Holm’s office building by making it wheelchair accessible. The company also gave Holm computer accessories, such as a smaller keyboard and an oversized ball mouse, which are easier for Holm to operate with the limited mobility of his hands. Among his most valued tools, Holm says, are reaching aids such as a pole with a hook and magnet on the end he uses to pick up items like dropped keys.
Initially, Holm did not know how badly he was hurt or how much function he would be able to recover after his accident. The therapy that followed has given him back some mobility in his arms, but the use of his legs has never returned. As he recovered, Holm’s family and close friends began encouraging him to adapt some of his everyday devices to help him move around more independently. This included modifying devices and doors in his home, a project completed by a hired contractor experienced in outfitting homes for people with disabilities.
Holm’s experience also inspired him to actively research companies like Access Technologies for other recreational outlets. Holm’s father and sister frequently show up at his home to help him. Holm also has assistants who help him get out of bed using a device called a Hoyer Lift, which envelops Holm in a full-body sling and lifts him up so he can be moved from the bed into a wheelchair. Holm drives his own van, which has a ramp that allows him to drive his wheelchair directly into the vehicle. The van is also fitted with hand steering controls, a wheelchair locking system that secures Holm’s chair into the driver’s position, and a modified seatbelt. In addition to transporting himself, Holm is now able to run errands and pick up his son from school without assistance. “The minute I got the van, it was about three days of driving lessons and then back to work,” he says.
Increasing accessibility to public spaces is becoming a major priority to aid individuals like Holm, who have had life-changing experiences. At the University of Oregon (UO), the Accessible Education Center works to assist about 1,000 students with a range of disabilities. The center, which recently changed its name from “Disability Services,” strives to make the campus a place that is easy for everyone to navigate. Senior Director Hilary Gerdes points out that the department is trying to inspire an attitude shift in the public’s view of disabilities, from one of special accommodations to an attitude of universal inclusion: “I think our name change signifies where we’d like to go,” Gerdes says.
Holm believes a positive attitude makes all the difference in transitioning to a lifestyle with limited mobility. Despite Holm not having complete range of motion in his hands, he still aims to pursue his passion for guns. He hasn’t explored all of Access Technologies’ outdoor equipment, like camping tents, fishing rods with battery powered reels, and scales that read an object’s weight out loud, but he plans to. Right now, he has his sights set on using the rifle mount he is testing at Access Technologies to re-enter the world of recreational and competitive shooting. The mount can accommodate a variety of firearms, too. Holm wants to create a club event that allows people of all mobility levels to come and try out the adapted equipment. “I’m a member of the Albany Rifle and Pistol Club, so I’ve already talked to their executive board about sponsoring an afternoon,” he says.
With the aid of adaptive equipment, Holm also hopes to branch out into activities like quadriplegic rugby, which he describes as “a mix between football, soccer, and hockey with some of the rules of basketball.” Portland has a competitive quadriplegic rugby team, the Portland Pounders. “It’s actually quite exhilarating to watch,” he says, lighting up at the mention of athletic competition. “It’s all trial and error.” Holm adds that sports and an active lifestyle have always been a part of his life. This, he feels, is a way to explore a new side of activity.
Seated in his wheelchair, Holm is soft-spoken with a sweet smile that gets even broader when his son, bored with waiting for his dad, runs into the showroom. Holm’s hands are perpetually curled into fists that rest near a joystick that controls his chair. While surveying the adaptive equipment offered by Access Technologies, Holm watches his son, Kyle, an energetic fourth grader, bound into the showroom and begin inspecting the room full of “toys.” Holm watches him with a smile that is only occasionally broken by a warning not to touch something.
Access Technologies is still fairly small, with about ten employees and a single office, but it offers many options for those looking to live their lives more independently. The company has a small showroom inside a shopping complex, where groups of phone accessories, adaptive childrens’ toys, and household tools like hammers and pliers are separated by function and rest on tables around the room. All of these technologies are designed to make activities possible that would otherwise be a major struggle for people who don’t have the full use of their bodies. But some of the items, Kirsch says, are not specially manufactured for handicapped individuals and can be purchased in regular stores. Picking up a battery-powered hammer, she explains: “Assistive technology is anything that helps people be more independent—iPads, hand tools, as well as specialized tools.”
Hand tools, like battery-powered pruners and pliers, are tools anyone can buy at a hardware store, but Access Technologies carries them because they can make outdoor activities easier for those suffering with arthritis. In Holm’s experience, tools like these can literally make a world of improvement. He says adding an inch in length or slightly shifting an angle can mean the difference between being able to reach a door handle or not. “It’s amazing, just raising up something a little bit, changing the angle on it, and it’s like, voila,” he says.
Gerdes agrees that simple changes can make all the difference in making mobility easier for someone with a disability. The UO is constantly working to improve the accessibility of all of their buildings by adding ramps and elevators to the older campus structures. When a building is not accessible, the Accessible Education Center does its best to relocate classes to accommodate students with disabilities. Another addition the center is proud of is the Access Shuttle, a fairly recent addition to the program that picks up students and takes them to and from home, or even from place to place on campus. “That’s been a huge improvement, even though the shuttle service is almost at capacity for meeting that demand,” Gerdes says.
She also mentions a newer piece of technology the UO suggests to make note taking easier for students with visual or hearing impairments, or anyone who might have trouble keeping up with the pace of note-taking lectures. Called the “Pulse Smartpen,” it records what the professor says and then takes pictures of a student’s notes while writing. If something is missed and a blank space is left, the pen will play back the appropriate part of the lecture with it is pressed to the empty section of the page. The UO also occasionally rents these pens out to students.
Access Technologies relies on public funding and private donations. The Tech Act, officially known as the Assistive Technology Act, is a law that provides funding for the company to have a demonstration center and a lending library, as well as allows individuals from around Oregon to work with a specialist from Access Technologies to determine the technology that he or she needs. The company can only acquire some of its more expensive products, like motorized wheelchairs, by donation.
Kirsch says she hopes to expand Access Technologies, but acknowledges this as a long-term goal. Currently, the company isn’t very well known, and recognition is one of its main roadblocks. “My biggest plans are for publicity, seeing how many more people we can draw in and help make an impact on their life,” she says.
Holm’s injury has certainly impacted him and his family, but it has made him look at his life in a new light. He is constantly touched by how often people, even strangers, want to help. “Wherever I go, whoever I’m with, people really don’t want to see you struggle,” he says. “It’s opened my eyes, really, to the generosity of people.”

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