Hello from Disability Work Tools!  It has been awhile since we’ve introduced ourselves and what we are all about……..

Our main goal at DWT is to enable the disabled worker to continue on in their desired profession after injury, illness, or age take their toll.  To do that, we try to make adaptive tools readily available so people can independently perform hands-on tasks in spite of injury, aging or disabling condition. We motivate active people to be productive by using tools that improve efficiency and minimize physical pain. We challenge people to use foresight, selecting the best tools for the job, so they can work longer and feel better.

DWT’s history began over ten years ago when Ned Stoller began to feel the call to help farmers continue their farming careers even after a disabling disease or illness seemed like it would take them off of the farm. 

When he graduated with a degree in agricultural engineering he had a desire to work directly with people rather than ‘sit in a cubicle and design pistons.’  Someone suggested he talk to a professor at Purdue University who had a program called ‘Breaking New Ground’ which served farmers with disabilities.  Ned talked with him and was hired on the spot.  

Previously, Ned had never thought of working with the disabled.  As with many people, Ned did not have any experience working with disabled farmers or workers and it did not occur to him that there were numerous farmers who wanted to farm but were impaired due to a disability of some sort, whether it was an injury such as missing fingers, hands, or arms, or diseases.  

This began a 16 year trek in working with disabled workers.  Along the way Ned has had some unique opportunities to help get some folks back to work.  One of his favorite stories is about a farmer who was faced with the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.   Stay tuned for the rest of the story!