Many professionals were already users of electronic mail and had access to the Internet although some technical assistance was still necessary to help them participate in the electronic discussion. The most important task was to convince professionals, many of whom felt they were already too busy, that participating in the AT Forum would be beneficial for them and that they could control their levels of participation. The effort to involve more consumers, professionals, and service providers in the electronic discussion has been ongoing since before the establishment of the AT Forum. Demonstrations, presentations, newsletter articles, fliers, and word of mouth have all been employed to increase participation. The Forum is also advertised on the ATRC homepage, attracting those who already have been accessing electronic networks.
Technical assistance continues to be available to both professionals and consumers.
The ATRC regularly uses electronic networks to solicit donations of used modems and distributes those as necessary to those who lack the resources to participate in the electronic networks. Postings come from individuals with disabilities and professionals seeking advice on identifying, obtaining, and funding AT devices and services. Various disability and commercial groups post inquiries seeking personal experiences people with disabilities encounter, announcing events, calls for advocacy, etc. It took four months to generate the first one hundred messages, and only one month to generate the second one hundred. Community consultants also reported that they were using electronic mail outside the forum for mutual support and for other networking.