For Presentation Monday Night

My Final Post- Reflecting on a Semester of Assistive Technology

It is hard to believe that I am so close to completing my semester of the Assistive Technology Course at Carbini College. After this semester I hope to get a job in the special education field. This course and these blog posts are definitely a great resource for me to use as a special education teacher. Although I would like to work with more mild to moderate disabilities, I am still able to pull from this wealth of knowledge that I have learned over the course of this semester.

Before coming to this class, I have very little knowledge of Assistive Technology and the process involved in getting one for a student. I also have very little experience or knowledge of different products out on the market for different needs. I had little expose to augmented communication devices, single message output devices and choice boards. One cool thing that I realized as I was going through this course is that some of the tools that I use in my classroom are considered AT, although they are low tech. The 5 point scale for self regulation, Michele Garcia Winter's zones of regulation and break cards are all ways that I am implementing assistive technology in my classroom without even knowing it!

I really enjoyed learning about the adaptive keyboards, the different computer programs that allow text to speech, speech to text, screen magnification, and even the different companies that provide the software. Knowing I have these blogs in my arsenal, feel more comfortable in recommending AT for any of my students.

I also liked learning about the processes involved ( SETT) with identifying a student's need, identifying the type of product that may help the student, identifying the environment in which it will be used and finding different alternatives before going to the high tech devices. I think that the low tech devices are just effective strategies good teachers have been employing for years, such as maps, charts, visuals, graphic organizers, stations, choices etc.

And as much as I am sick of hearing about UDL, I can see how this buzz word plays into the AT process. Good teachers are employing lots of UDL strategies, and only until you have exhausted all of the low tech strategies, should the teacher and the IEP team be considering higher tech devices. I can finally see how the AT process, can come back to connect to UDL, the first couple of blog posts I had created.

Finally, as always this course has taught me that the student need is the most important thing in special education. The need takes precedent over the student's classification of disability, the parent's wants, the school administration demands and even the teacher's agenda. If  the student is getting  exactly what he/she needs than nothing else matters, not the price of the device, the headache of the paperwork, the bureaucracy of the process. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS BUT THE CHILD'S NEED! Sometimes I wish this was the case in all aspects of life....

What a journey! And I'll continue on this journey and see where it takes me..... so long for now.

AT: Assisting young adults with autism, congnitive disabilities or multiple disabilities achieve independence

Before I get into AT devices that help adults achieve independence, I should talk about the four main areas students must develop in order to achieve independence with the device.

Operational Skills-  the skills needed to operate the device

Functional skills- knowing how to perform the tasks in which the device is intended and including how the AT helps with the task.

Strategic Skills- involve the ability to decide which tool or strategy is used for a specific task.

Social Skills- the context in which the assistive technology is used.

In school, teachers help students learn these different skills so that they become independent in the use of the device. Once the student is using the device independently, the device can help him/her become a more independent individual in daily life.

AT can help teach functional skills that will help the student become more independent. Instructional applications from Laureate Learning Systems are available to help with functions such as early vocabulary, cause and effect, and cognitive concepts. Such programs can help students learn essential vocabulary of his/her surroundings with the My house, My town, My school programs. Attainment company also makes available customizable applications that help build functional skills of counting money, telling time, and making change.                                          

Assistive Technology for Students in College

Although I have been focusing on students in a prek-12 program in my blog posts, I want readers to know that AT does exist for students who go to college. In fact all of the things I have posted about, graphic organizers for writing and reading, text to speech and speech to text technology, overlays on keyboards, adaptive keyboards, software and applications for computers and iPods are all Assistive Technologies that can help students with disabilities in a College setting.

Reasonable accommodations are also made for students who have disabilities and who have a need for them. A student who is hearing impaired can use an assistive listening device. A student who is blind will be given access to a Braille reader, printer and translation programs. These students might also need a screen magnifier to help with on screen work. For students who may struggle with reading and writing, text to speech software may be used as an auxiliary aid. 

One thing to point out, is that although the college may be required to provide auxiliary aids and services, they are not mandated to give the most sophisticated technology. Therefore the brand of  technology requested may not be the technology that the student receives. As long as the college does provide equivalent services, then they can not be deemed as negligible. 

Assistive Technology Implementation: Working Together to make a difference

One of the resources my textbook provided me with was the Texas Assistive Technology Network Modules. This is a place for Special Education teachers, administrators, and students can come to find modules on different parts of the Assistive Technology process. Different modules include consideration process of AT, implementation process, the legal process, the administration process and the evaluation process among others. Each module will bring you to a page that describes the Purpose of the module, the description with basic summary, and objectives that users will learn about.

The modules consist of presentation slides and presenter notes. Some of the modules also include videos and other resources for the user to check out. What I liked about this website was the different processes that were broken down for me with a wealth of information and facts about each process. I will definitely come back to this site and print out some of the slides for my own collection.

Augmentive Communication devices desgined to meet the communication demands in the community

Augmentive communication boards are a great tool for a student who is unable to communicate verbally. They can use it in school, but as I stated in the last post, the eventual goal is to have the student use them at home and in the community.

Luckily, communication devices are very versatile in the their function. Most boards are able to switch out overlays and change the verbal output to match different activities/social situations. It as if you were to bring an Easter Basket to a Christmas party. That wouldn't fit, so you wouldn't use a overlay designed for a Christmas party, for an Easter Dinner with family. There are also lots of programs out there that can create custom overlays for special occasions. As a special education teacher, you should be able to access Board Maker, a computer program that allows you to create a board using visual pects. Some other resources such as I Can Cook, Too! and Art for Me, Too! are two collections that have activities and board overlays customized for the activities.

In order to maintain that the student will be successful at home and in the community, it is imperative that teachers arrange for family members to be instructed on how to use the device. This will help the student to continue to learn the independent use, and in case the family needs to trouble shoot any problems with the device.

Supporting Augmented Communication in the home and in the community

Supporting students with augmented communication devices is just as important at home and in the community as it is at school. By using the communication device within the home and community will reinforce the skills learned in school and helps then transfer and generalize them into other settings. Because the transfer of skills would greatly benefit the student, it is very important that school and home communicate effectively with each other. First off, training of the device should be provided to the family so that they know how to operate the device and troubleshoot if something goes wrong.

Other tips for implementing the communication device in the home and community are below:

• Provide Direct instruction on using the system 
• Identify key vocabulary relevant to the student's home and community
• Teach Family Members to provice opportunities for communication
• Provide simple data and evaluation sheets for home/community
• Give permission to parents to expand studnet's communication
• Keep it simple

For ways to help the child communicate with people who are less knowledgeable about the device, you as a teacher should plan assemblies, field trips or other special activities that will get the student to communicate with unfamiliar people.