My AT Reflection

When I began this AT journey, I had no idea what the process, devices or services entailed. I worked in the special education community in a limited respect, and was fortunate enough to have a classroom equipped with ipads. That is what I thought AT was, I quickly found out how wrong I was. A pencil grip, modified scissors, and visual schedules are all examples of AT.

I am grateful for my journey through research, examination and discussion of assistive tech. There are so many wonderful resources available to teachers, and so many tutorials that can help quell the anxiety that may come along with the AT selection process for students.  ASL, Speech to Text software, using a different instrument to type, etc. are just some examples of AT options.

It is imperative to view AT on the continuum that it exists upon. AT ranges from low to mid to high tech. As I said in the beginning of this post, I was predominantly concerned with, and only recognized what high tech devices were. 

 

It is crucial to reach out to your coworkers, to the internet and find workshops that will help you grow in your AT knowledge base. Through my journey I have discovered a wealth of information, as well as the means of how to incorporate it into my educational setting right away. 

Achieving independence with visual support

Self management and personal organization skills can be difficult for all individuals, specifically for students with disabilities. Visual supports and picture schedules can help accommodate and spur desired behavior of students with these issues in a nonthreatening manner.

Visual schedules and supports are essentially visual to-do list. By providing students with this it gives them the expectations for what will happen during their day, and give them the ability to understand what will come later. This is comforting Research shows that through these visual prompts acting out behaviors usually decrease. Additionally, through repetition and sequence students can begin to self determine and advocate because they understand what their day will be like or how it will "flow". 

The gradual release of responsibility and these forms of AT (picture schedules and activity sequences) can help students acquire independence and be able to advocate, which is of course what we all want for our students. 

 

AT Considerations for College Age Students

Thus far my blog has been a conglomeration of research, experimentation and explanation of experiences within my limited realm of AT in the educational environment. I work with elementary age children, thus it is only natural that I transcend my research and applications to the environment and population I work with. While it is important to be relevant with research, it is important to think about the long standing goals and objectives for your students. IEP's are legal documents that are honored until students exit the secondary education program. All of the planning, servicing and diligence of appropriate AT use and considerations no longer stands when a student enters the college setting. Due to this, students who enter the university setting must be fairly independent and advocates for themselves when it comes to AT usage at the collegiate level.


A critical tool almost every college uses (regardless of disabilities) is a computer. Computers can be used by students inside and outside of the college classroom.  The computer can offer a variety of AT services and tools, as well as having an adapted keyboard for easier note taking, depending on the student.  Section 504 and ADA state that colleges must provide reasonable accommodations to make their programs accessible to students with disabilities.  Some examples of this are:

-students who struggle with reading and writing 
-students who are hard of hearing- use of an assistive listening system for lectures (fm system) 
-students who are blind- a Braille reader, printer, and translation applications so student can produce written assignments 
-students who are in a wheel-chair- scheduling first in order to be on a first floor classroom 
-students who are deaf- providing sign language interpreters

References:

Dell, A., Newton, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the classroom: Enhancing the School Experiences of Students with Disabilities. Pearson.

Implementing AT effectively

Implementing AT can be overwhelming, but hopefully using knowledgeable individuals and resources can make this process easier.  Recommending the use of AT to be implemented into the classroom may be difficult when going through a school district.  Ensuring that professionals and student have the knowledge and skills to implement a successful transition to using the AT devices requires much planning.  Below are two resources I found to be very helpful in assisting with the AT process. 

 http://www.setbc.org/setbc/topics/effective_implementation_of_assistive_technology.html


They provide a lot of pre-made social stories, schedules, and PECS images that can be used for free.

Other areas of the website offer a guide on how to effectively implement assistive technology.  In a previous post I briefly talked about AT and the IEP.  AT should be considered for every student.  This website breaks the process into seven steps:

• Gather Relevant Information
• Establish IEP Goals
• Conduct AT Trials
• Identify AT Solutions
• Develop AT Implementation Plan
• Adapt Lessons for Technology Integration
• Follow up and Plan Transition.

The next resource I researched was the Oregon Technology Access Program. Below is a description of my findings:

 

 

http://www.otap-oregon.org/Pages/Default.aspx

This program designs documents to be used by agencies/ school districts who are developing plans to implement assistive technology. What is great about this website is that is has PDF's available including samples, checklists, and suggestions for how to implement AT elements into the school your work for. 

References:

 

 http://www.setbc.org/pictureset/Default.aspx http://www.setbc.org/setbc/topics/effective_implementation_of_assistive_technology.html

 

Dell, A., Newton, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the classroom: Enhancing the School Experiences of Students with Disabilities. Pearson.

 

http://www.otap-oregon.org/Pages/Default.aspx 

Augmentative Communication Systems at Home

Building upon my last blog post. The AT selection process and successfully completing an IEP can be difficult, but one thing that is important to touch on is the importance of the successful use of augmentative communication throughout the school day, both during non-instructional and instructional time. 

Students go home after school, and their use and practice and use their augmentative communication systems at home and within their communities must occur.  Using their systems in these other settings reinforces the communication skills learned in school and helps them learn how to use it in other places and situations.

 Teachers must communicate with the parents to see if the ability to use augmentative communication will be upheld out of the school setting. 

 

Reference:
 Dell, A., Newtown, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom.
               Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Education Inc.

Augmentative Communication & IEPS

The IEP process can be overwhelming. But hopefully through my blog entries and visited webinars, you have found that the AT process is built on a teamwork approach, and that many people contribute to the successful implementation of devices for students. In reference to augmentative communication, educators and At team members must be aware of a few elements.

1. When creating an IEP for a student who uses augmentative communication, it is critical that the document states that the student is able to use the device across the school day.

2. It is important to remember that the augmentative communication device is not an IEP goal in itself, rather it is a tool to help the student accomplish a goal.





Non negotiables for the AT IEP process when student uses augmentative communication devices:
1) A list of the augmentative communication services that will be provided by related services (Example: Speech/Language Pathologist or Occupational Therapist). 
2) Name the person/s responsible for the maintenance and operation of the device.

Reference:
 Dell, A., Newtown, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom.
               Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Education Inc.

Eliminating Learned Helplessness

When working with students with disabilities, it is so important to provide students with a voice and the belief that they are able. Many students perceive the ability of their teachers in wanting to assist them and can display learned helplessness. There are several tips for educators to help them to extinguish this displayed behavior:

* Build a daily expectation of communication through specific activities such as choosing the activity during recess, picking a book to read, or identifying where to eat lunch. 
* Create a brief daily report to parents that is communicated by the student (if capable). This is an imperative suggestion, but parents must also hold up their side of the bargain. * Allow natural consequences to occur and provide avenues for repair. Give students the ability to rectify their mistakes.  
*Provide choices!  
* Provide powerful phrases on the device for students to reject or protest something, or ask for assistance!




Reference:
 Dell, A., Newtown, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom.
               Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Education Inc.