Assistive technology helping students achieve independence at home, work, and in community settings

How can assistive technology help students who have autism, cognitive disabilities, or multiple disabilities achieve independence in home, work, and community settings?

     These students often have difficulty with self-management and personal organization. Their lack of these skills has been successfully addressed through the use of visual supports such as picture schedules and activity sequences. When students know what is coming next they tend to have less acting out behaviors and reduce confusion. It can also reduce anxiety the student is feeling. 

     Sometimes these students will have these schedules attached to the top of their desk and they can cross each item off as it is accomplished. In my recent student teaching experience in a 1st grade classroom, the schedule for the day was displayed on the front board on colored construction paper hand made by the teacher for a student with autism. Each card had the subject or activity as well as a picture. The “specials” classes for example, gym, had a picture of the gym teacher so the student knew who and where they would be going. The schedule did not only benefit the student who needed it but the whole class as well. I think it is really important to have in the classroom and that is definitely something I will incorporate into my own room in the future. Each card was laminated and had a magnet on the back. 

It would also be nice to have that on an iPad or computer device for the student to look at. They could also have his home routine on the device to keep them on track and cut down on the anxiety. 

Boardmaker is a site in which you can make your own schedule picture cards to meet the needs of the students in your own classroom. It is a really neat site to check out!  http://www.mayer-johnson.com/boardmaker-software

Assistive technology used in college

In all of my other blogs I talked mostly about students in elementary school through high school. Now I want to focus on college students.

Assistive Technology (AT) can be used to help college students during classes and testing situations and completing assignments. I blogged about AT helping with writing, organizing, reading, and communication. All of these ways could be helpful to a college student.

 The tools need to meet the following criteria:

Easy to use and easy to customize
age appropriate
student’s own choice
match the specific task and the environment it is used
Installed in a place it can be access easily
Training and technical support must be provided to students and staff

Although there are NO IEP’s in COLLEGE, the tools used for AT in P-12 environment can be also used in college. Colleges have no legal responsibility to identify students with disabilities or involve parents in decision making. 

Students can still use the tools I have blogged about in earlier posts such as: screen reader, braille, digital books, communication boards, iPads, Write:Outload, Read:Outloud etc. 

Dell, A. G., Newton, D. A., & Petroff, J. G. (2012).Assistive technology in the classroom: Enhancing the school experiences of students with disabilities. (2nd ed. ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Assistive Technology Implementation

Assistive Technology Implementation: Working Together to Make a Measurable Difference

http://www.texasat.net/default.aspx?name=trainmod.implem

This site has presentation slides that show you how to implement AT. I will go over some of the important pieces I pulled from the presentation but if you click on the link you are free to explore on your own!

Decision-making sequence: Develop shared understanding of the student, learning environments, and expected tasks BEFORE tools are considered or selected

 Implementation Sequence: the Student in Typical Environments uses Tools to accomplish Tasks

Ways to Use Assistive Technology:
Support achievement of goals
Expand educational/vocational options
Increase participation in educational settings and activities
Increase productivity
Increase independence 
Improve quality of life

The purpose and expected results of AT implementation:
purpose: for students to use AT to actively participate in curricular and extra curricular activities
results: increased academic achievement and functional performance

This quote was taken from the presentation slides: 

“First , have a definite, clear practical ideal; a goal, an objective... Second, have the necessary means to achieve your ends... Third, adjust all your means to that end.” Aristotle

Augmentative Communication systems designed to meet the demands of home and the community

How can a student’s augmentative communication system be designed to meet the communication demands of home and community?

    This requires family involvement, issues related to culture, and identification of places or activities in which the student is active. Teachers must be actively involved in ensuring that there is appropriate carryover and use within the home, among the family members, and across community sites. Training of augmentative communication systems should be provided to families. It would be helpful to have the system set up to have their children involved in birthday celebrations, religious activities, or a community group such a scouting. 
    It is important that the family is comfortable with the system and can easily operate it. It is important to consider where the family members are currently on level to find the best match for them to use. Then teachers can decide what would be the best fit to use at home and in the community. 
     The downside is that the community is less familiar with augmentative communication and may be less willing to accept an unfamiliar approach to communication. This is challenging for most users. Unfamiliar partners are people who have no shared knowledge with the user , no understanding of the system, and no understanding of the rules of communicating with an augmentative communication user. Teachers should facilitate positive interactions with students. 
    The devices can be programmed to ask specific questions and guests can be directed toward the augmentative communication user to answer a question. 

Importance of support to use of augmentative communication systems at home and in the community

Why is it so important to support the use of augmentative communication systems at home and in the community?

In school, students receive direct instruction and guidance in developing augmentative communication skills in school, they must practice and use their system at home and within the communities. It makes sense the more you use something the better you become at it. That is true for all people with all different things. If you practice basketball each day you will eventually become better and better at the sport. Same goes for the communication systems. The more you use it the better you’ll be. If you only use it in school you will not get as much practice from it then if you were to use it around the clock. 

Tips for Guiding Parents to Promote the Use of Augmentative Communication
Provide Direct Instruction on the Use of the System
Identify Vocabulary That is Relevant to the House
Teach Family Members to Provide Opportunities for Communication and to Wait
Provide Simple Data and Evaluation Sheets for Home and Community Use
Give Parents Permission to Expand the Child’s Communicaiton
Keep it Simple

Dell, A. G., Newton, D. A., & Petroff, J. G. (2012).Assistive technology in the classroom: Enhancing the school experiences of students with disabilities. (2nd ed. ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Augmented Communication integrated into the IEP

How can augmented communication be integrated into the IEP?

      In other blogs talking about IEP’s we have know that in order for something to be used by a student in special ed, it must be stated in the child’s IEP. By law, if it is in the IEP it must be used when and where it is supposed to be used. This goes the same with augmented communication. 
    Teaching of communication skills is guided by the IEP. Augmentative communication evaluations should be a component of the program development process and must be carefully considered for all nonspeaking students. All of the components of the system should be listed in the students’ IEP. When the teacher or IEP team is writing the goals and objectives for the student, it should be assumed that their participation will be through the communication system. Each student should also have goals and objectives that reflect the use and continued development of the system. 

Here is a few samples of IEP goals for communication:

• The student will increase his or her spontaneous use of appropriate communication with familiar partners for at least three communicative purposes (e.g., initiating, rejecting, and commenting)
• The student will increase his or her use of appropriate communication with unfamiliar partners within the community. 
• The student will independently navigate the augmentative communication device without assistance or prompts. 

Here are a few IEP goals to Support Instruction and Academics:

• Parker will use his augmentative communication device to make brief presentation to the class about the history of the global race to space. 
• Barbara will participate in social studies class through a specifically designed overlay that is developed for her augmentative communication device for each unit. She is expected to volunteer answers to at least two questions per lesson. 

Strategies teachers can use to overcome "learned helplessness"

What are some strategies teachers can use to overcome learned helplessness?

It is important for teachers to give their students a voice but teachers need to recognize that that some students may have gained a learned helplessness. If teachers notice this developing they need to use the strategies below to overcome learned helplessness:

• 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
• Construct a brief daily report to parents that is communicated by the student
• Allow natural consequences to occur and provide avenues for repair. This includes setups that alter the environment to provide less support or sabotage.
• Provide for choice making whenever possible that requires the student to use his or her augmentative communication system
• Provide powerful phrases on the device for students to reject or protest something

iPad Apps for Learning Math

Recently my posts have switched gears from literacy to math. In my search I have found some apps that help students learn math and reinforce what they have learned. 

Here is a list and short description of the apps I have found:

MathBoard: is appropriate for all school aged children. This helps children with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. With a multiple choice answer key, and scratchboard section it helps the students actually figure out the answer instead of guessing. There is a problem solver that walks you through the problem you are having trouble with. 

iFormula: an app that is used mostly for older students to help them remember formulas used in math. It is easy to navigate and browse through. Definitely a good tool to have!

Sky Numbers: In this game you're given a target number while other numbers fall from the sky. You must combine these numbers with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to reach the target number. If a single figure falls through the last cloud, the game is over. The speed at which the numbers fall increases with time making this game a fun challenge.

Splash Math Worksheets: You can download this app by grade level. It is an interactive math book for students to work on. Learn at your own pace: Splash Math enables your child to learn various math concepts at his or her own pace. After each question, the app appropriately chooses the next question. Each topic starts with an easy level and based on the child's progress, the medium and hard levels are gradually unlocked. The practice mode can be used to focus on problem areas.

Low-tech and mid-tech adaptations that can assist students with disabilities in completing math assignments

What kinds of low-tech and mid-tech adaptations can assist students with disabilities in completing math assignments?

Just like in literacy we have showed different types of low and mid-tech adaptations for students there is also different kinds for students when doing math and math problems. Here is a short list:

Low and mid -tech adaptations:

• Manipulatives
• fraction rubber stamps
• manipulative number line
• laminated addition and multiplication tables
• special ruler with transparent overlays to help students understand relationships between different units of measure
• large calculators with oversized buttons
• talking calculators
• solve calculators
• "coin abacus" and "coin-u-later" contain keys that are shaped like money and just like coins

Educational applications that can be used to teach math concepts, math skills, and problem solving.

What are educational applications that can be used to teach math concepts, math skills, and problem solving?

Math Playground provides a wealth of resources to support learning math concepts, skills and problem solving. It is free online activities are provided in the categories of Math Games, Word Problems, and Logic Puzzles. 

Conceptua Math focuses on fractions and offers a variety of tools for teachers to use to enhance their whole class instruction. It provides visual modules with spoken text. The program also offers formative assessments and captures student data.

Destination Math targets the development of skills in math reasoning, conceptual understanding, and problem solving for students in k-12. Animation and audio helps students stay engaged. It is step by step instructions and opportunities to practice problem-solving skills. 


To benefit students, educational applications including virtual manipulatives must be connected clearly to the concepts being developed and must be matched to students' developmental levels. To support the development of math concepts for students in Grades K-12, virtual manipulatives are available at a number of websites. An excellent resources is National Library of Virtual Manipulatives maintained by Utah State University. 

Technology tools that can be used to address visual-spatial and motor control difficulties

What kinds of technology tools can be used to address visual-spatial and motor control difficulties?

Educational applications that minimize the handwriting demands of math work are especially helpful for students with visual spatial difficulties. Here are some math applications to help:

MathPad is a talking math worksheet program that enables students to perform arithmetic computations with whole numbers on the computer in the same way they would use pencil and paper. Students with fine motor difficulties can demonstrate by using the keyboard or clicking the mouse. Students with sever difficulties can utilize MathPad's scanning feature. MathPad displays one problem at a time and the digits are properly aligned. 

Virtual Pencil (VP) Arithmetic is an educational application designed for students who are unable to operate a pencil effectively. It allows students to perform math problems similar to MathPad and showing intermediate steps. it offers speech feedback in a detailed manner. There is also a "tutor" to help you through the problem where you are having difficulty. 

Number Navigator does not have specialized features such as speech or scanning but is a simple math processor to enter and solve basic math problems on the computer. It is a free program with customizable colors, fonts, and sizes. 

Educational Applications that can be used to address automaticity/math fact fluency

What kinds of educational applications can be used to address automaticity/math fact fluency?

Achieving math fluency and automaticity is difficult for students with disabilities to master. Automaticity is defined as the fast, accurate, and effortless processing of content information. It is also referred to as math fact fluency. Computational fluency is being able to efficiently and accurately carry out procedures to solve computation problems relies heavily on automaticity with basic number facts. 

FASTT Math (Fluency and Automaticity through Systematic Teaching with Technology; Tom Snyder) is a math intervention program that helps students acquire math fact fluency. The program assesses students' command of basic facts by measuring response time and then generates customized activities based on the results. Students progress through the customized series of activities to strengthen memorization of facts and eliminate the need to rely on counting strategies to solve problems. 

Timez Attack focuses on solely on multiplication facts and teaching the 2 to 12 times tables. It is produced by the team that created Sony Playstation so it engages students in a high-tech video game environment featuring high quality graphics. 

The ArithmAttack can be played online or downloaded free onto your computer and played off-line with Microsoft Internet Explorer. Students can practice basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. The problems are customized and students practice according to their needs. 

Arcademic Skill Builder math games are designed to help develop automaticity in addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, integers, fractions, and ratios. It can be played using 1-4 players, and can be customized. 

I think all of these sites are great to have and keep in mind. I will like to try them out and use them in my own future classroom. It will be interesting to see which ones work best for what students. I am excited to look further into these games!

Key Questions that should be considered when selecting educational applications to meet students' goals and objectives.

What are key questions that should be considered when selecting educational applications to meet students' goals and objectives?

Although there are many factors to consider when selecting educational applications for particular students, the primary considerations should be learning activities that naturally fit instructional goals or objectives and that meet the interests of the students. It is imperative to match the application to the student and not the other way around.

What is the intended outcome of the use of the educational application?
    Example: Is it meant to strengthen math skills in problem solving or is it meant to build      speed and accuracy with basic math facts?

Is the educational applications likely to fulfill its stated purpose?
    Example: If the stated purpose of the activity is to build problem-solving skills, does it provide the  explanatory feedback needed to do so or simply assess whether or not problems are solved correctly?

Can the educational applications likely be used as an alternative to traditional classroom activities to enhance students' participation?
     Example: Will students learn as effectively using online math manipulatives as they would using traditional manipulatives?

Assistive Technology

       Recently I listened to a webinar about Reading and Assistive Technology. It fits in perfect with everything I have blogging about because it discusses ways to use AT in the classroom to help students read. The webinar began with a discussion between what a Text-Reader is and a Screen-Reader. I did not know the difference until I listened and read about it so I figured I would share. A text-reader reads documents and applications for you. It is typically used with students with reading disabilities. A screen -reader reads everything on the screen including tool bars and anything else you may see. This is typically used for students with low vision. 

     To help students read there is a website called bookshare.org . This is a resource for electronic books. It is an accessible online library. There is a membership fee you must pay but if the student is qualified orthapedically, visually, or a reading disability the fee is waived. 

      A great resource that comes when you are a member of bookshare.org is a free download of Read:Outloud. This is from the same company that made Write:Outloud that I talked about in previous blogs. Read:OutLoud by Don Johnston Incorporated as the text reader that would best achieve the goal of providing access to reading materials and enabling students to read texts with comprehension. 

    In reading the text book Assistive Technology in the Classroom by Amy G. Del, Deborah A. Newton, and Jerry G. Petroff, I learned more about AT in the writing process. If you are a teacher you know that the writing process is made up of different steps; Prewriting, drafting, reviewing, editing, and sharing or publishing. Students with disabilities have a hard time with the process and sometimes try to avoid writing togetherGraphic organizers a great way for students to organize their writing. This can be done with a low tech AT such as a handout or a high tech would be the software program called Inspiration that I blogged about in earlier posts. Graphic organizers help all students not just students with a disability. I would like to incorporate that into my own teaching because I know how difficult it is to being to write and a graphic organizer would be so helpful. 

    There are a variety of tools to help students with disabilities in the writing process. 

       Prewriting: graphic organizers

       Drafting: word processing, word prediction with custom dictionaries and speech recognition

       Reviewing: text-to speech

       Editing: text-to speech, phonetic spell checks, talking dictionaries, thesaurus, grammar checker, text correction

       Sharing or Publishing: word processing, multimedia presentation application, digital storytelling, blogs, wikis

Websites for Instruction in the Classroom

In all of my blogs I have talked about Assistive Technology and different types of it. Today I want to take a closer look at different software that could be used in your own classrooms.

The first site I want to look at is Inspiration. This is a visual learning website and software for students to use. 

"What is visual thinking and visual learning? 

Visual thinking is a learning style where the learner better understands and retains information when ideas, words and concepts are associated with images. Research tells us that the majority of students in a regular classroom need to see information in order to learn it. Some common visual learning strategies include creating graphic organizers, diagramming, mind mapping, outlining and more.

Visual learning helps students organize and analyze information
Students can use diagrams and plots to display large amounts of information in ways that are easy to understand and help reveal relationships and patterns.

Visual learning helps students integrate new knowledge
According to research, students better remember information when it is represented and learned both visually and verbally.

Visual learning helps students think critically
Linked verbal and visual information helps students make connections, understand relationships and recall related details."

This website and software could be used when a student needs to write about a specific topic. They could make a concept map with visual pictures and comments to get their ideas on paper. It could also be used as a formative assessment to see what the student knows and has learned. Here is an example of one:

This software is user friendly and kid friendly. It is inviting with colors and pictures and easy to access and use. It is not expensive if you were to purchase it for one computer which would be &39.965. If you wanted to purchase it for 20 computers in your school it would cost $640.00. 

http://www.inspiration.com

Another software I found was Write:Outloud. Students who are reluctant to write, have moderate grammar and spelling challenges, and write better with auditory support would benefit from this. It costs about $84.00 per computer but the more computers you buy it for the cheaper it becomes. 

This software comes with a new speech engine, talking spell checker, dictionary, homophone checker, bibliographer, standardized test mode. 

This software is user friendly and looks almost like Microsoftword but with a few more buttons. When you type something it then will read it for you. 

A great way for students to use this device is while they are writing an assignment in the classroom they can use this to help them. 

http://www.donjohnston.com/products/write_outloud/index.html

All of my blog posts discuss Assistive Technology for students. I want to take a closer look at AT with students with learning disabilities. "Learning disabilities do not go away with time. However, assistive technology can help children with learning disabilities leverage their strengths and work around or compensate for specific learning problems. These supports can be key to helping users become more independent in school and throughout life — on the job and in activities for daily living." (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ncld.org/students-disabilities/assistive-technology-education

When using Assistive Technology with students who have learning disabilities, the focus is mainly on adapting processing and output. As I was researching LD (learning disabilities) online, I found a site which gives you the characteristics of learning disabilities. 

CHARACTERISTICS OF STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

Typical characteristics of students with LD are listed below.  These characteristics, taken independently or in combination do not necessarily indicate a learning disability.

Reading

• Confusion of similar words, difficulty using phonics, problems reading multi-syllable words.
• Slow reading rate and/or difficulty adjusting speed to the nature of the reading task.
• Difficulty with comprehension and retention of material that is read, but not with material presented orally.

Writing

• Difficulty with sentence structure, poor grammar, omitted words.
• Frequent spelling errors, inconsistent spelling, letter reversals.
• Difficulty copying from board or overhead.
• Poorly formed letters, difficulty with spacing, capitals, and punctuation.

Oral Language

• Difficulty memorizing basic facts.
• Difficulty expressing ideas orally which the student seems to understand.
• Problems describing events or stories in proper sequence.
• Residual problems with grammar, difficulty with inflectional or derivational endings.

Math

• Difficulty memorizing basic facts.
• Confusion or reversal of numbers, number sequence, or operational symbols.
• Difficulty reading or comprehending word problems.
• Problems with reasoning and abstract concepts.

Study Skills

• Poor organization and time management.
• Difficulty following directions.
• Poor organization of notes and other written materials.
• Need more time to complete assignments.

Social Skills

• Difficulty "reading" facial expressions, body language.
• Problems interpreting subtle messages such as sarcasm.
• Confusion in spatial orientation, getting lost easily, difficulty following directions.
• Disorientation in time, difficulty telling time

Wren, C. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.pepperdine.edu/disabilityservices/students/ldcharacter.htm

A high-tech type of AT for a student with a learning disability for example; dyslexia, could use a Text-to-Speech device. The student could highlight what they need to read and it would read it for them. It is not that the student can not read but they have difficulty reading since the letters seem jumbled up. Another type of high tech AT is word prediction software for students to choose a word from the list provided by the software. 

A low-tech type of AT for a student with a learning difficulty could be a book mark type of tool where you place it under the line of the text you are reading. This keeps the student focused on one line at a time so they are not over whelmed. Another low-tech device is a Light Pen. 

A sensory disability is a person with a disability that has any of the long-lasting conditions such as blindness, deafness, or a severe vision or hearing impairment. Characteristics include hearing impairment, vision impairment and auditory. 

A low tech type of AT would be a pencil grip. This helps students hold the pencil and they can write more clearly. Another type of low tech AT is raised line paper. The students can feel where the lines are on the paper. 

A high tech device to use is Big Keys – one of several alternative large letter, abc order keyboards for young children or students with motor or cognitive challenges difficulties.  Another would be Earobics which is an auditory discrimination reading software. 

Assistive Technology based on IEP Goals

In my last blog post I talked about implementing AT in the IEP. Now I want to look at IEP Goals that were written and show the type of AT using a picture to link it to the goal. 

1. Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance: Johnny uses his right hand to write and to physically position his left arm and hand. He has difficulty managing papers as he writes. He collects and utilizes a lap tray, incline board, non-slip mat and modified clipboard but often waits for staff to set up modifications.

GOAL: Johnny will initiate the set-up of his writing station 80% of the time given a chart of needed materials for each task.

*this picture is just an example of what it might look like but altered for writing. 

2. Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance: Eric participates in regular education programs for his academic subjects. His hand strength is limited and he fatigues quickly when doing any handwriting task. Civics and English homework are a particular problem because of lengthy assignments and reports that need to be completed.

GOAL: Eric will use a computer or portable word processor to complete 100% of his assignments in 10th grade English and Civics classes.

3. Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance: Becky is learning to read and is anxious to complete writing assignments with her peers. She is not able to produce handwritten material due to severe spastic quadriplegia. Becky is interested in using the computer and has been introduced to it. The staff has helped Becky experiment with several switches in a variety of locations. She seems to be most accurate using a switch mounted next to her head.

Goal: Becky will use a single switch mounted on a switch-mounting arm positioned to the right side of her head and scanning software to access the computer 9 out of 10 times for a variety of educational assignments.

4. Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance: Mary currently communicates with sounds that are not always understood by those around her. She often becomes upset when she is not understood. She likes people and likes to be around both adults and children. She is beginning to play simple games.

Goal: Mary will communicate her interests and needs in three or more environments/situations using a single message voice output device.

Short Term Objective (STO) 1: Using a single message voice output device, Mary will communicate when she wants to change activities during play time on three out of five opportunities on three consecutive days.

STO 2: Mary will use the single message device to interact with others during games, such as Peek-a-Boo on three out of five opportunities on three consecutive days.

STO 3: Mary will initiate communication by “calling” someone using a preprogrammed message on a single message voice output device on three out of three opportunities on three consecutive days.

STO 4: Mary will “lead” singing during circle time by activating a preprogrammed single message voice output device on three out of three opportunities when it is her turn.

5. Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance: Sarah can use eye gaze fairly successfully to indicate her wants and needs when items are appropriately displayed so that her communication partner can tell what she is gazing at. She currently makes a grunting sound to greet others, to get attention, and to represent both yes and no. She has recently been using a four-message output device and is having some success at making choices. Sarah travels independently about the school in her power chair.

Goal: Sarah will interact with others in the school environment in four out of five opportunities to indicate her preferences and needs using voice output devices and eye gaze strategies.

STO 1: When provided with a single message voice output device on her wheel chair, Sarah will use it to greet peers in the hallways, lunchroom and classroom 100% of the time.

STO 2: Using an eye gaze frame mounted on her wheelchair, Sarah will indicate her preference between four choices 80% of the time on five random trials. 

STO 3: When asked “yes/no” questions, Sarah will indicate “yes” with a smile and eye contact with communication partner, and “no” by looking down at her wheelchair tray for at least three seconds 90% of the time on 10 random trials.

STO 4: When provided with a preprogrammed four message voice output device, Sarah will participate in story time by using repetitive phrases, requests to “hear more”, “turn the pages” etc., appropriately 80% of the time during five random trials.