Assistive Technology

· Modifying a task so that a person with a disability can participate in the least restrictive environment.
 1. Calculator
 2. Keyboard

· Compensating for skills and abilities that the student does not have - a change in routine, method or approach.
 1. Spell checker
 2. Word Prediction

· Adapting and/or developing devices, methods or strategies to assist persons with disabilities to perform daily tasks.  An adaptation is something especially designed that is not normally used by other people.

 1. Switches or other alternative input devices
 2. Environmental Control Units (see Assistive Technology, below)

Assistive technology services are those that directly assist a  child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device.  Assistive technology services include --

i.  The evaluation of the needs of a child with a disability, including a functional evaluation of the child in the child's customary environment;

ii.  Purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the acquisition of assistive technology devices by children with disabilities;

iii.  Selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, adapting, applying, maintaining, repairing, or replacing assistive technology devices;

iv.  Coordinating and using other therapies, interventions, or services with assistive technology devices, such as those associated with existing education and rehabilitation plans and programs;

v.  Training or technical assistance for a child with disabilities or, if appropriate, that child's family; and

vi.  Training or technical assistance for professionals (including individuals providing early intervention services) or other individuals who provide services to or are otherwise substantially involved in the major life functions of individuals with disabilities.

   Assistive Technology should support children in:

· Interactions with others

· Child initiated play

· Expansion of knowledge and interests

· Active exploration of their environment

Common areas where assistive technology can be applied to assist infants, toddlers and older students at early functioning levels include:

· positioning and mobility
· environmental control
· play
· augmentative communication
· assistive listening
· visual aids
· self care
· computer access

· Mobility and Interaction with the Environment: Many persons with multiple disabilities have little or no opportunity to experience vestibular motion,  the movement of their bodies through space. Deprivation in this area leads to extremely limited interactions with both the environment and other people.

· Communication and Interaction with People: When one or more of the senses impairs children's ability to acquire language, they learn to be passive and non-involved with the world around them which they cannot name, touch, see, hear, or move in.  To move in this world or interact with the people around them, children need not only
communication but also the ability to need to find different ways to communicate their needs, choices, and feelings to the people around them.

· Cognitive Development: Children with disabilities who lack sufficient stimulation do not learn cause and effect, choice making skills, discrimination, and strategies to exert control over their surroundings.  Because of this, they often lack many of the readiness skills required for active participation in school.
 

· Parental involvement in the choice is vital.

· The only necessary prerequisite is that the child is communicating and controlling their world in some manner.

· The child may only master the technology by using it.

· The strategies employed when using assistive technology are more important than the actual device or equipment.

· Trial with training options and time to work out problems are vital.

· The best evaluations are made using a multidisciplinary team approach or at least with an equal determination of all team members’ goals and objectives for the child.

· Any assistive technology devices should aim at the child's independence in the environment rather than dependence on the technology.

· Training on an on-going basis for service providers and parents is vital.

Technology can offer the child with disabilities opportunities for independence, creativity, achievement and participation.  It seems that the greatest barrier to effective use of technology as a "parity" tool for inclusion is the school and family team's beliefs that it cannot  work.

Therefore, all persons working with the child with disabilities must be convinced that technology can make a difference in providing the most appropriate education and in ensuring the civil rights of the child.
The new set of beliefs necessary for technology to succeed must include the following:

• I believe that technology exists for each child; it must be identified.
• I believe that I must remain open to the potential of new technologies or those with which I am not familiar.  I must continue to look for information  regarding other equipment and services.
• I believe we cannot make assumptions about the child's capacity to learn in one environment, if we have not explored all the options.
• I believe that using technology takes determination, and that the positives for using it far outweigh the negatives.
• I believe funding barriers should not prevent the use of technology with my child (student, team member).
• I believe in technology as a "parity" tool for encouraging the inclusion of my child (student, team member).