Assistive Technology - Essential Questions

www.atinternetmodules.org

Assistive Technology Internet Modules provide valuable training for teachers at all levels.  The modules are user friendly and of great quality.  The information is very useful for guiding teachers in making informed decisions about students' use of and need for Assistive Technology. I had some initial questions to which I found some great answers - here is what I learned.

AT Assessment Process in the School Environment
Q: How is AT assessment initiated?
A: At an IEP meeting.  Then, information is gathered about the student, environment and tasks so that the student can perform as many tasks as possible, independently.

Q: Is there anything to guide the team?
A: Yes.  Guiding documents (SETT framework) can be downloaded at:  http://www.atinternetmodules.org/mod_view.php?nav_id=1435

Q: Who is on the assessment team?
A:  "Ideally, an AT assessment team consists of members of the student's IEP team inclusive of the parent and student (if possible), a person knowledgeable about AT, and any other specialist who can contribute to the student's technology use. It is wise to include an assistive technology specialist who can address issues related to interfacing the AT with the existing hardware and software used by the district. Typically, the IEP team is able to take on the role of an AT team, but at times this is not the case. The next section describes several assessment team models." (http://www.atinternetmodules.org/mod_view.php?nav_id=1434)

Q: Who is responsible for the purchase of the AT device?
A: The LEA is.  The IEP team is responsible for determining the student's need.

AT Consideration in the IEP Process

Q: What may be some situations where AT should be considered?
A: "Success in the AT consideration process gives students tools that offer access to the general education curriculum." http://www.atinternetmodules.org/mod_view.php?nav_id=1276 (Accessed 03/03/14).

Q: What should the IEP team consider?

A: "To meet the intent of the IDEA 2004, the IEP team needs to ask, "Does the student need AT to meaningfully participate and progress in the general curriculum?" The practical questions to be answered here are as follows:

• "What is it that we expect the student to be able to do in the educational program that he/she is currently unable to do because of his/her disability?" and
• "Would AT provide a solution for that?"

In other words, does this student need AT to:

• Navigate/access the school environment?
• Communicate?
• Hear?
• Participate socially?
• Physically access print materials?
• Decode/comprehend print materials?
• Produce written material?
• Access the computer?
• Do math work?
• Organize and study?
• Take state and local tests?
• Participate in recreation/physical education?
• Participate in student activities?
• Support vocational interests, work skills?" Directly quoted from http://www.atinternetmodules.org/mod_view.php?nav_id=1276 (Accessed 03/03/14).

Automatic Speech Recognition Module (ASR)
Q: What are some items to consider before jumping into expensive speech to text or text to speech software?
A: For cheaper alternatives, refer to the Wisconsin Assistive Technology Imitative (WATI) Chapter 5 - Assistive Technology for Writing, Including Motor Aspects of Writing and Composing (Nanke, et al. 2009).

Q: What is the best way to train the students, parents and teachers to support the child using ASR?
A: " The National Center to Improve Practice in Special Education, (n.d.b) provides a description of many of the considerations for training students with disabilities. Click here to view the training section of the article,"Spotlight on Voice Recognition." http://www.atinternetmodules.org/mod_view.php?nav_id=1191 (Accessed 03/03/14).

"Q. What reading level is required for successful use of ASR?
A. The general consensus among those who train students to use ASR is that a 4th grade reading level is preferred. ASR software requires constant monitoring to be sure the spoken words match the intention of the user. This will require a certain reading level and knowledge of parts of speech, homophones and other literary concepts. There have been users with lower reading levels who can utilize the software with text-to-speech feedback and other supports." http://www.atinternetmodules.org/mod_view.php?nav_id=1199 (Accessed 03/03/14).