Here are some examples from the Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative and CITE.
Example
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.
Annual Goal: Johnny will initiate the set-up of his writing station 80% of the time given a chart of needed materials for each task.
Benefit: Lap trays are considered a low tech. tool, but it can be a very useful one. The boards have clips that hold the student's paper in place, freeing up their hand for other tasks. The boards also help with hand and wrist positioning.
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.
Annual Goal: Johnny will initiate the set-up of his writing station 80% of the time given a chart of needed materials for each task.
Benefit: Lap trays are considered a low tech. tool, but it can be a very useful one. The boards have clips that hold the student's paper in place, freeing up their hand for other tasks. The boards also help with hand and wrist positioning.
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.
Annual Goal: Eric will use a computer or portable word processor to complete 100% of his assignments in 10th grade English and Civics classes.
Benefit: Alpha smarts are a fairly low budget portable word processing tool. They are ideal for whole classroom use and school to home transport. These keyboards are durable. One draw back, however is that they have a small screen, therefore it is difficult to correct entire paragraphs or essays on it. It is challenging to scroll through an entire document on the screen since the user can only see a few lines at a time. However, they are great for typing work and then the written work can easily be transmitted to a
computer.
Example 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.
Annual 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.
Benefit: Products like this mean the difference between a student being able to perform a task or doing nothing much at all. It is made for students like Becky who have severe spastic quadriplegia and the computer is most often programmed to not register brief movements or small touches. The arm is usually positioned on the dominant side of the student so that they can easily access the equipment.
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.
Annual 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.
Benefit: Products like this mean the difference between a student being able to perform a task or doing nothing much at all. It is made for students like Becky who have severe spastic quadriplegia and the computer is most often programmed to not register brief movements or small touches. The arm is usually positioned on the dominant side of the student so that they can easily access the equipment.
Example 4:
Present Level of Academic Achievement and
Functional Performance: Andy uses a variety of sounds, gestures, signs, and picture/symbols to communicate with his family. He is very social and enjoys parallel play. Andy does not communicate vocally in the classroom, but does use some gestures. At school Andy will sign, but only with prompts.
Annual Goal: Andy will increase expressive language production by using a variety of communication methods in the classroom, including sign language, gestures, communication boards, pictures, and simple voice output devices during four out of five opportunities.
Benefit: Communication boards make communication possible for students who otherwise wouldn't have any other means to communicate with their teachers, peers and friends. They are usually a low tech solution but can become high tech., depending on the complexity of the visuals the person needs to communicate. Sometimes students need multiple communication boards depending on their specific and general needs.
Example 5:
Present Level of Academic Achievement and
Functional Performance: Michael is in the second grade classroom for most of the school day. He is interested in the material being presented by the teacher and wants to participate. He has a full time paraprofessional who assists him. He has difficulty being an active participant in academics because he uses a voice output AAC device and frequently does not have the “right” answer. The teacher is concerned at the amount of time it currently takes while Michael struggles to answer questions. The teacher is interested in finding ways for Michael to more actively participate.
Annual Goal: Michael will use eye gaze and prerecorded messages to respond to appropriately phrased questions in four subject area classes, mathematics, reading, science and social studies in three out of five opportunities.
Benefit: Prerecorded devices are a fairly low budget speech tool. The can be created specific to the student's need. Just as communication boards are also created for a student's specific and general need. This would help a child express his or her needs or respond to questions. Some higher tech. devices can be used not only from touch but through visual scanning, making them perfect for people who cannot use their hands.
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