Meeting Student’s Needs

Resources to enhance the varying abilities of all students

By Marie A. Beach

What is Assistive Technology and why is it

important? According to the National Early Childhood Technical

Assistance Center (www.nectac.com) Assistive Technology (AT): can be thought of as any item that supports a child’s ability to participate actively in his or her home, childcare program, school, or other community settings. It is a broad term that includes items ranging from something as "low tech" as a foam wedge for positioning to something as "high tech" as a power wheelchair for independent mobility. Other examples of assistive technology for young children include items such as switch-operated toys, laminated picture boards, head pointers, specialized drinking cups, adapted spoons, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices, apnea monitors, computers, crutches, and more.

http://www.atohio.org/devices.html

ACC Device

Achieving Success Under the IDEA Act (Individuals with Disabilities

Education Act), disabled students are entitled to be taught in and with the “least restrictive environment,” LRE, in mind: “school districts are required to educate students with disabilities in regular classrooms with their nondisabled peers, in the school they would attend if not disabled, as much as is possible. This is the educational setting that maximizes a child's ability to receive maximum educational benefits while participating in a regular educational environment as much as possible.”

http://specialed.about.com/od/specialedacronyms/g/lre.htm

IEP’s: Individual Education Plans

“The passage of the updated version of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) made parents of kids with special needs even more crucial members of their child's education team. Parents can now work with educators to develop a plan — the individualized education plan (IEP) — to help kids succeed in school.”

http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/learning/iep.html

Eligible Disabilities

•ADHD•Learning Disabilities•Emotional Disorders•Mental Retardation•Autism•Hearing Impairment•Visual Impairment•Speech & Language Impairment•Developmental Delay

IEP Referral ProcessSteps in the Referral

Process:

1. gather specific data regarding the student's progress or academic problems

2. conference with parent

3. conference with the student

4. observation of the student analysis of the student's performance (attention, behavior, work completion, tests, class work, homework, etc.)

The referral process generally begins when a teacher, parent, or doctor is concerned that a child may be having trouble in the classroom, and the teacher notifies the school counselor or psychologist

IEP Team Meeting Support services might include

special education, speech therapy, occupational or physical therapy, counseling, audiology, medical services, nursing, vision or hearing therapy, and many others.

The IEP will be reviewed annually to update the goals and make sure the levels of service meet the child's needs. However, IEPs can be changed at any time on an as-needed basis.

The team will discuss your child's educational needs and come up with specific, measurable short-term and annual goals for each of those needs. Parents may take an active role in developing the goals and determining which skills or areas will receive the most attention.

Assistive Technology and Hearing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistive_technology

Devices include hearing aides, like the one above, teletypwriters for the the deaf, voice recognition services, special keypads for typing, mind-mapping software, and wheel chairs

A term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities to help promote greater independence by enabling the use of technology to accomplish tasks that they would not be able to complete otherwise.

Hearing Aide

Assistive Technology: Helping

Communication http://www.edutopia.org/assistiv

e-technology-enabling-dreams-video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXchQnJ6PoE

A powerful video of a young lady named Ellen who has a debilitating illness who uses assistive technology to communicate. In this video, she “speaks” with her assistive technology explaining how she would change the world if she could: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6KoQkg9Sms&feature=related

http://www.burke-eisner.com/practice-areas/medical-malpractice/cerebral-palsy.html

Resources for Dyslexia

Brochure for recordings: http://www.rfbd.org/SiteData/docs/02_SAP%20Pro/aa74c1cd7617f4bd/02_SAP%20Program%20Flyer%20Web%20PDF.pdf

Dyslexia

A learning problem occurring due to the brain jumbling and mixing up words and letters making it difficult to read, write, and spell. Children and adults with dyslexia may have poor memory of spoken and written words.

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/healthy-living/parenting/dyslexia?msc=ehdlp_dyslexia&section=section_00

Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic

www.rfbd.org sells audio educational materials to schools systems and individual schools for blind and dyslexic students.

However, most text book series purchased by school boards do offer audio cd’s for blind students and students who are ESL/ESOL

A.T. and ADD/ADHDAttention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Between 3 & 5% of children have ADD/ADHD: 1 in 25 students. Symptoms of ADD/ADHD become apparent in early adolescence as the children are unable to control their behavior or have difficulty paying attention. Three types:

1. Predominantly hyperactive: does not show significant attention

2. Predominantly inattentive

3. Combined type: both hyperactive and inattentive

http://www.understanding-add.com/adhd-facts.php?keywords=adhd+facts&referrer=yahoo&camp=understanding-add&group=adhd+facts&keyword=what+is+attention+deficit+disorder

According to Amazon.com and recommended by ldonline.com, this book is an amazing resource for identifying technology for people with disabilities. The amazon review reads: “Completely updated, with 40 percent new material, this is an indispensable guide for people with disabilities who wish to improve their lives through computer technology. It lists what's available and how best to use it; provides names of organizations, vendors, and online resources; and tells the stories of real people of all ages who are using technology successfully.”

http://www.flipkart.com/computer-resources-people-disabilities-alliance-book-0897934334

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0897934334/ldonlinelearningA

DOE Recommended Aides for Struggling

Readers According to the GA DOE

website, there are a variety of resources available to our students who are struggling readers.

http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/DMGetDocument.aspx/AT_Devices_to_Support_Reading.pdf?p=6CC6799F8C1371F6430622907ED6387EFF83C5F2F5DEB61663F1F60267BFC9BF&Type=D

A specific site listed by the DOE is www.wordtalk.org.uk. This is a free text-to-speak software for microsoft word. It offers the following options:

Adjust the highlight colors

Change the voice and the speed of the speech

Convert text to speech and save as a .wav or .mp3 file so that it can be played back on an iPod or mp3 player.

ConclusionThroughout this presentation, resources were presented for auditory, visual, writing, and various learning disabilities. The internet offers a wealth of knowledge and technology that is continuously being updated and created to serve all of our children and all types of learners. Additional sites that may be helpful:

•The GA DOE website for Assistive Technology: http://www.gpat.org/resources.aspx?PageReq=GPATImp•For ADD/ADHD resources: http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/901.html•For students with visual impairments, The American Foundation for the Blind: http://www.afb.org/section.asp?sectionid=4•For hearing impairments, The Adaptive Center for Technology of New Jersey: http://adaptivetech.tcnj.edu/links.html•A general site for assistive technology: http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/assistive-technology/assistive-technology-for-kids-with-learning-disabilities-an-overview.gs?content=702•