assistive and adaptive technolgy current practice and future needs

ASSISTIVE AND ADAPTIVE TECHNOLGY

CURRENT PRACTICE AND FUTURE NEEDS

ASSISTIVE AND ADAPTIVE TECHNOLGY

CURRENT PRACTICE AND FUTURE NEEDSPresented by Christopher Giarratano, Stephanie Mathosian,

Victor Montemurro

S.U.N.Y. at Stony Brook, Fall 2000

EST 571 - Computer Based Educational Technologies

Professor Lorraine Tawfik

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

What is the intent of assistive and adaptive technology devices and services?

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Assistive and adaptive technologies help

individuals with learning disabilities bypass,

work around, or compensate for their

disability, increasing independence,

participation, and potential.

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

•HIGH TECH

•LOW TECH

•OR EVEN, NO TECH

The assistance and adaptation are designed to help the individual have equal access to learning opportunities and to make life easier and more manageable.

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Why use assistive and adaptive technology?

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Individuals with Disabilities Act•Originally made law in 1990.

•Provides for “free, appropriate, public education.”

•Re-authorized in July 1997 after two years of discussion and debate to complete the regulations.

•Letter of the law versus the spirit of the law.

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

•Learning disabilities are neither cured nor outgrown.

•Children with learning differences grow up to be adults with learning differences.

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Assistive and adaptive technology can help.

Hard work and helpful tools enable the learning disabled person to work successfully in these areas:

Vision Spelling

Reading Listening

Writing Reasoning

Speaking Math

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Assistive Technology:•Increases independence.

•Reduces over-reliance on others.

•Increases self-esteem.

•Aids the transition to adulthood

•Allow the user to accomplish specific tasks on their own.

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

When choosing assistive technology, consider:

•The learner

•The setting

•The task to be performed

Table 2.1 Examples of Assistive Technology

Low Tech High TechNote-taking cassette recorders Optical character recognition

Pencil grips Calculator

NCR paper/ Copy machine Word processors with spelling and grammar checking

Simple switches Word recognition

Head pointers Voice recognition

Picture boards Speech synthesizers

Taped instructions Augmentative communication devices

Workbooks Alternative Keyboards & Instructional Software

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Types of Assistive Technology

•Written Language Technologies

•Reading Technologies

•Organization/Memory Technologies

•Math Technologies

•Listening Technologies

•Vision Technologies

Assistive Technologyfor the blind or vision

impaired:

A different way of seeing.

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Magnification:

• Closed-circuit television

Reading Aids:

Portable Closed Circuit T.V.

Expert Reader:

Stand alone text reader

Software Readers:

ZoomText Xtra 7.0

Mountbattan Braille writer:

Braille Companion Notetaker:

Power Brailler:

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Written Language Technologies

•Word processors

•Spell checkers

•Proofreaders

•Speech synthesizers and screen reviewers

•Speech recognition systems

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Inspiration: visual and graphic organization

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Co: Writer 4000and other word prediction software

On the third letter of the word interesting, Co: Writer 4000 gave the writer six possible choices. Word prediction software helps the struggling writer.

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

AlphaSmartand other alternative keyboards

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Reading Technologies•Optical character recognition systems.

•Used with a scanner and speech synthesizer computer.

•Known as a “reading machine.”

•User can both see and hear the words.

•Kurzweil 3000 from Lernout & Hauspie

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Kurzweil 3000

•Computer as reading machine

•Scanned material may be read in highlighted context and listened to.

•Various modes of reading may be customized to the individual

•Study skills tools included.

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Reading Technologies, cont’d

•Reading pens

•Books on disk

•Tape recorders with variable speech control devices

•Screen review systems

Scan a single word for help.

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Organization/Memory Technologies

•Personal data managers for computers or hand-held: written data entry or spoken.

•Free-form databases allow the user to enter data randomly and retrieve it with any single word within the data

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Math Technologies

•Talking calculators

•Electronic math worksheets

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Math Technologies, cont’d

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

A personal FM listening system brings a speaker’s voice directly into the listener’s ear.

This device may be helpful to people who have difficulty processing, understanding, or remembering what they hear.

Listening Technologies

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Assistive Technology Team

•Special education teacher

•Regular education teacher

•Assistive technology specialist

•Speech, occupational, and physical therapists

•Itinerant service providers, i.e. vision/hearing

•Psychologist and CSE chair

•Director of special education

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Staff Development

•Technology training

•Integration of devices and software

•Multi-disciplinary team approach.

•Assessing student needs

•Federal and state laws and regulations and local requirements

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Internet Resources•Closing the Gap http://www.closingthegap.com

•National Database of Assistive Technology http:www.abledata.com/index.htm

•Alliance for Technology Access http://www.ataccess.org

•University of Washington AT Center http://weber.u.washington.edu/~atrc

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

A Webquest for Teachers

Assistive Technology 101

Assistive Technology 101

By Kathy Lalkhttp://www.hazelwood.k12.mo.us/~cdavis01/

webquests/klw

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Current Practice and Future Needs

Future Needs•Staff development

•Technology training

•Early intervention

•Teamwork

•Proactive planning

•Budgeting