Integrating Assistive Technology into a Student's Educational Program

Brian Wojcik Ed.D., ATP Author

04/06/2020 Added

26 Plays

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2020 ASD Conference Breakout Session

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[00:00:03.660]It's recording.
[00:00:05.420]All right, welcome everybody to one o'clock
[00:00:08.810]in the afternoon on a Friday.
[00:00:11.640]Thank you so much for taking this time
[00:00:13.650]to come in and learn a little bit
[00:00:16.390]and talk a little bit about assistive technology.
[00:00:19.780]This is truly a passion area for me
[00:00:22.840]and I really hope to be able to bring this to you
[00:00:26.500]and have some discussions and have,
[00:00:29.640]hopefully share some information
[00:00:31.380]that you will find available, or informational.
[00:00:37.080]If you could real quick, scale from one to 10,
[00:00:39.270]10 being I know everything there is
[00:00:41.150]about assistive technology, one being I know nothing
[00:00:44.170]about assistive technology, do a quick,
[00:00:48.230]enter into the chat box, where would you put yourself?
[00:01:10.510]This is perfect, quite a range from individuals
[00:01:13.360]who are kind of entering in, some individuals
[00:01:16.410]who have some knowledge and then some individuals
[00:01:18.990]who seem to have been doing this for a while
[00:01:21.920]and have some deep understanding of it.
[00:01:24.320]That's exciting.
[00:01:25.470]I do invite you to go ahead and post questions.
[00:01:29.330]We may not address them right away.
[00:01:32.020]And then if you have any comments,
[00:01:33.980]do share those in the chat.
[00:01:35.870]We'll have some time at the end to do some question
[00:01:38.030]and answer, hopefully.
[00:01:39.750]So, without further ado, let's talk.
[00:01:43.990]Again, my name is Brian Wojcik,
[00:01:45.650]and I serve as the education program supervisor
[00:01:48.840]at the Assistive Technology Partnership.
[00:01:53.240]My program focuses on building capacity
[00:01:56.630]in the state of Nebraska
[00:01:58.230]with those who are working with children
[00:02:00.740]and students with disabilities receiving
[00:02:02.920]special education services most directly.
[00:02:06.940]So, let's talk about,
[00:02:12.620]let's go ahead and talk about
[00:02:15.440]what we are going to discuss today.
[00:02:18.540]So I have five key questions
[00:02:20.610]that I want to talk about.
[00:02:22.910]This first one, what is assistive technology
[00:02:25.288]and what are AT Services?
[00:02:26.500]This is a basic question that I like to start with,
[00:02:28.960]just to make sure we are all on the same page.
[00:02:31.440]If I stopped and asked everybody to define
[00:02:34.150]what is assistive technology, my guess is,
[00:02:37.160]and what my experience tells me is that there's going
[00:02:39.630]to be a lot of different definitions,
[00:02:41.720]so I wanna give a basic definition
[00:02:46.070]that allows us to all be on the same page.
[00:02:49.680]What are the phases of Quality AT Services?
[00:02:53.620]There are a number of phases and this come
[00:02:56.330]through literature, this comes through recommended practice,
[00:03:00.320]about what needs to happen for quality assistive
[00:03:03.370]technology services to occur, so we'll talk about those.
[00:03:08.850]What are the three possible outcomes of an AT consideration
[00:03:12.690]process within that IEP or IFSP process?
[00:03:18.400]How should AT meaningfully be integrated
[00:03:21.490]into an IFSP/IEP and then implemented?
[00:03:24.880]That's the crux of why we are here.
[00:03:27.570]And then the final piece is, I'd like to tell you
[00:03:29.790]a little bit about the Assistive Technology Partnership.
[00:03:32.650]Just out of curiosity, give me a one
[00:03:35.560]if you know about ATP and a zero if you don't.
[00:03:57.653]That's perfect.
[00:03:58.486]Again, a nice mix of individuals who are coming
[00:04:02.570]to this, understanding a little bit
[00:04:05.000]about what Assistive Technology Partnership is,
[00:04:07.540]and those who might be a little bit new to it.
[00:04:09.720]So let's go ahead and get started.
[00:04:12.320]We start with what is assistive technology,
[00:04:14.217]and what are AT Services?
[00:04:16.970]This is the legal definition
[00:04:18.690]and I can rattle off this definition
[00:04:21.450]and people read this definition,
[00:04:23.757]but the question is what does this definition really mean?
[00:04:29.790]So, let's talk about the some of the key components in here.
[00:04:34.140]Assistive technology means any item,
[00:04:37.360]piece of equipment, let's talk about this first aspect.
[00:04:40.600]Any item.
[00:04:41.820]Assistive technology literally can mean anything.
[00:04:46.000]We can look at tools and systems that allow individuals
[00:04:51.300]to communicate, to see, to hear,
[00:04:54.080]many different types of things.
[00:04:56.330]And we could look at technology
[00:04:58.370]that we wouldn't necessarily consider
[00:05:00.000]to be specialized technology, things like calculators
[00:05:03.560]or even tennis balls.
[00:05:05.360]The things I can do with a tennis ball, duct tape,
[00:05:07.930]foam noodles and PVC pipe will amaze you
[00:05:12.250]in the types of things that we can do
[00:05:14.670]in order to create devices and systems
[00:05:17.200]that can help individuals with disabilities
[00:05:19.610]do things that they could not otherwise do.
[00:05:22.210]Now, in special education, the Individuals
[00:05:25.430]with Disabilities Education Act did go ahead
[00:05:29.260]and put a limitation on what is any item.
[00:05:33.320]It said it can be any item except those items
[00:05:36.490]that are surgically implanted.
[00:05:38.680]And that largely came about through the cochlear implant
[00:05:42.980]discussions when cochlear implants started coming online.
[00:05:46.270]But it has broadened out to a few other things.
[00:05:50.170]Product system, nine times out of 10,
[00:05:53.110]when we're thinking about assistive technology for a child
[00:05:56.450]or a student we are thinking about a product system.
[00:05:59.780]It's not one thing that does everything,
[00:06:02.880]but it's really a solution of multiple tools
[00:06:06.360]that work together at the same time
[00:06:09.280]or work together at different points in the student's day
[00:06:13.590]in order to meet the student's needs.
[00:06:16.790]So for example, we might have a child
[00:06:20.430]who needs to communicate, so we may provide
[00:06:23.100]an augmentative communication system.
[00:06:25.690]And that system will work for the child
[00:06:30.272]and we might have a system for the child
[00:06:32.610]when they are stationary
[00:06:37.030]and have ability to go ahead and interact.
[00:06:40.420]We may have a complimentary or supplemental system
[00:06:43.900]when the child is mobile.
[00:06:45.970]So using those systems together.
[00:06:48.050]If the child is using a mobility device like a wheelchair
[00:06:52.060]then we may have to think about the mounting system.
[00:06:55.130]We may have to think about how that technology
[00:07:00.030]is accessed if the child needs some alternative access.
[00:07:04.010]All of those things together become a product system.
[00:07:08.040]Acquired commercially off the shelf,
[00:07:09.520]modified or customized.
[00:07:11.210]This is really important because nine times out of 10,
[00:07:14.830]even when we purchase assistive technology,
[00:07:17.080]it's not out of the box ready.
[00:07:19.190]We have to do some customization to it.
[00:07:21.860]That might be tweaking the system so that it works better
[00:07:25.090]for the individual, changing the way
[00:07:27.160]that the individual accesses the system or uses the system
[00:07:31.270]or what features are turned on or off.
[00:07:34.040]But it can also be things that make the system
[00:07:36.440]more attractive to the individual.
[00:07:39.300]I had a young lady that I worked with
[00:07:41.000]and this will start dating me,
[00:07:43.980]but as she was, we were transitioning
[00:07:47.320]from a Liberator to a DynaVox, two different types
[00:07:50.670]of communication systems,
[00:07:52.600]and she wanted nothing to do with the DynaVox
[00:07:55.490]and it felt different, it looked different,
[00:07:57.670]it just was not her cup of tea.
[00:08:00.850]So she was very much into The Backstreet Boys
[00:08:04.690]and we ended up getting one of those Teen Beat magazines,
[00:08:07.550]cutting out all the Backstreet Boys,
[00:08:09.080]laminating them and putting them on the edges
[00:08:11.380]of her communication device.
[00:08:13.180]That created a sense of ownership.
[00:08:16.590]It created a sense of value.
[00:08:18.600]She was more interested in the device after that.
[00:08:22.560]And it was a cosmetic change that made the device
[00:08:28.240]more acceptable to her.
[00:08:33.160]The next area of the definition we talk
[00:08:34.820]about are functional capabilities.
[00:08:36.970]We really think about what is it that we ask students
[00:08:40.660]to do every day to be successful?
[00:08:43.580]We ask them to eat, sleep, read, attend, listen,
[00:08:48.430]stand, sit, calculate, communicate,
[00:08:53.840]engage in socially appropriate behaviors.
[00:08:56.250]All of these things are functional capabilities
[00:08:59.440]and if a student is having difficulty with one or more
[00:09:02.850]of those areas, we can look at assistive technology
[00:09:06.340]as a potential means in order to increase
[00:09:08.870]a student's performance in that area.
[00:09:12.520]Finally, notice that the definition, the legal definition,
[00:09:16.500]is tied to a child with a disability.
[00:09:18.780]This is important.
[00:09:20.160]Many things out there can be assistive technology,
[00:09:24.000]but there are certain thresholds that need to be met
[00:09:27.980]in order for that technology to be classified
[00:09:31.070]as assistive technology.
[00:09:33.020]And one of those shoulds is that it needs
[00:09:35.890]to be used by a child with a disability.
[00:09:38.980]We look at things like calculators
[00:09:41.460]or we look at text to speech,
[00:09:43.300]or we look at closed captioning,
[00:09:45.190]all of those are potential assistive technologies,
[00:09:48.210]for individual children or individuals with disabilities.
[00:09:53.470]And for many people without disabilities,
[00:09:56.590]those can also provide assistance
[00:09:59.410]in helping them increase their performance.
[00:10:03.430]However, in order for it to be classified
[00:10:05.950]as assistive technology, we need to talk
[00:10:09.520]about it with regard to an individual with a disability.
[00:10:15.880]We also talk about what is the function
[00:10:18.960]of assistive technology?
[00:10:20.690]And the function of assistive technology is really
[00:10:23.270]to compensate, it allows a person to do a task
[00:10:26.233]that they could not otherwise do.
[00:10:30.310]When we think about this and how this looks
[00:10:33.070]from a measurement perspective,
[00:10:34.970]we think about setting up our basic intervention
[00:10:40.090]sort of graph.
[00:10:41.390]We have baseline, we have an intervention
[00:10:43.510]and then we have withdrawal,
[00:10:45.020]when we go ahead and fade or withdraw that intervention.
[00:10:48.640]In the beginning we would look at performance
[00:10:52.880]and then we would look at those
[00:10:54.380]measurement points over time.
[00:10:57.240]We also have a goal that we want the individual
[00:11:00.360]to go ahead and attain.
[00:11:02.420]And so when we're thinking about what this looks like
[00:11:04.560]from a measurement perspective,
[00:11:06.300]we know something is a compensatory intervention,
[00:11:08.780]or in this case assistive technology,
[00:11:10.900]when it looks something like this.
[00:11:13.280]Baseline performance, there is a gap between
[00:11:15.550]what the individual can do currently
[00:11:18.320]and what the individual needs to do.
[00:11:20.740]In a compensatory intervention,
[00:11:22.700]it would look something like this.
[00:11:24.730]We measure their performance with the compensatory
[00:11:28.540]intervention assistive technology
[00:11:31.050]and without the assistive technology.
[00:11:33.620]The green dash line here represents the performance
[00:11:36.460]with the assistive technology while the blue dotted line
[00:11:40.940]represents the performance without the assistive technology.
[00:11:44.110]And we're gonna see that the performance is enhanced
[00:11:47.630]while using that assistive technology.
[00:11:49.990]When we see that, we know it's a compensatory intervention,
[00:11:53.550]especially when the baseline performance
[00:11:55.720]remains relatively static.
[00:11:59.420]When we withdraw the assistive technology
[00:12:01.870]or the compensatory intervention,
[00:12:03.910]performance continues to be at that baseline level.
[00:12:08.860]This is the crux.
[00:12:10.630]Assistive technology allows a person to do something
[00:12:13.573]that they could not otherwise do.
[00:12:18.220]So, if we're thinking about this in summary,
[00:12:21.230]the first few points we've talked about,
[00:12:23.120]AT allows a student to do a task that he or she
[00:12:26.350]could not otherwise be expected to do
[00:12:28.960]at a certain performance level.
[00:12:32.120]It's a compensatory intervention.
[00:12:34.410]Second piece of what makes assistive technology,
[00:12:37.570]assistive technology is used by a student with a disability.
[00:12:41.930]Third piece, assistive technology is determined
[00:12:45.120]to be necessary for a student to receive FAPE.
[00:12:48.900]Who does that?
[00:12:50.310]The IEP team or the IFSP team and that's an important piece.
[00:12:55.360]So when we're talking about what makes something
[00:12:57.490]assistive technology versus what doesn't,
[00:12:59.910]or what is not assistive technology,
[00:13:01.960]one does it meet the function?
[00:13:03.990]Does it allow them to do something they
[00:13:05.500]could not otherwise do?
[00:13:06.770]Is it going to be used on a student with a disability?
[00:13:09.200]And has it been determined by an IEP or IFSP team
[00:13:13.320]to be necessary for a student to receive
[00:13:15.810]a free, appropriate public education?
[00:13:21.754]AT Services are also defined within IDEA.
[00:13:25.910]And that goes everywhere from evaluating the needs
[00:13:29.780]of the student, actually acquiring the assistive technology,
[00:13:34.030]by purchase, by lease or through some other mechanism.
[00:13:38.270]Selecting, designing, fitting, customizing,
[00:13:40.200]adapting, applying, retaining, repairing and replacing,
[00:13:43.690]that piece is that whole customization
[00:13:46.560]of assistive technology and making sure
[00:13:48.820]that it's a good match and is able
[00:13:51.160]to be used by the student,
[00:13:52.890]coordinating and using other therapies, interventions
[00:13:56.250]or services with the AT devices.
[00:13:58.920]Many times when we're talking
[00:14:00.470]about different types of assistive technology,
[00:14:03.050]we're not only going to have the special ed teacher
[00:14:05.220]involved, we're going to have a related service personnel,
[00:14:09.010]whether that be a therapist or paraeducators
[00:14:12.690]or something along those lines.
[00:14:14.070]And they're going to have a piece
[00:14:16.050]of that assistive technology within their services as well.
[00:14:19.740]And that training for the child, the family
[00:14:22.830]and the professionals working with the child,
[00:14:25.330]that training piece is absolutely important.
[00:14:28.260]The number of times that I've walked into environments
[00:14:30.760]and people have said, well, we spent a lot of time thinking
[00:14:34.000]about what AT this student needs,
[00:14:38.410]and then there was not follow-up training.
[00:14:41.190]That becomes a problem and oftentimes we see
[00:14:43.670]that device being abandoned and discontinued.
[00:14:48.660]So, let's go on.
[00:14:51.020]Second question, what are the phases
[00:14:54.410]of Quality AT Services?
[00:14:57.310]Many times when we think about assistive technology,
[00:15:00.080]many times when I go out and I'm talking with people
[00:15:02.750]about assistive technology, the first questions
[00:15:05.370]that I get are, "So, what's new?
[00:15:08.357]"What devices are out?
[00:15:09.487]"What's cool? What's hot?"
[00:15:11.580]And those are important questions
[00:15:14.670]and understanding the things that comprise
[00:15:17.650]assistive technology are important.
[00:15:20.530]And we can't provide assistive technology services
[00:15:23.560]without assistive technology tools.
[00:15:27.280]But the most important piece, and we have research
[00:15:31.720]to back this up, we have other literature from experts
[00:15:35.330]that back this up, the pieces that are so incredibly
[00:15:39.500]important are the processes
[00:15:41.770]that surround that assistive technology.
[00:15:45.050]It's not enough to know about the assistive technology.
[00:15:49.910]Assistive technology will fail
[00:15:51.970]if the assistive technology is only given
[00:15:55.250]and there's no processes to make the match
[00:15:58.030]between the assistive technology and the student
[00:16:00.700]and that provides support for the effective use
[00:16:05.763]of the assistive technology.
[00:16:08.930]So we talk about assistive technology as a process.
[00:16:12.960]And we think about it in four general phases.
[00:16:16.850]The first is assistive technology consideration,
[00:16:20.100]and this can happen in multiple points
[00:16:23.310]within a student's or child's special education services.
[00:16:28.400]The first time that it may happen might be
[00:16:30.410]during that initial evaluation.
[00:16:34.640]For students receiving services three through 21,
[00:16:37.720]we have to consider assistive technology every time
[00:16:40.910]we do an IEP meeting.
[00:16:42.930]But the threshold for AT consideration,
[00:16:45.470]does this child need assistive technology,
[00:16:47.870]is relatively low.
[00:16:49.940]We look at, here's where the child should be,
[00:16:53.750]here's where the child is.
[00:16:55.860]And if there's a gap between those,
[00:16:57.970]assistive technology should be one of those things
[00:17:00.100]on the table being considered along
[00:17:02.740]with specially designed instruction and related services.
[00:17:09.060]We start with that question,
[00:17:10.590]does the student need assistive technology?
[00:17:12.870]Then we move to, well we might have to collect
[00:17:15.970]some additional information.
[00:17:17.840]And part of that AT consideration might be collecting
[00:17:21.240]additional information or considering information
[00:17:23.880]that is currently available,
[00:17:25.720]and that involves possibly some assessment.
[00:17:29.490]Once we've made the determination
[00:17:31.120]that a student does need assistive technology,
[00:17:33.370]we have to provide that.
[00:17:35.010]And the provision of assistive technology
[00:17:37.600]is first and foremost the responsibility
[00:17:40.350]of the school system.
[00:17:42.010]Once an IEP team or an IFSP team thinks
[00:17:45.900]about assistive technology and says a child needs it,
[00:17:49.710]then that assistive technology needs
[00:17:51.980]to be provided in some way.
[00:17:54.810]Once it's provided, we have to have a plan
[00:17:57.010]for implementing it.
[00:17:58.200]And this does involve training,
[00:18:00.060]but it also involves things like how do we make sure
[00:18:04.780]that the assistive technology is working?
[00:18:06.440]When does a student need it?
[00:18:07.970]Where does the student need it?
[00:18:09.080]How are we training the student to use it?
[00:18:11.150]How are we helping the student use it
[00:18:13.140]to effectively impact their performance
[00:18:16.210]in the long term?
[00:18:17.670]And then periodically we need to evaluate
[00:18:20.010]the degree to which that AT is effective.
[00:18:23.040]Is it still working?
[00:18:24.090]Does the student need it?
[00:18:25.960]Does the student still need it?
[00:18:27.510]Do we need to make any changes?
[00:18:29.470]And that's a piece.
[00:18:31.060]You'll notice that this process is very similar
[00:18:34.080]to so many other processes we use in education.
[00:18:37.950]If we're talking about instructional interventions
[00:18:40.170]we think about what does a student needs to do?
[00:18:42.520]We choose an intervention, we then implement
[00:18:45.550]that intervention and then we evaluate the degree
[00:18:47.700]to which it's effective.
[00:18:49.950]This is a very similar process.
[00:18:52.120]And that's one of the things I'd like to talk
[00:18:54.100]about, is that assistive technology is not mysterious.
[00:18:58.790]I'd like to demystify this a little bit.
[00:19:01.230]Assistive technology is something that we can do
[00:19:04.620]because it's along the lines of so many other things
[00:19:07.360]that we do in education.
[00:19:11.530]Question three, what are the three possible outcomes
[00:19:16.730]of AT consideration with an IEP or IFSP process?
[00:19:20.950]So, let's talk.
[00:19:23.560]When should the need for AT be considered?
[00:19:26.100]I'll give you two different scenarios.
[00:19:28.180]First, we'll talk about children zero to three.
[00:19:32.490]So, two particular areas within the process.
[00:19:36.300]One would be evaluation and assessment.
[00:19:39.770]This is when we have that initial discussion
[00:19:44.600]that sits there and says,
[00:19:46.237]"Does the student need assistive technology?"
[00:19:49.010]Where do we do that?
[00:19:49.850]Part of the purpose of that evaluation
[00:19:51.930]and assessment is to identify the child's needs
[00:19:55.260]in each of the developmental areas.
[00:19:57.580]And in doing so, assistive technology should be there.
[00:20:01.070]The child's having difficulty
[00:20:02.640]in one of those developmental areas,
[00:20:05.550]we note that through the evaluation process
[00:20:09.560]and then determine what services need to be provided.
[00:20:14.340]One of those services can be assistive technology.
[00:20:17.530]Within the development of the IFSP itself,
[00:20:21.110]there are a number of different places
[00:20:25.670]in which assistive technology can be considered
[00:20:29.380]and documented, we'll talk about that as well.
[00:20:34.200]Within the IEP process, or for specialized services
[00:20:39.880]for students three through 21,
[00:20:41.800]we talk about assistive technology again with the context
[00:20:45.570]of those initial and re-evaluations
[00:20:47.950]to determine the educational needs of the child.
[00:20:50.810]That piece can also consider the need
[00:20:54.520]for assistive technology.
[00:20:56.640]IEP development annually, minimally of annually,
[00:21:01.140]but every time we do an IEP there is
[00:21:04.420]that specific question in there
[00:21:06.870]where we have to consider whether or not the child
[00:21:09.450]needs assistive technology devices and services.
[00:21:13.100]And again, the threshold for consideration is fairly low.
[00:21:17.610]Is there a gap between what the student needs to do
[00:21:20.160]and what the student can do?
[00:21:22.570]And if there is that gap, which likely there is,
[00:21:25.743]then assistive technology can be one
[00:21:28.310]of the solutions put forward.
[00:21:35.690]Within the context of, I've already kinda talked
[00:21:39.520]about a lot of this, but we think
[00:21:41.550]about assistive technology, we consider it
[00:21:45.120]for any student receiving sped services.
[00:21:47.700]We think about it across the functional areas
[00:21:50.330]that may be adversely impacted by their disabilities
[00:21:53.570]and we make a decision about assistive technology
[00:21:56.210]through collaboration discussion
[00:21:58.920]and again, that team based decision making.
[00:22:05.400]When we're thinking of diving a little bit deeper,
[00:22:08.200]we talk about does the disability of our student's
[00:22:11.760]disability impact his or her ability to do what is expected?
[00:22:15.950]We review previous performance and assessment data.
[00:22:20.640]We think about what has been previous tried,
[00:22:23.420]we review that data.
[00:22:25.230]We then consider what are the barriers
[00:22:28.410]that are in place that are preventing the student
[00:22:33.410]from doing what he or she needs to do?
[00:22:36.080]And we think about the child,
[00:22:37.860]we think about the tasks that they need to do,
[00:22:40.420]we think about their goals, we think about the environments
[00:22:43.490]and we connect those to the IEP goals and objectives
[00:22:46.890]or IFSP outcomes that have been identified.
[00:22:51.110]And we determine, is assistive technology
[00:22:54.770]a potential solution?
[00:22:57.340]And we either decide yes, no, we don't know.
[00:23:01.630]And that's the big three outcomes
[00:23:04.000]of an assistive technology consideration process.
[00:23:06.970]Yes means we've reviewed the data
[00:23:09.510]and we've come to consensus
[00:23:11.270]that assistive technology is needed.
[00:23:13.970]We don't have to identify at this point,
[00:23:16.280]what assistive technology is needed,
[00:23:19.870]not within consideration.
[00:23:21.690]We start moving towards that as we go forward.
[00:23:26.280]No means we've looked at the data,
[00:23:29.850]we've looked at barriers,
[00:23:31.550]we've looked at student performance,
[00:23:33.240]we've taken a look at all of that information.
[00:23:36.230]We've looked at what has been previous tried
[00:23:38.830]and we have come to consensus that no,
[00:23:41.070]the student does not need assistive technology.
[00:23:45.090]And then we have the I don't know,
[00:23:46.640]and there's a lot of reasons that happen
[00:23:48.450]for the I don't know.
[00:23:49.730]It could be that the team is unprepared
[00:23:52.990]to answer the question, that there may not be
[00:23:55.120]sufficient data to answer that question.
[00:23:57.920]This is an undesirable outcome
[00:24:00.120]of an AT consideration process, but it does happen.
[00:24:04.090]So we think about what happens when we say I don't know.
[00:24:09.040]The first thing that we need to say is uh-oh.
[00:24:11.800]Because that means that we're unable
[00:24:14.090]to fully answer that question yes or no.
[00:24:18.490]So, what can we do?
[00:24:20.190]IEP and IFSP teams can get training
[00:24:23.030]and they should know the potential scope
[00:24:25.190]of assistive technology devices and services
[00:24:28.000]that might be needed for the populations they serve.
[00:24:30.360]And there's a lot of places to get training,
[00:24:32.630]including the Assistive Technology Partnership.
[00:24:36.020]Training should be done prior to needing
[00:24:38.410]to consider assistive technology.
[00:24:41.420]This should be something that teams are constantly thinking
[00:24:44.380]about and preparing for.
[00:24:46.530]Lack of knowledge about AT does not remove
[00:24:49.980]the responsibility of the IFSP or IEP team
[00:24:53.190]to consider assistive technology.
[00:24:56.090]We can also be in the boat where we need
[00:24:58.620]to get more information.
[00:25:00.690]If there's insufficient data an assistive technology
[00:25:03.680]assessment may be conducted.
[00:25:05.400]An AT assessment is a data collection process
[00:25:08.670]in order to gather the data necessary
[00:25:10.970]to determine whether or not the student
[00:25:13.060]needs assistive technology and potentially
[00:25:15.570]what assistive technology is needed.
[00:25:23.330]How are we doing?
[00:25:25.280]Any questions so far?
[00:25:27.620]There aren't any in the chat box.
[00:25:32.688](muffled voice speaking)
[00:25:36.520]Okay, so let's go ahead and move on,
[00:25:40.020]and if you have question, please go ahead
[00:25:41.930]and put those in the chat box.
[00:25:43.660]Let's go ahead and move on and talk
[00:25:45.850]about how should assistive technology be meaningfully
[00:25:49.150]integrated into and IFSP and IEP
[00:25:52.330]and how can it be implemented?
[00:25:56.460]So let's talk about an IFSP first.
[00:26:00.190]In an IFSP we are focused on family goals
[00:26:07.418]and then we derive objectives and services
[00:26:13.470]that then move to meet those goals.
[00:26:16.650]Here are some examples.
[00:26:18.520]For example, in this, we want Jocelyn to be able
[00:26:22.810]to play for a while without our help so
[00:26:25.440]that she becomes more independent.
[00:26:28.100]So our objectives with regard to assistive technology
[00:26:32.000]is seated in her adapted chair, with tray,
[00:26:35.860]and that adapted chair and tray
[00:26:38.260]is the assistive technology.
[00:26:40.910]Jocelyn will explore her toys for 10 minutes by herself.
[00:26:47.570]In this, the focus is not learning
[00:26:49.800]to use the adaptive chair and tray,
[00:26:51.940]it's really focusing on what that family's stated goal is,
[00:26:55.360]which is to be able to engage in play.
[00:26:58.490]The second example, Jocelyn will activate
[00:27:00.700]a simple cause and effect toy which are secured
[00:27:03.820]to her tray using push buttons, pull levers,
[00:27:06.910]swiping and switches.
[00:27:09.310]In this case we're actually focusing on a little bit
[00:27:12.680]about not only the play, but how the child
[00:27:16.780]is going to play.
[00:27:18.140]So here the services are likely going to be
[00:27:22.670]around shaping and teaching Jocelyn to engage
[00:27:26.750]these various toys by using push buttons, pull levers,
[00:27:30.870]swiping and switches.
[00:27:33.510]The methods and strategies, we're going
[00:27:35.240]to trial adaptive seating.
[00:27:37.120]We're going to introduce toys and do some experimentation
[00:27:41.650]and then we're gonna train the child care staff
[00:27:44.040]in proper positioning with that adaptive seating device.
[00:27:48.340]This is a nice way of integrating the bulk within IFSP.
[00:27:56.550]There are other areas within an IFSP
[00:27:59.010]that had that assistive technology may need to be noted.
[00:28:03.020]One is that transition plan.
[00:28:05.280]As the child is transitioning,
[00:28:07.480]especially into three through 21 services,
[00:28:11.310]we wanna think about how is that assistive technology,
[00:28:14.290]what's the continuity of services
[00:28:17.090]and availability of the device and so forth
[00:28:20.300]as they move into those three to 21 services.
[00:28:24.030]We also wanna be thinking about the services,
[00:28:27.700]other services that might be provided,
[00:28:29.557]and this might be services in the acquisition of devices,
[00:28:34.280]services in the maintenance of those devices,
[00:28:37.690]other supports and services that might be noted
[00:28:41.050]but not directly provided by the school or IFSP team,
[00:28:48.870]and then any home or community waiver services.
[00:28:52.580]Many people don't realize but there are,
[00:28:54.960]Assistive Technology Partnership has a wide variety
[00:28:57.790]of services that are available.
[00:28:59.810]My program, the program that I work most in
[00:29:02.820]focuses on working with students in that zero to three
[00:29:06.670]and three through 21 population within school base
[00:29:10.080]or education based services.
[00:29:12.050]But there are other services out there
[00:29:14.180]such as home modifications, vehicle modifications
[00:29:19.520]and so forth, that might be included
[00:29:22.470]within this context as well.
[00:29:24.400]So there are different things that might be done
[00:29:27.760]in order to hook families up in order to make sure
[00:29:30.450]that they have the full scope of services that they need.
[00:29:35.590]When we think about an IEP,
[00:29:37.600]there are some other areas that need to be addressed.
[00:29:42.340]Oftentimes we think about assistive technology
[00:29:44.740]in those present levels of academic achievement
[00:29:47.180]and functional performance, what has been done previously.
[00:29:52.000]Any time we're working with transition age youth,
[00:29:54.710]we wanna think about how is the assistive technology
[00:29:58.220]working within those transition services,
[00:30:02.660]whether that be a transition to employment,
[00:30:05.460]assistive technology that might be needed
[00:30:07.560]for continuing education after school,
[00:30:09.960]transitioning to independent living
[00:30:12.090]or supported living arrangements,
[00:30:15.272]and does the assistive technology fit in?
[00:30:17.640]And how is that assistive technology currently being used
[00:30:21.130]within the school environment?
[00:30:22.630]How is it being used in those employment
[00:30:27.780]or education environments and home environments?
[00:30:32.440]And then how is that assistive technology going
[00:30:34.620]to transition as the student makes his or her way out
[00:30:39.760]of the education services?
[00:30:41.560]IEP goals and objectives.
[00:30:43.850]Any time that we have assistive technology
[00:30:46.060]it should be directly tied back to IEP goals and objectives.
[00:30:50.180]We're gonna look at some specific examples
[00:30:52.220]on that in particular.
[00:30:54.380]There is the section in the IEP that talks
[00:30:56.630]about consideration of special factors.
[00:30:59.070]This is where we talk about
[00:31:01.440]does the student need assistive technology.
[00:31:04.320]And that's where this comes into play.
[00:31:07.120]And related services.
[00:31:09.940]IDEA is very specific that assistive technology
[00:31:12.780]may be provided in the provision of special education
[00:31:15.830]services, related services or supplemental aids services.
[00:31:20.420]That means that individuals
[00:31:22.300]who are related service providers
[00:31:23.900]may be part of the assistive technology services
[00:31:29.980]that are being provided to students.
[00:31:32.160]Same with supplementary aids and services,
[00:31:34.310]how is assistive technology potentially being used
[00:31:37.150]as an accommodation, whether that be an assessment
[00:31:41.290]or in other aspects that allow the student
[00:31:45.060]to participate and fully function
[00:31:47.200]within that education experience.
[00:31:49.780]There's always a catch-all page of additional information.
[00:31:53.860]There's a variety of things that can be added to that,
[00:31:56.440]including a potential implementation plan
[00:31:59.480]and definitely we would want to go ahead
[00:32:02.090]and document what supports are necessary
[00:32:06.670]for school personnel.
[00:32:08.290]And that should include potential trainings,
[00:32:14.270]opportunities to program the device,
[00:32:19.700]supports and services brought in from the outside
[00:32:23.370]and so forth, that can help school personnel
[00:32:26.660]effectively us that assistive technology.
[00:32:29.380]Not all assistive technology requires a lot of training.
[00:32:33.650]If I was thinking about something like a pencil grip
[00:32:36.820]we're probably not gonna spend three weeks of in-service
[00:32:40.680]on using a pencil grip.
[00:32:42.970]However, if we're using something
[00:32:44.560]that is more complex like a communication device,
[00:32:49.160]well now we not only have to understand
[00:32:51.100]how to use the communication device,
[00:32:53.250]but we also need to understand how to help the child
[00:32:56.300]be a communicator using that communication device
[00:32:59.360]and that involves what vocabulary are we selecting?
[00:33:02.780]How are we setting it up?
[00:33:04.270]How are we helping to scaffold and teach the student
[00:33:07.010]to be that communicator?
[00:33:08.017]And using that vocabulary, how are we creating environments
[00:33:12.250]that are communication rich?
[00:33:13.900]So many different things that we have to think about
[00:33:16.070]and training that might need to be provided.
[00:33:22.370]When we're talking about assistive technology
[00:33:24.490]and goals and objectives, we talk about it
[00:33:27.420]in two different ways, operational competency goals
[00:33:33.660]and objectives, and strategic
[00:33:35.610]or outcome granted goal and objectives.
[00:33:38.290]There are two different kind that may be provided
[00:33:42.390]and lemme explain the difference between the two.
[00:33:46.160]Operational competency focuses on helping the student
[00:33:50.020]learn how to use the AT tools and systems.
[00:33:53.610]These tend to be short term
[00:33:56.150]and tend to be a necessary step,
[00:33:59.300]but it's really not the long term goal.
[00:34:01.630]Our goal should never be to,
[00:34:04.650]our long term goal should never be for a child
[00:34:07.580]to use assistive technology.
[00:34:10.100]It's about using the assistive technology
[00:34:12.440]to do something else.
[00:34:15.690]And the measurement really focuses
[00:34:18.580]on how well the student operates that assistive technology.
[00:34:23.000]This is operational competency.
[00:34:25.670]It is important that students understand
[00:34:28.770]how to effectively use the assistive technology
[00:34:31.300]they are provided, if they don't have
[00:34:35.055]that understanding, they're not going to be successful
[00:34:38.910]in using the assistive technology to effectively do
[00:34:42.910]what they need to do.
[00:34:44.380]Think about this.
[00:34:45.790]If, for example,
[00:34:50.630]you got a new pair of glasses,
[00:34:52.800]but nobody ever taught you how to put them on,
[00:34:56.730]and so you kept wearing them upside down.
[00:35:03.250]That's going to limit the degree to which
[00:35:05.350]those glasses are going to provide the compensatory support
[00:35:08.750]necessary for you to see.
[00:35:14.060]Let's take a look at a couple examples
[00:35:16.950]of goals related to operational competency.
[00:35:20.400]When prompted, John will turn on his task finding app
[00:35:23.710]successfully in four out of five trials.
[00:35:27.320]In here, you can see that the focus
[00:35:29.420]is operating that task finding application.
[00:35:33.780]So we want him to turn it on.
[00:35:39.474]That's an operational competency.
[00:35:42.440]In the second, Tammy is going to independently navigate
[00:35:45.610]to the page on her AAC device containing corresponding
[00:35:50.410]fringe science vocabulary in three
[00:35:52.880]out of five opportunities.
[00:35:55.020]Here, we're talking about a successful navigation
[00:35:57.910]in finding vocabulary.
[00:35:59.430]We're not talking about using that vocabulary,
[00:36:01.870]we're not talking about how to combine it
[00:36:03.810]with core vocabulary, we're not talking
[00:36:05.620]about any of those types of things.
[00:36:07.560]We're simply talking about within a particular context,
[00:36:11.860]can she successfully and independently navigate
[00:36:16.110]to the pages that contain the fringe vocabulary
[00:36:18.890]that she needs?
[00:36:24.150]The second piece, strategic
[00:36:26.040]or outcome oriented goals and objectives.
[00:36:29.550]These focus on using assistive technology
[00:36:32.590]as a means to accomplishing what they were intended to,
[00:36:36.010]a larger task.
[00:36:38.050]If I'm using glasses, my goal is not to use glasses,
[00:36:40.850]my goal is to use my glasses in the context of reading.
[00:36:45.700]My goal there is reading, I just happen to be using
[00:36:48.830]my assistive technology in order to help me.
[00:36:52.360]The assistive technology is often listed
[00:36:54.350]within the condition of the objective.
[00:36:57.090]And measurement focuses on successful completion
[00:36:59.800]of the task, not the use of the assistive technology.
[00:37:04.420]So, let's take a look at a couple examples.
[00:37:07.890]First example, when approached by a customer
[00:37:10.010]and using his communication device,
[00:37:12.120]Tom will greet the customer with an appropriate phrase
[00:37:15.520]in eight out of 10 opportunities.
[00:37:17.920]Here, the behavior that's being targeted is reading.
[00:37:23.010]How are we doing this?
[00:37:24.700]Well, we're using our communication device
[00:37:27.310]and we're doing it when a customer approaches us.
[00:37:31.240]This would be an employment based,
[00:37:33.240]a goal that we might see in a pre-employment
[00:37:36.180]or an employment setting.
[00:37:38.430]But it really focuses on greeting,
[00:37:42.340]not using the communication device.
[00:37:45.460]The second, given a writing prompt and speech recognition
[00:37:48.380]technology, Sue will compose a paragraph
[00:37:50.850]consisting of at least 10 grammatically correct
[00:37:53.400]sentences in three out of five opportunities.
[00:37:56.220]What are we focusing on?
[00:37:57.850]Not the speech recognition technology,
[00:38:01.100]we're focusing on composition.
[00:38:03.650]And in this case, the speech recognition technology
[00:38:07.560]is simply the means of composing that paragraph.
[00:38:12.270]By the time we're writing these goals,
[00:38:14.190]we assume that the student has already developed
[00:38:17.850]operational competency with the assistive technologies.
[00:38:22.040]And that is really important.
[00:38:30.740]As we start moving into assistive technology implementation,
[00:38:33.950]it's one thing to write it into the IFSP or the IEP.
[00:38:39.160]It's another thing to make sure that we actually have a plan
[00:38:42.910]to put it in place.
[00:38:46.810]When we look at abandonment literature,
[00:38:50.720]and this is really literature that looks
[00:38:52.580]at why do people discontinue using assistive technology?
[00:38:58.430]There are two primary causes.
[00:39:03.640]The first is, it was never a good match to start with.
[00:39:07.870]In other words, we didn't go through a process
[00:39:10.500]that effectively matched the assistive technology
[00:39:13.440]with the individual.
[00:39:15.640]And that is everything from it didn't meet the needs
[00:39:20.270]of the individual, the individual can't operate it,
[00:39:23.170]the individual doesn't prefer that particular device,
[00:39:27.500]and can prefer something else.
[00:39:29.000]There's a lot of different pieces that come in to that.
[00:39:32.170]The second piece is we make it a good match,
[00:39:36.830]but we didn't have a plan to actually get it up and running.
[00:39:41.110]We didn't provide training, we didn't make sure
[00:39:43.980]that it was operational, we didn't make sure
[00:39:46.400]that the individual had it when they needed it,
[00:39:49.570]and it's really coming up with this plan.
[00:39:52.990]If the plan is not in place,
[00:39:54.740]assistive technology tends to fail.
[00:40:00.940]There is a group, a think tank out there called
[00:40:05.040]the Quality Indicators of Assisted Technology Consortium,
[00:40:09.110]and they published a series of quality indicators
[00:40:12.640]on assistive technology and one of the indicators
[00:40:16.810]focuses on, or indicator sets, focuses on implementation.
[00:40:22.270]And these are some of the pieces
[00:40:24.480]of the quality indicators for implementation.
[00:40:27.430]One, the implementation plan needs
[00:40:31.680]to be collaboratively developed.
[00:40:34.200]And this is important because if we're looking
[00:40:37.080]at how is a student going to use assistive technology
[00:40:40.370]throughout their day and be successful,
[00:40:42.820]it's going to start with how is the student using
[00:40:45.780]assistive technology potentially in the home environment,
[00:40:49.080]transitioning to the school environment,
[00:40:51.420]transitioning across all of the environments
[00:40:54.030]within the school environment, transitioning out
[00:40:56.810]of the school environment and transitioning back home?
[00:40:59.740]And there's a lot of different variables and perspectives
[00:41:02.720]that need to be considered.
[00:41:04.960]And so we need to be thinking
[00:41:06.760]about who's gonna charge the device?
[00:41:08.350]Who's going to make sure that the student
[00:41:09.780]has access to the device?
[00:41:11.370]How do we make sure that the devices
[00:41:13.490]or tools are available when the student needs them?
[00:41:17.410]All of those pieces need to come into play.
[00:41:20.130]We also need to be thinking about things like training,
[00:41:25.470]and who needs to have that training.
[00:41:27.220]And you'll notice that that is one of the third pieces.
[00:41:30.940]Shared responsibility is also important.
[00:41:33.740]I've worked in a number of different school systems
[00:41:35.920]in which there is a person who has taken primary
[00:41:39.760]responsibility for the assistive technology
[00:41:43.620]and in doing so, everybody looks at that individual
[00:41:46.700]to basically be the person
[00:41:49.100]to do the assistive technology,
[00:41:51.360]and nobody else takes responsibility for it.
[00:41:53.520]So the minute that individual is unable
[00:41:56.400]to do so, the assistive technology tends
[00:41:58.490]to collapse and fall apart.
[00:42:01.900]Assistive technology implementation
[00:42:03.630]is a shared responsibility.
[00:42:05.710]It is shared among the general ed teacher,
[00:42:08.840]the special ed teacher, the related service personnel,
[00:42:12.500]the administrators, I've even had custodians
[00:42:16.050]as part of the assistive technology implementation plan.
[00:42:20.220]And cafeteria workers and so forth.
[00:42:23.120]So that shared responsibility is really important.
[00:42:27.250]Having effective management and maintenance plan
[00:42:30.060]is also incredibly important, because assistive technology,
[00:42:34.567]the one thing we know about technology
[00:42:37.150]is it will eventually break.
[00:42:39.570]That it's not an issue of if it will break,
[00:42:41.900]it's when it will break,
[00:42:44.210]how are we going to get it repaired?
[00:42:46.130]As soon as we put it into the IEP or IFSP,
[00:42:49.920]the assistive technology needs to be made available
[00:42:52.620]to the student.
[00:42:53.640]If the assistive technology goes down,
[00:42:56.550]we need to have a plan for maintaining that device
[00:43:00.790]and getting it repaired,
[00:43:02.220]but we also need to have a plan for what happens instead
[00:43:05.610]and you'll see right under that we have
[00:43:07.510]that contingency plan and that's important too.
[00:43:11.630]And I'll talk a little bit more about it.
[00:43:13.490]But, also, day to day maintenance.
[00:43:16.060]Certain devices need to be charged.
[00:43:18.360]Certain devices need to have things programmed into them
[00:43:22.680]on a regular basis so that they are usable by a student.
[00:43:26.280]Who is doing that?
[00:43:27.800]And again, it needs to be back
[00:43:29.200]to that shared responsibility.
[00:43:31.070]I've worked in a number of systems in which
[00:43:33.000]when a student is using an AAC system
[00:43:35.630]it becomes the responsibility of the speech language
[00:43:38.890]pathologist to put all the vocabulary on.
[00:43:42.540]Well, that's impractical because there's vocabulary
[00:43:47.290]that students may need throughout their day
[00:43:50.970]and everybody on that team needs to have an understanding
[00:43:54.480]of how to provide access to that vocabulary for a student.
[00:43:59.680]It needs to be effectively integrated into a curriculum.
[00:44:02.140]The goal of assistive technology is,
[00:44:04.900]the end goal is never just to use
[00:44:06.670]the assistive technology, it needs to be tied back
[00:44:09.610]to the IEP goals and objectives
[00:44:11.610]which are tied back to the general education curriculum.
[00:44:16.300]It can be used correspondingly with other strategy.
[00:44:20.140]Assistive technology is never ever a substitution
[00:44:23.640]for not doing anything else.
[00:44:25.630]We should be instructing, we should using other
[00:44:30.120]instructional and compensatory strategies
[00:44:32.690]along with the assistive technology.
[00:44:34.750]Our goal is to always have a good focus
[00:44:37.460]on a lot of different things going on
[00:44:40.200]in order to help the student be successful.
[00:44:42.550]And we always adjust the implementation plan
[00:44:46.530]based on the data that we are gathering.
[00:44:49.220]These are the quality indicators of AT implementation.
[00:44:52.910]There's a decent amount of research
[00:44:54.930]that has gone into these components.
[00:44:59.670]When we look at what an assistive technology implementation
[00:45:02.210]plan may look at, this is page one and page two.
[00:45:06.500]And if people are interested, I'm happy
[00:45:08.320]to go ahead and provide them copies of this.
[00:45:11.880]But, thinking about what are the tasks
[00:45:14.470]that the assistive technology is going to be used,
[00:45:17.020]what are the tools and the strategies,
[00:45:18.870]where is it gonna be used and how is it related
[00:45:22.010]back to the IEP or IFSP?
[00:45:24.810]Who's involved in this?
[00:45:26.290]How do we get in contact?
[00:45:28.870]Other considerations that need to be made,
[00:45:31.260]and then also things like maintenance.
[00:45:34.480]What needs to be maintained?
[00:45:35.930]Who's responsible for it?
[00:45:38.680]Who's going to be providing the training?
[00:45:41.610]Individuals on IEP and IFSP teams
[00:45:44.540]kind of come in and out.
[00:45:46.370]So when we bring somebody else,
[00:45:47.900]there's a new paraeducator that comes on,
[00:45:50.020]who's making sure that that individual's getting trained?
[00:45:54.670]What is the repair plan?
[00:45:56.580]Some devices have warranties, some devices don't.
[00:46:02.160]Are we repairing?
[00:46:03.870]Are we replacing?
[00:46:06.940]All of those pieces.
[00:46:09.210]So having this implementation plan
[00:46:11.450]and having it written out is an effective way
[00:46:14.240]of making sure that people are on the same page.
[00:46:20.530]When we talk about where implementation goes wrong,
[00:46:24.720]yes, Peggy and E. Kenny, I'm happy to go ahead
[00:46:29.020]and provide those, I will give you some contact information,
[00:46:35.360]if you wanna email me, I'll be happy to go ahead
[00:46:37.640]and get those out to you.
[00:46:40.330]Common pitfalls.
[00:46:46.270]Again, one of the things that we sit there and see
[00:46:48.970]when we talk about implementation is the expectation
[00:46:52.130]that everything's just gonna run
[00:46:54.190]without necessarily detailing who's going to do what
[00:46:58.580]and who needs to know what.
[00:47:02.109]And so, collaboratively developing a plan is essential.
[00:47:08.920]When a single IEP team person or IFSP team member
[00:47:13.410]is the person who's responsible for carrying
[00:47:15.780]out the entire implementation plan,
[00:47:18.000]assistive technology nine times out of 10 fails.
[00:47:22.300]And think about this from the student's perspective.
[00:47:25.140]If I'm learning assistive technology,
[00:47:27.470]to use a piece of assistive technology
[00:47:29.360]or a system of assistive technology tools,
[00:47:32.800]and I only have to use it with one person,
[00:47:36.400]how does that help me understand
[00:47:39.800]that I need to be using this in multiple contexts,
[00:47:43.430]in multiple settings to be successful
[00:47:46.320]in multiple types of tasks?
[00:47:49.200]And so the use by one IEP team member
[00:47:54.090]tends to be a downfall.
[00:47:57.560]Team focuses on getting the device
[00:48:00.140]and never discusses implementation, that happens a lot.
[00:48:03.500]We're gonna get the device, we're gonna get the device,
[00:48:05.180]we're gonna write it into the IEP and go.
[00:48:09.110]Implementation is also important.
[00:48:12.730]The implementation is planned and developed
[00:48:15.490]in a way that is incompatible
[00:48:16.950]with those instructional environments.
[00:48:19.040]So, this is one of those things,
[00:48:22.790]back when I was a teacher, and I'm not in any way
[00:48:26.580]knocking medical profession, but we had instances
[00:48:30.400]in which we would get a prescription for an intervention
[00:48:35.010]or a device from a doctor.
[00:48:38.170]I've even got plans from a doctor saying
[00:48:40.850]these are the things that you're supposed to do.
[00:48:43.080]And the parents came in very much wanting me
[00:48:46.420]to implement this.
[00:48:48.020]And what was detailed there was very much not compatible
[00:48:52.520]with what was going on within the school environment
[00:48:55.860]and that made that very difficult,
[00:48:58.370]and we had a lot of discussions
[00:49:00.400]and a lot of different things,
[00:49:01.740]because there were needs that needed to be met.
[00:49:04.200]But that's an example of an implementation plan
[00:49:07.300]that is incompatible with that instructional environment.
[00:49:10.290]If one person develops the plan,
[00:49:12.750]the likelihood is is that there are variables
[00:49:15.410]throughout the school and day, the home day et cetera,
[00:49:20.240]that are not being considered
[00:49:21.810]and that is going to impact the effectiveness
[00:49:26.490]of that implementation plan as well.
[00:49:29.990]No one takes responsibility or care for the maintenance.
[00:49:32.620]Device broke, so oh well.
[00:49:35.950]And then finally contingency plans are not made,
[00:49:40.300]and contingency plans are so very important.
[00:49:43.730]What happens if the assistive technology
[00:49:47.020]is left at home?
[00:49:48.110]What happens if the assistive technology,
[00:49:50.730]the battery is no longer keeping a charge?
[00:49:52.880]What is happening if the assistive technology
[00:49:55.280]is not charged?
[00:49:56.330]What happens if it breaks?
[00:49:57.951](Brian coughing)
[00:49:58.910]Once it's in on IFSP or an IEP,
[00:50:03.080]it needs to be provided to the student.
[00:50:06.120]Or an equivalent needs to be provided to the student.
[00:50:09.320]So what is the backup?
[00:50:11.490]Do we have a reasonable backup
[00:50:13.130]that has similar features to what we've decided
[00:50:16.080]is necessary for the student to receive
[00:50:18.380]a free appropriate public education?
[00:50:20.640]Those are those contingency plans.
[00:50:25.510]So, before I get into this, we have a little bit of time.
[00:50:28.700]I'd like to know, I've done a lot of talking,
[00:50:31.520]and this is not where I always like to be.
[00:50:38.370]I'd like to know from you,
[00:50:39.580]what are the questions that you are having,
[00:50:42.310]as you're trying to meaningfully integrate
[00:50:45.520]and implement assistive technology?
[00:51:00.000]I'm assuming people are eating and drinking,
[00:51:01.730]so I'm gonna take my tea break
[00:51:03.060]while you're composing your questions.
[00:51:28.700]Regina, that is an excellent point.
[00:51:30.360]I feel like teams don't know what they don't know
[00:51:33.080]about what is available or what can meet student needs.
[00:51:36.990]I absolutely agree that happens in many cases.
[00:51:42.030]What I do find is that as teams are thinking about
[00:51:48.540]would it be possible to have a device
[00:51:50.410]that would allow the student to do?
[00:51:52.870]They can often answer that question
[00:51:55.540]in terms of features and they can sit there
[00:51:58.710]and say, "It would be really great if we could have
[00:52:01.437]"a device or an app or software,
[00:52:04.317]"that would allow the student to do this,
[00:52:06.243]"and this and this and this."
[00:52:08.490]That to me, if we can get a team to be there,
[00:52:13.080]that becomes a huge benefit, because then
[00:52:16.670]we can go ahead and do some shopping.
[00:52:19.950]People who are either within the systems
[00:52:22.520]or the Assistive Technology Partnership,
[00:52:25.470]this is where we really can provide some support.
[00:52:28.980]And we've had teams come to us and say we're looking
[00:52:31.530]for a tool that would allow a student
[00:52:33.380]to do X, Y, and Z.
[00:52:35.700]We can then go ahead and do what's known as a feature match
[00:52:39.490]and line up those features with potential tools
[00:52:42.600]and then make suggestions
[00:52:43.930]and say these are potential tools that might work.
[00:52:47.360]And if we have them in our library,
[00:52:49.470]or they can be borrowed from the manufacturer,
[00:52:52.260]a lot of times then, the team can do some tool trials.
[00:52:55.990]The more experience a team gets with that process,
[00:52:59.350]the more they're going to build their knowledge and skills.
[00:53:02.440]The other things that's coming up
[00:53:05.600]into play over the course of this next year
[00:53:08.870]is a series of webinars that we are offering
[00:53:12.560]focusing on just awareness level activities.
[00:53:15.840]Here are tools that help with reading
[00:53:17.580]or communication or executive functioning
[00:53:20.500]and so forth that will hopefully be beneficial
[00:53:25.990]in helping teams begin to develop some
[00:53:28.640]of those knowledge and skills.
[00:53:32.700]Jillian wrote, "What should families do
[00:53:34.467]"when they have been told their child
[00:53:35.767]"does not need assistive technology,
[00:53:37.867]"and they disagree?"
[00:53:42.410]From any team based decision, that is always a possibility,
[00:53:47.190]and when we're thinking about that,
[00:53:51.370]and the question is, number one, has assistive technology
[00:53:56.530]been adequately considered?
[00:53:58.120]Have we looked at assessment data, performance data,
[00:54:03.460]student functioning data and the tasks
[00:54:06.273]that the student is expected to do?
[00:54:07.960]Have we effectively considered the need
[00:54:11.450]for assistive technology?
[00:54:13.001]That becomes a piece of the question.
[00:54:17.590]The second thing is is that there are always mechanisms
[00:54:21.140]in place to deal with disagreements.
[00:54:23.870]And talking with the team first
[00:54:25.720]and foremost is by far the very first step
[00:54:30.340]in saying we believe that assistive technology
[00:54:33.620]should be there.
[00:54:35.000]It doesn't mean that the parents or the teacher
[00:54:37.960]or a therapist can single-handedly dictate
[00:54:41.090]what assistive technology the student needs.
[00:54:43.770]That has to be a team based decision
[00:54:46.050]and it needs to consider a variety
[00:54:47.910]of different pieces of information.
[00:54:49.860]But having that discussion first and foremost
[00:54:53.100]with the IEP or IFSP team it is important.
[00:54:56.720]And asking how have we adequately considered
[00:55:00.240]whether or not this child needs assistive technology
[00:55:03.800]is also important.
[00:55:05.130]And then of course, there's always different ways
[00:55:07.150]to settle disputes that are in law,
[00:55:10.970]whether it be mediation or a complaint procedure.
[00:55:14.720]Hopefully though, there is a good working
[00:55:17.130]relationship between the team and the family
[00:55:20.790]so that those discussions can happen.
[00:55:26.500]We have a 14-year-old daughter who's diagnosed
[00:55:28.440]as having high functioning autism,
[00:55:32.300]would it benefit her to have an AT device,
[00:55:34.250]or is this just for younger children?
[00:55:36.650]That's a really good question.
[00:55:39.544]And not knowing your daughter it's difficult
[00:55:42.200]for me to say whether or not she would benefit
[00:55:44.550]from assistive technology, but what I would sit there
[00:55:47.310]and say is that assistive technology
[00:55:50.330]is very much across a lifespan.
[00:55:53.150]As an adult, I use assistive technology
[00:55:56.050]in my daily life, but assistive technology
[00:55:59.270]is very much across the lifespan.
[00:56:01.460]It is not relegated to young children
[00:56:04.650]or children who are in high school.
[00:56:07.470]We look at what does the student need to do right now
[00:56:12.090]and what is the student expected to do?
[00:56:16.390]Our goal as an IFSP team as an IEP team,
[00:56:19.660]is figuring out what are the things that we can do
[00:56:22.570]to get the student from where he or she is now
[00:56:25.707]and where they need to be.
[00:56:27.410]One of the things on the table can be assistive technology.
[00:56:34.750]As we have discussed, I don't always have
[00:56:36.440]a wide experience with those using AT
[00:56:39.140]to draw on, it was great to have a conversation with you
[00:56:43.470]where my team can draw on your experience.
[00:56:45.520]So Claudia had noted that she has taken advantage
[00:56:51.360]of some of the services
[00:56:52.730]from the Assistive Technology Partnership.
[00:56:54.700]One of the things that we do is provide technical assistance
[00:56:59.090]support and that kinda gets us into some
[00:57:01.037]of the things that we can do for you,
[00:57:03.280]but I do wanna add before I jump deeper in there
[00:57:05.863]that I'm so glad, Claudia,
[00:57:08.410]that has been beneficial.
[00:57:10.800]Before we get there,
[00:57:12.680]are there any other questions or comments?
[00:57:27.340]Taking another tea break.
[00:57:50.960]In the past we were to contact Cozad
[00:57:53.530]for assistive technology, is that still the case?
[00:57:59.750]Yes and no, let's kinda talk
[00:58:02.970]about some of the things that are coming in.
[00:58:06.780]So, the Assistive Technology Education Program
[00:58:11.680]really starts with the premise that AT services
[00:58:14.610]for children and students in Nebraska start
[00:58:17.620]with the people working directly
[00:58:19.220]with those children and students
[00:58:22.210]and that is important.
[00:58:24.640]Our job as the Assistive Technology Partnership
[00:58:28.900]is to provide training, technical assistance,
[00:58:31.600]coaching, access to technology,
[00:58:36.090]and other opportunities in order to help IFSP
[00:58:42.217]and IEP teams provide the assistive technology services
[00:58:46.540]that are needed.
[00:58:47.410]Our job is not to come in and do an assessment.
[00:58:50.230]Or our job is not to come in and fix the problem.
[00:58:52.970]Our job is to help coach and provide training experiences
[00:58:57.580]and so forth in order to help teams provide
[00:59:02.480]those assistive technology services.
[00:59:06.070]Which is what I just said.
[00:59:09.220]So, Peggy had asked a question regarding Cozad,
[00:59:14.370]so one of the areas that we do in order to support
[00:59:20.900]teams across the state is we have access
[00:59:23.940]to a large assistive technology loan library.
[00:59:28.290]And if you go to at4all.com,
[00:59:32.130]you can create an account there
[00:59:34.240]that will allow you to view all
[00:59:37.660]of the technologies that can be borrowed.
[00:59:42.040]Those technologies are typically shipped
[00:59:44.120]to you free of charge.
[00:59:47.070]If they're really big and bulky like a stander,
[00:59:49.480]it's really hard to UPS the stander,
[00:59:52.390]we will go ahead and bring it out to you.
[00:59:53.950]That takes a little bit longer,
[00:59:55.150]because that's a little bit more coordinated time.
[00:59:58.640]But typically if it's something that can be shipped
[01:00:00.630]to you you get it within a week or so.
[01:00:04.110]We ask that you don't,
[01:00:07.050]the education loan pool happens to be located
[01:00:10.990]in Cozad, which is what Peggy was referring to.
[01:00:15.120]We're asking that you don't contact Cozad directly,
[01:00:18.430]but you go through the form,
[01:00:21.550]through this website, at4all.com.
[01:00:25.380]Part of the issue is that we're really trying
[01:00:28.770]to free up our Cozad staff to process those
[01:00:33.690]loan requests as quickly as possible
[01:00:36.220]and get the technology into the hands
[01:00:38.570]of the people who are trying it with their students.
[01:00:44.720]The other thing is is that we have
[01:00:46.710]an assistive technology website, atp.nebraska.gov.
[01:00:50.920]If you go to it, you'll see that one
[01:00:52.400]of the sections on there focuses on schools.
[01:00:55.590]And when you go there you'll see three pieces
[01:00:58.250]of contact information.
[01:01:00.040]One is atp.education@nebraska.gov
[01:01:03.750]and that comes directly to the education team
[01:01:09.140]and we usually respond within one to two business days.
[01:01:13.580]We really try to make it in less time than that.
[01:01:16.910]But that could be any type of question et cetera.
[01:01:21.350]If you have questions about the loan pool
[01:01:23.710]this is a good place to go as well,
[01:01:26.220]and we can go ahead and guide you through that process.
[01:01:28.770]If you're not an email person and prefer a phone,
[01:01:32.120]we have an 800 number within Nebraska
[01:01:34.220]that people can call which is 877-713-4002.
[01:01:41.060]And all of these services are free of charge.
[01:01:44.230]And then if you're like me and you tend
[01:01:46.070]to be a little bit of an introvert
[01:01:47.620]and would rather type things into a form,
[01:01:50.510]we do have a form there too.
[01:01:52.640]If you go to atp.nebraska.gov, click on school
[01:01:56.200]and you're gonna see that there is a form
[01:01:58.460]that allows you to put in an education service request.
[01:02:02.130]And that can be just for consultation,
[01:02:06.230]where we contact you and we have some conversations.
[01:02:09.700]That could be via email, phone.
[01:02:13.020]We do a lot of things through Zoom with different teams.
[01:02:19.790]There are also opportunities to request regional trainings.
[01:02:23.410]If we're doing regional trainings
[01:02:26.090]we really request that there's about 15 people
[01:02:28.630]that are in attendance if we're coming out physically.
[01:02:31.310]If it's less than that, we might be able
[01:02:33.080]to do something through an online mechanism
[01:02:36.550]similar to what we're doing right now.
[01:02:39.270]I just had a contact from three different schools
[01:02:42.920]now that we are in this state.
[01:02:45.570]Teachers are engaging in some additional professional
[01:02:49.880]development and the schools wanted to know
[01:02:51.950]whether or not we can go ahead
[01:02:53.890]and provide some professional development
[01:02:56.090]and we're working on that at this point.
[01:03:01.560]Peggy had asked, so is the consultation part
[01:03:05.730]of evaluation where Scotty or Lynette would come into play?
[01:03:09.480]Scotty and Lynette both currently do not work
[01:03:13.470]for the Assistive Technology Partnership, unfortunately
[01:03:16.400]anymore, Lynette has moved on.
[01:03:19.400]And Lynette has unfortunately moved on
[01:03:25.220]and so has Scotty.
[01:03:27.490]There was some reconfiguration
[01:03:30.350]of the Assistive Technology Partnership prior
[01:03:32.630]to me coming on board back in August.
[01:03:36.570]And so the consultation is really
[01:03:39.320]about providing guidance to the teams
[01:03:43.160]to engage in effective AT consideration,
[01:03:46.670]assessment, implementation and evaluation of effectiveness.
[01:03:51.530]It's not us coming out and saying,
[01:03:54.480]viewing the student and saying,
[01:03:58.740]and saying this is what you should do.
[01:04:01.610]Our funding source very much prohibits us
[01:04:05.290]from providing any degree of direct services.
[01:04:09.410]So we are unable to directly interact
[01:04:11.540]with the student or child in any way.
[01:04:14.910]However we can provide a lot of support
[01:04:17.610]to the team in helping them go through decisions
[01:04:23.170]and so forth and helping them build their capacity
[01:04:27.090]for providing quality assistive technology services.
[01:04:37.240]So the SLPOT or PT would do the evaluation
[01:04:40.510]and get the information.
[01:04:42.350]An assistive technology assessment or evaluation
[01:04:47.830]really should be a team based process.
[01:04:51.750]So, and there would be components
[01:04:54.110]that would be done and collected by multiple members
[01:04:57.940]of the team depending on what questions are being asked.
[01:05:01.780]If we are looking at, if we are looking at a child
[01:05:06.560]using an AAC device, for example,
[01:05:09.020]and the speech language pathologist
[01:05:11.360]may look at the language needs,
[01:05:13.350]the OT may look at some of the access an positioning needs.
[01:05:16.950]The PT may look at positioning and some of the mounting
[01:05:20.160]needs if the child is using adaptive mobility equipment.
[01:05:26.240]But the teacher will also be involved
[01:05:28.330]looking at what are the educational needs of the child.
[01:05:31.240]The parents will also be involved looking
[01:05:33.460]at what are the potential home communication needs.
[01:05:36.300]This is really a team based assessment process.
[01:05:40.710]And we do offer trainings on how to engage
[01:05:45.740]in effective AT assessments/evaluations,
[01:05:50.100]and are launching a series, working with ESUs
[01:05:53.720]to launch a series of regional trainings
[01:05:55.910]over the course of the next year.
[01:05:58.104]As to whether or not those are brought to you online,
[01:06:01.810]regionally or face to face, there will be a lot
[01:06:06.043]of opportunities and guidance as to how to do that.
[01:06:11.010]Does that answer your question Peggy?
[01:06:18.820]Okay.
[01:06:20.100]So I do encourage you, if you are looking
[01:06:23.090]for any of the information from today,
[01:06:24.900]including a copy of the slide deck,
[01:06:28.270]or that AT implementation form, feel free
[01:06:33.340]to go ahead and contact atp.education@nebraska.gov
[01:06:37.370]and we'll go ahead and get that information
[01:06:39.270]sent out to you as quickly as we can.
[01:06:46.020]That wraps up my presentation.
[01:06:47.870]I'm happy to stick around if there are additional questions.
[01:06:51.270]I look forward to talking with you.
[01:06:52.980]Overall, thank you so much for joining today.
[01:06:55.730]I hope the information that we discussed today
[01:07:01.200]is helpful in moving forward.
[01:07:06.630]Brian thanks so much.
[01:07:07.850]I think it was a great start for a lot of teams
[01:07:10.410]and they now have some resources
[01:07:12.630]for what the next steps can be
[01:07:14.690]and I'll probably be reaching out
[01:07:16.330]for a presentation in our region,
[01:07:18.490]'cause it's something that I get a lot of request for.
[01:07:22.620]So thank you so much.
[01:07:24.540]People, don't forget that we have just those closing
[01:07:28.560]statements and stuff, so make sure you get on
[01:07:30.940]for that last session.
[01:07:36.690]Or as the closed captions say, don't forget
[01:07:38.500]that we have pudding.
[01:07:40.532](Brian laughing)

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Integrating Assistive Technology into a Student's Educational Program

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