Eval AT Needs of Students with ASD

Brian Wojcik Author

04/06/2021 Added

4 Plays

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[00:00:03.700]Hello, welcome to this presentation
[00:00:05.600]on Evaluating the Assistive Technology Needs
[00:00:08.360]of students with Autism.
[00:00:10.590]My name is Brian Wojcik, and I have the honor
[00:00:12.700]and privilege of serving
[00:00:14.170]as the Education Program Supervisor,
[00:00:17.080]as part of the Assistive Technology Partnership.
[00:00:20.790]Let's go ahead and get started.
[00:00:23.660]Today we're going to be talking about
[00:00:25.330]a number of different things.
[00:00:27.935]The first thing that we are going to be talking about
[00:00:29.887]and the major focus of this presentation
[00:00:32.520]is on an evaluation process that identifies
[00:00:36.110]the assistive technology needs of students with autism.
[00:00:39.930]This process has a number of reasons
[00:00:43.180]that we do engage in this process,
[00:00:46.580]and we really want to be able to use this process
[00:00:51.190]to provide the high quality
[00:00:54.160]and legally sound assistive technology services
[00:00:57.550]that students who are receiving special education services
[00:01:01.300]have a right to.
[00:01:02.770]As part of this process we're going to be talking about
[00:01:05.700]a feature match process.
[00:01:07.980]And this is a component of an evaluation
[00:01:10.800]of assistive technology needs process
[00:01:13.290]that allows us to narrow in and identify
[00:01:16.290]what are the specific areas
[00:01:18.850]that we need to think about
[00:01:22.040]when selecting potential assistive technology.
[00:01:25.300]And then finally, we're going to talk about
[00:01:28.820]another part of the evaluation process, which is trialing.
[00:01:33.440]And we're going to talk about how we engage
[00:01:37.250]in those trialing processes to help further identify
[00:01:42.060]a match between the assistive technology needs of students
[00:01:45.850]in potential assistive technology.
[00:01:52.220]In describing this presentation.
[00:01:55.880]This presentation could be summed up
[00:01:57.780]in the following statement.
[00:01:59.310]Participants will learn about these processes,
[00:02:02.600]models and frameworks and experienced case studies
[00:02:05.520]that illustrate processes and tools
[00:02:08.010]that maybe used in evaluating
[00:02:09.620]the assistive technology needs of students.
[00:02:12.590]We are focusing again, on that evaluation process.
[00:02:18.360]Couple notes before we get started.
[00:02:21.190]First and foremost, while assistive technology is broad
[00:02:25.420]and maybe used to support students receiving
[00:02:28.870]accommodations and services under Section 504.
[00:02:33.120]This presentation is really constraining itself
[00:02:35.840]to students who are receiving special education services.
[00:02:40.100]These are services that are being provided
[00:02:42.620]through part C, or part B of IDEA,
[00:02:47.038]or in Nebraska, we referred to that as rule 52 and rule 51.
[00:02:54.120]The second piece, I'm going to use the term quality.
[00:02:59.070]We use the term quality to describe
[00:03:01.780]high quality assistive technology services.
[00:03:05.640]Those services are defined by the quality indicators
[00:03:09.730]of assistive technology or QIAT.
[00:03:13.030]The QIAT indicators were developed
[00:03:15.800]as part of the QIAT consortium
[00:03:18.080]and were further validated
[00:03:19.720]through the research of Joy Zabala.
[00:03:22.260]These indicators serve as a basis and a benchmark
[00:03:26.530]for describing and defining
[00:03:28.790]what high quality assistive technology surfaces
[00:03:32.110]look like within school settings.
[00:03:34.430]If you'd like to find more information
[00:03:36.410]about the QIAT indicators,
[00:03:38.490]I invite you to visit QIAT, Q-I-A-T.org.
[00:03:43.690]There you'll find all of the indicators
[00:03:45.750]as well as a lot of other resources
[00:03:48.230]related to high quality assistive technology services.
[00:03:54.840]So, in thinking about what is assistive technology,
[00:03:58.580]we need to have a functional definition
[00:04:01.780]of assistive technology
[00:04:03.500]in order to serve as a basis
[00:04:06.140]for this presentation and this discussion.
[00:04:09.670]When we simplify assistive technology
[00:04:12.670]down to its elemental components,
[00:04:15.180]assistive technology is a tool or a system of tools
[00:04:19.650]that allows a student to do a task
[00:04:21.980]that he or she could not otherwise do
[00:04:24.560]at an expected performance level.
[00:04:27.200]In other words, we're looking at something
[00:04:29.420]that when provided allows a student to perform
[00:04:34.990]a particular task or activity or participate,
[00:04:39.760]and do so in a way that he or she could not otherwise do
[00:04:42.560]without that assistive technology tool or system.
[00:04:46.100]The exception to this is surgically implanted devices.
[00:04:50.520]When we look at assistive technology
[00:04:53.230]and we look at the definition of assistive technology
[00:04:56.400]within the individuals with disabilities education Act,
[00:05:00.360]there was a limiter in 2004
[00:05:02.213]that was placed on this definition.
[00:05:04.440]It says, "Assistive technology can literally be anything
[00:05:08.650]except things that are surgically implanted."
[00:05:12.240]And that largely came about
[00:05:14.070]in response to cochlear implants,
[00:05:16.870]but it's important to understand
[00:05:19.520]that there is this limitation.
[00:05:21.730]So, if we take a look at the multiple components
[00:05:26.520]of when technology becomes assistive technology,
[00:05:34.460]we can sum it up like this.
[00:05:37.080]Assistive technology in summary can be anything,
[00:05:41.400]but it is used to help a person do something
[00:05:45.140]that they could not otherwise do.
[00:05:47.140]We refer to that as a compensatory intervention.
[00:05:51.640]By definition, when we look at the legal
[00:05:54.030]definition of assistive technology,
[00:05:57.509]it is technology that is used by a student.
[00:06:01.300]And assistive technology can be a single tool
[00:06:04.190]or a system of tools.
[00:06:06.280]So, technology becomes assistive technology when
[00:06:10.430]one, it allows a person to do something
[00:06:13.210]that he or she can not otherwise do.
[00:06:15.430]It is used by a student with a disability.
[00:06:18.550]And the third part, and this is specific to special ed law,
[00:06:22.270]is it is determined necessary by the IEP or IFSP team
[00:06:27.770]in order for a student to achieve
[00:06:30.660]a free, appropriate public education.
[00:06:33.420]So there's multiple components that come into
[00:06:36.670]when does technology become assistive technology?
[00:06:41.090]One of the things to think about is that
[00:06:45.250]when we're thinking about assistive technology,
[00:06:47.730]understanding the tools or the systems of tools
[00:06:52.423]that could potentially become assistive technology
[00:06:56.410]is one piece of the puzzle.
[00:06:59.730]But good assistive technology matches...
[00:07:03.930]In other words, understanding what
[00:07:06.000]the needs are of the student,
[00:07:07.850]and what potential assistive technology can meet those needs
[00:07:11.450]is more of a process oriented approach.
[00:07:17.165]We need to analyze what the individual's skills are,
[00:07:20.620]their needs, their difficulties, desires.
[00:07:24.150]We need to think about that
[00:07:25.580]within the context of the activities
[00:07:27.960]that they are expected to perform.
[00:07:30.320]And we need to think about
[00:07:31.890]the context in which those activities occur.
[00:07:34.920]If we are looking at say, ordering from a menu,
[00:07:39.010]there's a difference between ordering from a menu,
[00:07:42.180]standing in a fast food line,
[00:07:44.700]or being in a drive-through,
[00:07:47.250]or sitting down at a table with a menu
[00:07:50.200]where a server is waiting for your order.
[00:07:52.700]Each of those contexts are very different
[00:07:56.080]and impact the nature of those activities
[00:07:59.360]and the potential barriers that may exist
[00:08:03.140]based upon where the individual is currently performing.
[00:08:08.150]We use that information to derive features
[00:08:11.360]of potential assistive technologies.
[00:08:14.010]And then we have to analyze the demands
[00:08:16.480]those technologies may place on the individual.
[00:08:19.420]This is a process,
[00:08:21.840]and when we look at this process
[00:08:24.110]it looks something like this.
[00:08:26.970]We start assistive technology with consideration,
[00:08:31.690]and this focuses very specifically
[00:08:35.310]on the typical special education provision process.
[00:08:40.730]We start with assistive technology consideration,
[00:08:44.060]this is the point in which
[00:08:46.560]we are thinking about the question,
[00:08:48.144]does a student need assistive technology?
[00:08:52.240]In terms of IEPs, there is a specific part of the IEP
[00:08:56.440]that directly addresses this,
[00:08:58.510]where we do consider whether or not the student
[00:09:01.060]needs assistive technology.
[00:09:02.930]But AT consideration may happen
[00:09:05.720]during initial or re-evaluations,
[00:09:10.300]may happen during any time an IEP is developed
[00:09:13.390]or an IFSP is developed.
[00:09:16.700]So, AT consideration is the point that we think about
[00:09:20.630]does the student need assistive technology?
[00:09:23.280]If the answer to that is yes,
[00:09:26.390]then we provide that assistive technology,
[00:09:29.070]and then we plan for the implementation
[00:09:31.970]of that assistive technology.
[00:09:33.610]And that requires us to document
[00:09:37.480]what assistive technology
[00:09:39.240]and how that assistive technology is going to be used,
[00:09:42.380]as well as any supports and services
[00:09:45.180]that are needed to help the student be successful
[00:09:48.630]with that assistive technology.
[00:09:50.040]We document that within the IEP or the IFSP,
[00:09:53.830]but then we also come up with a plan for implementation.
[00:09:57.470]Some of that is, things like who needs training
[00:10:01.030]in order to help the student be successful?
[00:10:04.030]Who needs to learn how to use that assistive technology?
[00:10:07.520]We also look at things like
[00:10:09.270]who is going to take care of that assistive technology?
[00:10:13.240]Whether that be charging the device
[00:10:15.130]or what happens when that assistive technology malfunctions?
[00:10:19.470]And we need to have a contingency plan in place
[00:10:23.170]so that the students needs are met.
[00:10:26.250]And then, we close a loop by evaluating the effectiveness
[00:10:30.240]of assistive technology.
[00:10:31.870]Sometimes we also call this assistive technology assessment
[00:10:35.650]and progress monitoring.
[00:10:37.450]So, how well is the assistive technology
[00:10:40.920]actually meeting the needs of the student?
[00:10:44.100]This is the general process that we use,
[00:10:46.620]and you'll see that it's very similar
[00:10:49.050]to many different types of intervention
[00:10:51.770]processes that we use,
[00:10:53.580]where we select an intervention,
[00:10:55.720]we implement that intervention,
[00:10:57.490]and then we evaluate
[00:10:58.829]the degree to which that intervention is successful.
[00:11:03.500]The one thing that comes into play in this process
[00:11:06.500]is understanding that first step
[00:11:09.590]assistive technology consideration,
[00:11:12.020]does the student need assistive technology?
[00:11:16.070]Well, that's an important question
[00:11:18.450]because sometimes we have sufficient data
[00:11:23.500]in order to make that determination,
[00:11:26.060]and sometimes we need to collect additional data
[00:11:31.090]in order to make that determination.
[00:11:34.220]And that's where we come into this concept of an evaluation
[00:11:38.840]of assistive technology needs.
[00:11:41.337]And evaluation of assistive technology needs
[00:11:44.560]is a process that allows us to gather
[00:11:51.660]and discuss information that helps us make a determination
[00:11:58.240]whether or not a student needs assistive technology?
[00:12:01.580]And if a student does, what assistive technology is needed?
[00:12:06.600]This is the evaluation of assistive technology needs.
[00:12:11.000]I often get asked this question,
[00:12:14.150]who owns the evaluation of assistive technology needs?
[00:12:18.370]In other words,
[00:12:19.203]who is responsible for conducting an evaluation of AT needs?
[00:12:23.480]Do I call somebody?
[00:12:25.190]Do I do it?
[00:12:26.480]Is this a school psychologist responsibility?
[00:12:29.780]Does this happen by the speech language pathologists
[00:12:32.410]or the OT or PT?
[00:12:34.720]And the answer to this question
[00:12:37.010]and the law was designed with this in mind
[00:12:40.360]is it comes back to the multi-disciplinary team.
[00:12:44.210]So we're focusing on the IEP or the IFSP team
[00:12:48.270]as the primary entity that is responsible
[00:12:52.620]for conducting an evaluation of AT needs.
[00:12:56.090]Every multidisciplinary team is comprised of individuals
[00:13:00.490]that have different pieces of the puzzle
[00:13:04.530]regarding the students needs.
[00:13:06.250]And that includes, all of the teachers,
[00:13:09.330]the administrators, the related service providers,
[00:13:12.350]the student, the family, all of those individuals together.
[00:13:17.880]All of those individuals together
[00:13:20.900]bring information together, discuss it
[00:13:24.880]and use that information to determine whether or not
[00:13:28.270]a student needs AT and what assistive technology is needed?
[00:13:33.470]Why don't we do an evaluation of assistive technology needs?
[00:13:38.130]Well, honestly and truly, there is a huge threat
[00:13:42.600]to positive assistive technology outcomes.
[00:13:46.510]And we refer to that as AT abandonment
[00:13:51.040]or AT device discontinuance.
[00:13:54.850]AT abandonment is a long research concept
[00:13:58.940]that sits there and says
[00:14:00.147]there is a lot of reasons that assistive technology fails.
[00:14:05.970]And when we look at those reasons,
[00:14:08.850]some of the biggest reasons that assistive technology fails
[00:14:12.800]is that there wasn't a good, effective process
[00:14:16.710]at the start of all of this
[00:14:18.500]to identify what are the specific needs of the individual,
[00:14:25.010]gained buy-in from the individual,
[00:14:27.130]and the team supporting the individual
[00:14:29.930]and ultimately make that good match
[00:14:32.930]between what the individual's needs are,
[00:14:35.520]what the individual's preferences are,
[00:14:37.960]the activities and the demands,
[00:14:41.870]and the context in which those activities occur,
[00:14:44.880]and potential assistive technology for the individual.
[00:14:49.840]All of those pieces to come together,
[00:14:52.720]and if any of those pieces don't come together well,
[00:14:57.070]the likelihood that the assistive technology
[00:15:00.530]is going to be abandoned or discontinued tends to be high.
[00:15:06.530]So, let's talk about a little bit more
[00:15:08.730]about an evaluation of assistive technology needs.
[00:15:13.860]In thinking about an evaluation
[00:15:15.575]of assistive technology needs,
[00:15:17.810]it is first and foremost, an assessment process.
[00:15:21.360]Lots of people look at, "Oh, it's an evaluation,
[00:15:25.400]there's something mystical,
[00:15:26.570]there's something that I don't know about it."
[00:15:28.910]But most people who are serving students with disabilities
[00:15:33.010]have been trained in good quality assessment.
[00:15:37.890]And an evaluation of assistive technology needs
[00:15:41.090]is an assessment process.
[00:15:43.130]We are gathering information from multiple individuals
[00:15:47.380]and multiple contexts
[00:15:49.010]that we are going to use in order to make decisions.
[00:15:52.930]How do we do that?
[00:15:54.150]Well, we have to involve the students
[00:15:56.760]in the assessment process.
[00:15:58.700]We have to involve all the individuals
[00:16:00.770]who are helping the student,
[00:16:02.290]who have pieces of that puzzle and bring them together.
[00:16:07.340]A good evaluation is not something that happens haphazardly,
[00:16:13.840]there is a plan for it.
[00:16:17.880]And we are looking at the individual
[00:16:20.580]through multiple lenses.
[00:16:23.300]Involving the student in the assessment process
[00:16:25.910]is highly critical.
[00:16:27.750]When we talk about assistive technology
[00:16:30.160]abandonment and discontinuance,
[00:16:32.810]one of the largest reasons that AT is abandoned
[00:16:36.430]is that the student has never bought into using
[00:16:39.840]the assistive technology in the first place.
[00:16:42.340]So bringing the student into that process,
[00:16:45.140]allowing the students voice and choice
[00:16:48.340]in the type of assistive technology
[00:16:50.440]he or she is going to be using is important.
[00:16:54.620]Another piece of a good assessment process
[00:16:57.950]is that it creates documentation for the data considered,
[00:17:01.860]options tried and decisions made.
[00:17:05.200]When we are talking about this,
[00:17:07.510]any good evaluation process has a way to document
[00:17:13.950]how and what was found, discussed,
[00:17:19.330]and what decisions were made
[00:17:21.460]as a result of that evaluation process.
[00:17:24.570]We want to keep our focus on student outcomes.
[00:17:28.180]Oftentimes, when we're thinking about assistive technology
[00:17:33.150]we are focusing on improving the students performance.
[00:17:37.030]So, we're always looking at
[00:17:39.760]what is the potential assistive technology
[00:17:43.020]that is going to be needed
[00:17:44.420]in order to help the student improve his or her performance?
[00:17:48.440]It is a strength based process.
[00:17:51.380]We start with thinking about what can the student do?
[00:17:56.230]What are they bringing to the table?
[00:17:58.380]And then we look at what barriers exist
[00:18:01.370]that are preventing the student from being successful.
[00:18:04.820]In doing so, we are able to
[00:18:08.250]build upon the individual strengths,
[00:18:11.930]what they can do in order to help them
[00:18:14.870]improve their performance.
[00:18:17.060]We use a common or a valid framework.
[00:18:21.920]I introduced before the AT model.
[00:18:24.700]And that was...
[00:18:26.340]Let's take a look at it one more time.
[00:18:28.580]This is the AT model,
[00:18:29.860]this human activity assistive technology.
[00:18:32.720]And it is that interplay
[00:18:34.720]between what the individual skills are, their needs,
[00:18:39.230]their difficulties and desires?
[00:18:41.250]What activities they're engaging with?
[00:18:43.500]What context does all of that happened with?
[00:18:46.220]And what is the role of assistive technology
[00:18:49.600]to potentially help the human
[00:18:52.160]increase their performance in that activity?
[00:18:56.040]So, let's come back here.
[00:18:58.640]When we're looking at evaluation of needs
[00:19:00.820]we use that model.
[00:19:02.340]We're looking at, what does the student bring to the table?
[00:19:05.540]What are their needs?
[00:19:06.480]What are their desires?
[00:19:08.150]We're looking at, what is the environment in which
[00:19:12.400]the individual's functioning?
[00:19:14.020]We're looking at the activities or the tasks
[00:19:17.210]that the student needs to do.
[00:19:19.130]And then ultimately we use that information
[00:19:21.980]to determine what are potential assistive technology tools
[00:19:27.610]that can help?
[00:19:29.040]We're focusing on identifying supports,
[00:19:31.140]and most importantly,
[00:19:33.130]we're using that team-based model problem solving.
[00:19:36.630]A good evaluation of assistive technology needs
[00:19:39.790]is not the coordination of services,
[00:19:42.480]it is collaboration, it is problem solving.
[00:19:46.010]A good evaluation takes time
[00:19:49.090]and it takes the people who have
[00:19:51.110]different pieces of the puzzle
[00:19:52.900]coming together in the same time
[00:19:56.490]to discuss, present, question, analyze, and problem solve.
[00:20:03.230]That is important to understand as part of this process.
[00:20:09.230]Generally speaking, when we are talking about
[00:20:12.220]assistive technology needs,
[00:20:15.120]the more complex student needs are,
[00:20:18.890]the more data that we are going to need to gather,
[00:20:21.980]and the more factors we're going to need to consider.
[00:20:25.340]This might seem like that...
[00:20:28.410]It seems like a does statement (indistinct)
[00:20:30.740]but this is an important concept to understand.
[00:20:36.190]Not all evaluations for assistive technology needs
[00:20:41.050]are complex and drawn out.
[00:20:44.120]If we are looking for a student
[00:20:45.850]who has difficulty with grasping a writing implement
[00:20:51.000]because of some tone issues in their hand,
[00:20:57.190]that process may be much simpler
[00:21:01.410]than if we're looking at a student
[00:21:03.300]who has very involved sensory, cognitive, language,
[00:21:10.800]motor involvement, and we're working at
[00:21:13.660]how do we help the student communicate
[00:21:16.130]and interact in their environment?
[00:21:18.370]Those can be very different scenarios.
[00:21:21.350]The more complex the students needs are,
[00:21:23.760]the more data that we're going to need to gather,
[00:21:26.200]and the more factors need to be considered.
[00:21:30.130]The purpose of an evaluation of assistive technology needs
[00:21:33.820]is to develop a picture
[00:21:36.450]of where the student is currently performing
[00:21:40.450]on different tasks in different contexts,
[00:21:44.590]especially those things that are related
[00:21:46.740]to the IFSP or IEP goals and objectives.
[00:21:52.150]The evaluation of AT needs initiates
[00:21:54.770]a problem solving process.
[00:21:57.050]It identifies barriers that are preventing the student
[00:22:00.580]from being successful,
[00:22:02.020]and ultimately identifies how to overcome those barriers
[00:22:08.120]in order to help the student be successful.
[00:22:12.170]Good assistive technology decisions are important,
[00:22:15.130]good AT decisions are important.
[00:22:18.150]I can't say this enough.
[00:22:20.610]But this is also important because we use it
[00:22:23.870]as a pneumonic to guide us through this process.
[00:22:28.210]Good AT decisions are important.
[00:22:30.740]In other words, good, gather and discuss AT, try.
[00:22:37.930]Decisions are important, decide, acquire and implement.
[00:22:43.600]There are a number of models that are out there,
[00:22:46.480]if we're looking at Bowser and Reed
[00:22:48.650]with Education Tech Points.
[00:22:49.980]If we're looking at Marcia Scherer
[00:22:51.990]with Matching Persons with Technology.
[00:22:54.660]Or we're looking at Joy Zabala SETT Framework.
[00:22:58.510]Any one of those comes back to this general structure.
[00:23:06.240]Gather and discuss.
[00:23:08.100]Let's gather information,
[00:23:09.730]let's collect additional information
[00:23:12.100]and let's discuss, problem solve and analyze.
[00:23:15.520]We're gonna use that information
[00:23:17.810]to then identify potential assistive technology tools
[00:23:22.440]that we are going to try,
[00:23:24.080]and then we're going to use data from those trials
[00:23:26.820]to decide, acquire and implement
[00:23:30.550]assistive technology solution.
[00:23:36.130]Before we get started into the evaluation,
[00:23:38.390]and we're going to talk about the gathering discussion,
[00:23:42.310]and we're going to talk about trying.
[00:23:44.580]Those are the cornerstones
[00:23:45.840]of the assistive technology evaluation.
[00:23:49.070]Before we get started, I do wanna talk about
[00:23:53.487]some key caveats.
[00:23:56.550]First, avoid the pitfall
[00:23:59.170]of starting with technology solutions.
[00:24:01.810]One of the biggest things that I have seen happen
[00:24:07.070]when teams are starting to work on determining
[00:24:09.800]what are the assistive technology needs for a student
[00:24:12.410]is to sit there and start going,
[00:24:14.477]"Well, I'm gonna think through the range
[00:24:16.330]of assistive technologies that I know,
[00:24:18.430]and I'm gonna start trying to match those to the student."
[00:24:25.287]And what this does is it, it never defines the problem,
[00:24:29.360]it never defines why is the student having difficulty
[00:24:32.920]with this particular task?
[00:24:35.540]And when we do that, we don't uncover potential needs
[00:24:40.820]that down the road impact
[00:24:43.130]what assistive technology we're going to choose.
[00:24:46.090]This would be akin to going to the eye doctor
[00:24:49.900]and you walk in and say, "Doc, I'm having trouble seeing."
[00:24:53.260]And the doctor turns around and says,
[00:24:55.067]"Here's a pair of glasses, go forth and be successful."
[00:25:01.070]Not knowing what is it that is preventing you
[00:25:04.890]from having difficulty seeing
[00:25:06.440]or defining the nature of the difficulty
[00:25:10.950]and then, adjusting the prescription accordingly
[00:25:15.050]in order to meet your needs.
[00:25:16.620]So, don't start with lingering,
[00:25:19.100]how do we match the technology to the student...
[00:25:23.318]Well, I'm sorry.
[00:25:24.810]Don't start with trying to match the student
[00:25:28.230]to available technology,
[00:25:30.080]start by defining the issue,
[00:25:32.490]and then using that information
[00:25:34.950]to then define what are potential technology solutions.
[00:25:39.050]This is a recursive process.
[00:25:41.000]We may go back and forth, we may gather and discuss,
[00:25:44.740]we may start trying,
[00:25:46.160]and we may uncover additional information
[00:25:48.920]that we need to go back and gather and discuss
[00:25:51.360]in order to further identify the issues
[00:25:54.410]and identify potential solutions.
[00:25:56.810]The focus here is on the process.
[00:26:00.610]Teams that are first starting on this process,
[00:26:02.500]it might seem slow and laborious,
[00:26:05.280]but eventually, the teams learn to become more efficient
[00:26:12.240]as they practice this process.
[00:26:15.390]So let's start with this first part
[00:26:17.230]of gathering and discussing.
[00:26:20.890]In gathering and discussing, we're going to consider
[00:26:24.630]things that we know about the student,
[00:26:27.230]and we're going to look across
[00:26:29.380]multiple domain areas, motor, cognition,
[00:26:33.500]language and communication, sensory, other areas.
[00:26:37.310]So again, we start with,
[00:26:39.110]what do we all ready know about the students?
[00:26:41.280]Specifically, we're talking about
[00:26:44.390]what are the students strength's?
[00:26:45.940]This is a strength based assessment.
[00:26:48.320]What are the areas of difficulty that the student is facing?
[00:26:53.290]And this gives us a way to begin identifying
[00:26:56.400]what is the problem that is preventing the student
[00:27:00.300]from being successful?
[00:27:02.429](coughs)
[00:27:03.262]We're going to gather information about
[00:27:07.790]multiple aspects of the student
[00:27:10.140]and from multiple individuals on the team.
[00:27:14.370]We may identify other questions
[00:27:17.030]that we have about the student,
[00:27:18.700]and we need to have a plan for how to answer them.
[00:27:22.030]Sometimes this information is existing, we have MDT reports,
[00:27:28.580]we have observations,
[00:27:30.120]we may have student performance data,
[00:27:31.910]we may have large-scale assessment data,
[00:27:35.110]we may have progress monitoring data.
[00:27:37.750]We can use all of that information
[00:27:39.990]in order to begin answering this questions.
[00:27:42.500]Sometimes as we're answering this questions,
[00:27:44.750]we identify that we have gaps in our information,
[00:27:48.210]which means we have to go out and collect
[00:27:50.560]additional information in order to better
[00:27:54.970]address these areas and make sure that we do have
[00:27:59.090]sufficient information in order to define
[00:28:01.900]what the issues are.
[00:28:04.640]So we start with that student history,
[00:28:07.120]we look across domains,
[00:28:09.090]and then we identify, are there additional things
[00:28:11.910]that we may need to go add and collect?
[00:28:16.140]Here are a variety of different tools.
[00:28:18.180]And there is a link later in this presentation
[00:28:20.310]to each of these tools.
[00:28:22.220]But we may collect information
[00:28:24.270]from different members of the team, for example,
[00:28:28.080]there's a teacher questions for assistive technology
[00:28:31.270]or a parent questions on the assistive technology.
[00:28:37.290]These are questionnaires that allow the team
[00:28:42.760]to collect some additional information
[00:28:44.900]from various specific members of the IEP or IFSP team,
[00:28:50.910]that can help identify strengths in areas of need
[00:28:54.117]and areas of difficulty and barriers.
[00:28:57.570]We can also collect information
[00:28:59.640]from the student, him or herself by doing an interview.
[00:29:05.420]And there's a nice tool here
[00:29:08.230]that outlines some interview questions
[00:29:10.830]that help frame things from the students perspective
[00:29:14.520]and really get them involved in the process.
[00:29:17.050]We can also do direct observations.
[00:29:19.710]So, in the scenario, or in this context,
[00:29:22.960]the student is expected to do this particular task.
[00:29:30.130]What's happening in this scenario
[00:29:32.130]that's allowing the student to do part of the task,
[00:29:35.940]where are those problems creeping up?
[00:29:37.830]Are there things in the environment?
[00:29:39.320]Are there things about the task itself?
[00:29:41.350]Are there skills and performance issues
[00:29:44.250]that the student is experiencing
[00:29:47.270]due to the impact of their disability?
[00:29:49.990]And then there's also a tool here called
[00:29:53.690]the WATI Student Information Guide,
[00:29:55.710]and this comes out of Wisconsin
[00:29:56.882]and it's a fairly comprehensive.
[00:30:00.845]A comprehensive tool where we can look at
[00:30:04.360]seating and positioning,
[00:30:05.500]we can look at communication, we can look at vision,
[00:30:08.100]we can look at hearing, we can look at fine motor skills,
[00:30:10.970]we can look at a variety of different domains,
[00:30:13.290]and there's a variety of different areas
[00:30:15.380]to go ahead and take a look at.
[00:30:16.890]And again, there's a link to these a little later.
[00:30:25.310]We can also then, look at the student goals.
[00:30:29.180]The student goals within their educational plan,
[00:30:35.500]help us to understand what is a student expected to do.
[00:30:40.070]And we can look at these goals
[00:30:41.450]as defined by the IEP or the IFSP.
[00:30:44.740]We can also look at it through the context
[00:30:48.050]of how is it defined by the environment.
[00:30:50.820]Different environments define
[00:30:54.000]how we need to do certain tasks.
[00:30:56.540]I talked about using a menu earlier.
[00:31:02.063]We then can also look at,
[00:31:03.640]what does a student need to do functionally
[00:31:08.040]in order to be successful?
[00:31:09.512]In other words, we're looking at
[00:31:14.160]what parts of the activities
[00:31:16.790]can the student functionally meet,
[00:31:19.020]and which parts remain difficult for the student?
[00:31:22.730]So we take this information and we bring it together.
[00:31:27.310]And by gathering all this information,
[00:31:29.590]we can start constructing it in such a way
[00:31:32.400]that allows us to identify barriers.
[00:31:38.230]And conducting a barrier analysis.
[00:31:41.470]Here we're using part of Zabala SETT Framework,
[00:31:44.960]which stands for Student, Environment, Tasks and Tools.
[00:31:48.860]So if we look at the student,
[00:31:50.680]we can sit there and ask,
[00:31:53.020]what are the things that the student is able to do?
[00:31:56.670]What are those functional characteristics
[00:31:59.010]of the student that define, these are parts of the task
[00:32:04.017]that a student is able to do,
[00:32:06.520]versus these are the parts that remain difficult?
[00:32:10.430]And in doing so, we can begin to answer that question,
[00:32:14.000]why is the student experiencing difficulty on that task?
[00:32:17.910]We can also look at the environment.
[00:32:19.910]Are there barriers in the environment
[00:32:21.590]that are causing the student
[00:32:23.000]to experience difficulty on that task?
[00:32:26.520]Are there distractions?
[00:32:27.860]Are there lack of access to supports
[00:32:32.400]that could potentially help the student?
[00:32:36.410]Many different things that we would look at.
[00:32:38.990]And then we can also look at the task itself.
[00:32:42.260]Are there constraints with how the tasks must be performed
[00:32:50.410]to meet the demands of the task?
[00:32:52.650]Again, when we're looking at the task,
[00:32:56.990]for example, if I'm doing a test,
[00:33:00.720]there is a very different set of demands
[00:33:03.880]in having a test that has time limits,
[00:33:06.210]versus a test that is open-ended.
[00:33:09.800]We can look at open response questions,
[00:33:13.300]versus multiple choice or forced answer questions.
[00:33:19.749]What I'm expected to do,
[00:33:21.580]changes based upon what the demands of the task are.
[00:33:25.270]And we use this information to start identifying
[00:33:28.960]what are the potential barriers.
[00:33:34.770]We further begin to analyze these barriers by determining
[00:33:41.090]are there things that we can do
[00:33:43.170]in order to reduce those barriers?
[00:33:46.840]In other words, if we identify that the student
[00:33:51.090]is having difficulty with decoding when reading,
[00:33:57.100]we can sit there and determine
[00:33:59.800]is instruction going to help with these barriers?
[00:34:04.730]Are these barriers going to resolve
[00:34:06.730]if we only provide instruction?
[00:34:09.780]Well, it's possible with further instruction
[00:34:12.090]that reading decoding difficulty
[00:34:15.350]might go ahead and remediate
[00:34:17.470]and the student will no longer face those barriers.
[00:34:22.030]But we also need to think about
[00:34:23.840]what is the timeline for resolution?
[00:34:27.000]If I'm working with a third grade student
[00:34:29.277]and they're having difficulty with reading decoding,
[00:34:32.540]and the student is making progress
[00:34:36.650]that seems to indicate that he or she
[00:34:42.460]is going to need a year or two
[00:34:45.400]in order to remediate the difficulties
[00:34:47.810]that they're currently facing,
[00:34:51.170]does this prevent the student from advancing in other areas?
[00:34:54.980]If I'm unable to decode reading,
[00:34:57.440]that means I'm probably gonna be impacted
[00:35:01.360]in other areas of my curriculum as well.
[00:35:06.760]Can we modify the environment or the task
[00:35:08.930]to help the students meet the demand on the task?
[00:35:11.890]Will that alteration help the student
[00:35:14.260]to be successful in the long-term
[00:35:16.920]or will it actually cause increased issues in the long-term?
[00:35:21.680]Those are questions that we will need to ask
[00:35:25.330]when we are analyzing those barriers.
[00:35:32.010]Once we have identified, we have gathered and discussed,
[00:35:37.260]and we have a good picture of what the student is,
[00:35:39.720]we understand where the students strengths are,
[00:35:42.030]we understand where the student is having difficulty,
[00:35:44.930]and we've begun to identify what barriers exist
[00:35:48.590]in order for the student to be successful,
[00:35:52.120]we can use all of that information
[00:35:54.250]to engage in a feature match.
[00:35:57.130]A feature match is something that we do all the time.
[00:36:01.330]For example, what is it that we do
[00:36:05.980]when we go and buy a house or a car?
[00:36:09.340]Well, in my experience, when I went to go buy a house,
[00:36:13.600]we sat down and we identified,
[00:36:15.530]what are those key elements that we want in the house?
[00:36:18.880]We want it to have certain number of rooms,
[00:36:20.910]we want it to have a basement, we want it to have a deck,
[00:36:22.980]we want it to have a large kitchen, we want it to have...
[00:36:27.850]And we begin to identify the features of the house.
[00:36:30.650]We do the same thing when we buy a car.
[00:36:34.150]We want it to have four doors,
[00:36:36.140]we want it to have a large trunk,
[00:36:38.730]we want it to have a hatchback.
[00:36:40.290](coughs)
[00:36:42.040]And we use that in order to then go
[00:36:45.810]and determine what vehicles?
[00:36:48.350]And we use that to narrow down which vehicles
[00:36:50.940]we are then going to take out for a test drive
[00:36:53.740]in order to have them,
[00:36:56.160]make a decision eventually about what vehicle or house
[00:36:59.830]we are going to get.
[00:37:02.730]This is the essence of a feature match process.
[00:37:06.060]It's identifying those features based upon the barriers,
[00:37:13.583]the characteristics of the student,
[00:37:15.630]the activities the student needs to engage in
[00:37:18.587]and the environment.
[00:37:20.500]And we use those to define
[00:37:22.900]what are the features and functions
[00:37:25.290]of potential assistive technology tools and systems.
[00:37:29.940]We use this process so that we are making sure
[00:37:34.620]that we are addressing
[00:37:37.640]that everything is connected back to the student need.
[00:37:40.860]In other words, we're not starting with,
[00:37:42.727]"Here's a tool, let me see if I could
[00:37:45.260]force it on the student to meet their needs."
[00:37:47.550]I'm identifying what are the needs?
[00:37:49.840]What are the features?
[00:37:57.080]How do I use these features to find potential tools
[00:38:00.040]that are going to help the student be successful?
[00:38:04.530]So we start with, what does the student need to do?
[00:38:06.900]We've been talking about that.
[00:38:08.680]Feature match is always good within the context of a task.
[00:38:13.300]We identify those barriers that are helping the student
[00:38:16.740]or that are preventing the student from succeeding,
[00:38:19.450]and then we identify the potential features of AT.
[00:38:25.020]Let's take a look at a scenario.
[00:38:27.440]In this scenario, we have a young man named Arjun.
[00:38:32.350]Arjun is a third grade student who has been found eligible
[00:38:35.290]for special education services under autism.
[00:38:38.880]Arjun currently receives all services
[00:38:41.460]within the context of the general education classroom.
[00:38:45.270]Arjun has been working on engaging
[00:38:47.220]in functional communication.
[00:38:49.520]Those who are working with Arjun note,
[00:38:52.170]that he often seems like he does not listen
[00:38:55.100]to verbal instructions.
[00:38:58.040]Arjun also demonstrates
[00:38:59.530]difficulty communicating expressively,
[00:39:02.050]using standard verbal utterances.
[00:39:04.880]In other words, he may have some verbal utterances,
[00:39:10.460]but what he is using verbally is not
[00:39:14.100]necessarily easily understood by others.
[00:39:17.780]The SLP indicated,
[00:39:19.780]that Arjun is considered to be "non-speaking,"
[00:39:23.680]but does demonstrate joint attention
[00:39:27.200]and communicative intent.
[00:39:30.300]However, he's mostly communicating
[00:39:34.190]through gestures and verbalizations.
[00:39:36.790]In other words, his communication is not efficient
[00:39:39.820]especially with individuals who are unfamiliar
[00:39:43.300]with his communication patterns.
[00:39:46.290]He has typical motor development, no known sensory,
[00:39:49.540]meaning vision and hearing difficulties.
[00:39:51.890]And when looking at the IEP, the IEP team
[00:39:55.920]is hoping to focus on improving expressive communication,
[00:40:00.220]specifically relating to wants and needs.
[00:40:04.220]So, let's break this down.
[00:40:07.060]What does a student need to do?
[00:40:09.770]The student needs to communicate his needs and wants
[00:40:12.540]in a way that can be understood by others.
[00:40:15.590]And we're thinking about
[00:40:16.540]a variety of communication partners,
[00:40:18.600]a variety of context, and so forth.
[00:40:22.410]Let's break it down even further.
[00:40:25.760]Let's identify the barriers.
[00:40:28.350]First, Arjun has difficulty using standard vocal utterances.
[00:40:34.140]So those utterances
[00:40:35.350]that would be easily understood by others
[00:40:37.810]to expressively communicate,
[00:40:40.050]that's gonna get in his way of his needs and wants.
[00:40:46.280]He also demonstrates difficulty attending to
[00:40:49.230]or understanding verbalizations of others.
[00:40:51.810]In other words, there was that note
[00:40:53.470]that he has difficulty with understanding
[00:40:57.350]or processing directions.
[00:40:59.600]And these are just observational notes.
[00:41:04.590]Arjun is mobile and he's needing to communicate
[00:41:07.580]when engaged in multiple activities.
[00:41:10.090]So, from a motor perspective, we need to think about,
[00:41:14.385]he is sitting, he is walking, he is playing,
[00:41:17.730]he is doing a lot of different things,
[00:41:20.030]and he needs to communicate while doing all of those things.
[00:41:23.510]And currently that is difficult.
[00:41:26.680]From an environmental perspective.
[00:41:29.720]He is unable to communicate in multiple environments.
[00:41:32.610]And think about the context of these.
[00:41:35.260]Communicating wants and needs in a classroom
[00:41:37.930]is different than a hallway, or a bathroom, or a playground,
[00:41:41.960]or the bus, the cafeteria, or at home.
[00:41:45.680]Those environments change the way
[00:41:48.100]that particular task might need to happen.
[00:41:51.210]For example, communicating in a classroom,
[00:41:53.760]I have to gain somebody as a tension.
[00:41:56.010]I then need to make sure that
[00:42:01.460]the individuals are paying attention to me,
[00:42:03.630]and then go ahead and communicate.
[00:42:06.250]In a bathroom, that's a very different context.
[00:42:11.000]Out on the playground,
[00:42:12.490]while now I have to be able to communicate loudly enough
[00:42:16.330]so that people can hear me, maybe from a distance
[00:42:20.230]and so forth.
[00:42:22.120]He's unable to communicate
[00:42:23.540]with multiple communication partners.
[00:42:25.710]And again, expressing needs and wants
[00:42:28.320]might be different depending on the communication partner.
[00:42:31.550]The way that I would communicate with a teacher
[00:42:33.730]would be different than perhaps, the way I would communicate
[00:42:36.470]with my family or my peers.
[00:42:39.030]Arjun is unable to commu...
[00:42:40.850]Let's take a look at task.
[00:42:43.120]So, when we are...
[00:42:44.820]Again, we're talking multiple partners, multiple activities,
[00:42:48.350]and he is unable to communicate when he is mobile.
[00:42:51.910]Think about the nature of communicating
[00:42:54.710]on the fly versus planned communication.
[00:42:58.400]I'm going to sit and somebody is going to ask me a question,
[00:43:03.300]and I am going to respond to that question.
[00:43:06.140]So, the context changes there.
[00:43:11.920]Let's take a look at how Arjun uses information
[00:43:16.150]to generate potential features.
[00:43:18.730]He has difficulty using standard vocal utterances
[00:43:21.810]to expressively communicate.
[00:43:23.370]So we're going to need a device
[00:43:25.150]that is going to generate a vocal equivalent
[00:43:27.970]that can be used for expressive communication.
[00:43:31.860]We would wanna think about...
[00:43:33.360]And again, this is part of bringing the student
[00:43:35.380]into the process.
[00:43:36.840]What type of voice actually
[00:43:39.650]is a voice that represents
[00:43:41.820]the way the student would like to be represented?
[00:43:46.200]So what is that voice preference?
[00:43:52.730]In communicating the device is going
[00:43:56.620]to have that essential core vocabulary for needs and wants.
[00:44:00.940]So phrases like I need, I want, I like, could I have,
[00:44:07.790]all of those pieces and fringe vocabulary
[00:44:11.960]in order to support specific needs and wants.
[00:44:16.380]So what is it that he needs and wants?
[00:44:20.600]Does that potentially change as the child gets older?
[00:44:28.380]From that perspective of having difficulty attending to
[00:44:31.610]or understanding verbalizations of others,
[00:44:34.070]we're gonna need to make sure that
[00:44:36.520]when prompts are given to him
[00:44:38.470]that there is some sort of visual supports
[00:44:41.870]to help support that receptive communication
[00:44:45.430]when he has posed questions.
[00:44:48.840]A communication system is going to be able
[00:44:52.200]to be easily accessed
[00:44:53.950]for communication in different activities.
[00:44:56.590]We know that he is engaged
[00:44:57.745]in multiple activities throughout the day,
[00:45:00.430]and it's also going to need to be able
[00:45:02.340]to maintain charge and power for the duration of the day,
[00:45:05.610]and be durable because it's going to be used
[00:45:08.360]throughout the day in multiple activities.
[00:45:13.440]From an environment perspective,
[00:45:15.500]he is unable to communicate needs and wants
[00:45:18.720]in multiple environments,
[00:45:20.840]and with multiple communication partners.
[00:45:23.380]So again, we're back to this concept of having
[00:45:26.650]sufficient core infringe vocabulary
[00:45:28.750]to meet the expression of needs and wants
[00:45:31.040]in multiple environments.
[00:45:32.580]So thinking through the various environments
[00:45:35.490]in which he is in communicating in the cafeteria
[00:45:39.120]could potentially require access to different vocabulary
[00:45:44.380]than communicating in math class,
[00:45:46.720]or communicating in the bathroom.
[00:45:50.470]And we also need to think about
[00:45:52.890]communicating with multiple partners.
[00:45:55.520]The way I would communicate
[00:45:56.830]in the language that I would use with peers
[00:45:59.380]could be a dramatically different
[00:46:00.990]than the language that I would use with my teachers.
[00:46:04.530]Portable.
[00:46:05.670]Think about it...
[00:46:06.820]Not only that it is portable,
[00:46:08.480]but it can be easily accessed in multiple environments.
[00:46:12.000]If I am in the bathroom or if I am in the hallway,
[00:46:14.940]or if I'm in the playground, or if I'm in a classroom,
[00:46:19.190]the way that I would use
[00:46:20.560]that communication system might change.
[00:46:23.080]And so we might be looking at
[00:46:25.310]multiple communication systems, working together
[00:46:28.600]as opposed to a single device
[00:46:31.741]that is used across all of those environments.
[00:46:35.460]When I'm communicating,
[00:46:36.670]I might need something that is readily available
[00:46:39.380]and attached to my physical person.
[00:46:42.471](indistinct) communicating
[00:46:44.060]within a hallway situation, for example.
[00:46:46.860]Again, we wanted to maintain charge throughout the day.
[00:46:50.800]And we wanna make sure
[00:46:52.250]thinking about those different environmental demands,
[00:46:55.230]that the voice can be adjusted
[00:46:57.080]and to be aloud enough or soft enough to be used
[00:47:00.580]in those multiple environments.
[00:47:03.170]And from the task itself...
[00:47:05.930]Again, we're thinking about vocabulary,
[00:47:09.793]we wanna think about that
[00:47:11.970]based upon what we know of the student
[00:47:14.030]that may be represented in text or picture.
[00:47:16.950]We also wanna make sure that as the student develops
[00:47:24.750]that the vocabulary at the system
[00:47:26.140]can grow with the student,
[00:47:28.670]and can be used stationary or for ambulating
[00:47:33.640]from place to place.
[00:47:35.570]So we use these potential features to identify
[00:47:39.190]possible assistive technology for the student to use.
[00:47:43.480]One of the questions that comes up
[00:47:45.010]as we're identifying features is,
[00:47:47.570]should cost be a feature?
[00:47:50.780]Generally speaking, costs at this point of the game
[00:47:55.150]should not be a feature.
[00:47:56.330]We don't sit there and say,
[00:47:57.827]"Well, one of the futures is that
[00:47:59.400]the device should be under $100."
[00:48:01.717]And the reason for that is
[00:48:04.000]we are focusing on meeting student needs,
[00:48:06.940]not meeting the needs of budgetary constraints.
[00:48:11.300]Our first and foremost goal
[00:48:13.700]is to make sure students needs are met.
[00:48:17.380]Cost might be a factor down the road.
[00:48:19.530]So after we identify systems and we try systems,
[00:48:23.020]if we have two systems that are working
[00:48:25.480]equally well for a student,
[00:48:27.010]one costs a certain amount and another costs another amount
[00:48:32.210]we can choose the system that is less expensive,
[00:48:36.470]as long as they are indeed meeting the needs of the student.
[00:48:41.102]I have some examples.
[00:48:42.070]And again, these are linked a little bit later.
[00:48:45.070]This is the SETT Framework, this is the feature match.
[00:48:48.210]When we look at it, we identify those features
[00:48:52.770]of potential tools and systems, and then we start shopping.
[00:48:56.330]We identify what are potential AT products.
[00:49:00.150]And we basically do this cross tab analysis,
[00:49:04.920]or we identify which features exist
[00:49:08.130]within which products, tools, or systems.
[00:49:11.820]Oftentimes, teams can't identify features.
[00:49:15.770]And if they have knowledge of assistive technology
[00:49:19.360]they can start identifying products.
[00:49:21.580]But this is also an area
[00:49:22.900]in which the assistive technology partnership could help.
[00:49:25.730]If a team comes to the assistive technology partnership
[00:49:28.850]and says, "We really need a piece of assistive technology
[00:49:32.410]that has these features."
[00:49:34.580]We can help identify
[00:49:36.560]some of those potential tools and systems
[00:49:46.633]in order to help identify
[00:49:48.180]what needs to be potentially tried with a student.
[00:49:53.810]There are some pre-made specific feature match sheets
[00:49:57.340]that are out there that focus on areas like communication,
[00:50:00.930]those are also linked in the area that follows.
[00:50:06.580]The SIFTS is a tool that is from Ohio, from OCALI
[00:50:12.210]that focuses on a process.
[00:50:17.550]This is a web-based application where teams can sign up,
[00:50:22.070]they put in their student and they choose a functional area
[00:50:26.930]like communication or writing or reading.
[00:50:30.200]And then, they go through a series of questions,
[00:50:33.300]and the SIFTS provides that scaffold
[00:50:36.150]to begin identifying potential features
[00:50:40.450]of assistive technology tools and systems
[00:50:44.250]that may be beneficial for a student.
[00:50:46.490]So this is another tool that could be used
[00:50:49.240]in order to help teams identify potential features.
[00:50:54.400]Once features are identified we move into tool trials.
[00:51:00.580]And this is the next part of trials.
[00:51:03.170]So we've gathered and discussed,
[00:51:05.250]we've moved into the try phase
[00:51:07.200]by identifying potential features,
[00:51:09.450]by going through that barrier analysis
[00:51:11.710]and taking that and putting it into features.
[00:51:15.400]And now, we've identified those features
[00:51:17.930]and we've gone through and identified some tools and systems
[00:51:21.920]that are probable for the student to be successful.
[00:51:27.920]And now we need to try them.
[00:51:30.300]Why do we try?
[00:51:31.710]Well, the purpose of tool trials is
[00:51:35.740]well, to try, those things that are matching
[00:51:39.810]those features that we've identified
[00:51:41.810]to determine whether or not they're effective.
[00:51:45.200]Keep in mind what happens in planning.
[00:51:47.520]So what happens on paper
[00:51:48.670]doesn't always work in the real world context.
[00:51:51.480]There may be variables that we did not anticipate,
[00:51:54.900]or we may start trying something and realize
[00:51:58.620]that we didn't have a piece of the puzzle and now we do.
[00:52:03.540]Trials are really important
[00:52:05.370]to make sure that what we are thinking is going to work,
[00:52:08.960]actually works with the student.
[00:52:11.690]We think about a whole range of issues when we try tools.
[00:52:18.470]And it's not only does it improve the students performance,
[00:52:22.820]ultimately that is what we want,
[00:52:25.740]but there are other things that may impact
[00:52:30.110]whether or not it is successful.
[00:52:31.890]We'll talk about some of those.
[00:52:35.920]Any information that is collected during tool trials
[00:52:40.500]serves as feedback that might drive us
[00:52:44.060]to identify additional features or modify the features
[00:52:47.550]that we've previously identified.
[00:52:49.610]It might impact future trials
[00:52:52.020]and definitely will impact whatever decisions we make
[00:52:55.620]regarding potential assistive technology for the students.
[00:53:01.420]So, some of the things
[00:53:03.010]that we think about during tool trials.
[00:53:05.340]One is basic.
[00:53:07.440]Does the student have the necessary skills
[00:53:10.100]to operate the AT tool or system?
[00:53:14.410]This is important because
[00:53:15.960]if the student is unable to use a tool,
[00:53:19.390]they're going to be unsuccessful with the tool.
[00:53:22.960]And keep in mind though that not every student
[00:53:27.860]knows how to use a tool right outside the box.
[00:53:30.330]We may have to teach the student how to use that tool.
[00:53:33.530]So we need to think through,
[00:53:35.260]is it possible to develop the necessary skills
[00:53:38.160]to operate that tool or system over time?
[00:53:41.810]And is that a reasonable time
[00:53:44.700]in order to get the student to start
[00:53:48.680]being successful with that tool?
[00:53:52.820]What about acceptance?
[00:53:54.720]Bringing the student into this process is important.
[00:53:59.360]One of the things that comes out
[00:54:01.710]and it happens especially with older students,
[00:54:04.220]middle school is a rough time for many students.
[00:54:07.900]And the idea of how well does a piece of technology...
[00:54:14.310]How does it make me look in front of my peers
[00:54:16.870]or does it make me feel comfortable?
[00:54:19.240]Do I feel like this is singling me out
[00:54:22.260]in some way, shape or form?
[00:54:23.850]But how well is the student willing to accept
[00:54:26.610]the AT tool or system?
[00:54:28.140]When we're looking at students
[00:54:29.570]who have had different sensory integration needs,
[00:54:32.420]is there something about the tool
[00:54:34.260]that is adversely impacting me?
[00:54:37.120]So, is it making a sound
[00:54:38.450]that I simply have difficulty tolerating or filtering out?
[00:54:43.300]Is there a texture that is in place
[00:54:46.240]that is going to make it difficult for me to use
[00:54:50.160]based upon my own sensory needs?
[00:54:53.810]Is the student willing to accept the AT tools or system?
[00:54:57.780]Ultimately, we want to know is the AT tool or system
[00:55:03.970]going to demonstrate a promising impact
[00:55:06.950]on those tasks or activities that we are targeting?
[00:55:11.770]And then how do we measure this?
[00:55:14.530]We do this through a process called
[00:55:18.310]the time series, concurrent and differential approach.
[00:55:21.960]And this was a process that was proposed in an article
[00:55:26.220]way back in 2000 by Roger Smith,
[00:55:28.390]who's a professor of OT in Wisconsin.
[00:55:36.380]And in doing this what we do is we collect data
[00:55:40.760]on performance, on the targeted task,
[00:55:45.190]and not using the assistive technology tool or system.
[00:55:50.040]That allows us to see to what degree
[00:55:52.860]is a student performing on the task,
[00:55:55.840]to what degree does the assistive technology tool or system
[00:56:00.240]impact the students performance?
[00:56:03.200]And is it enough of an impact
[00:56:05.890]that gets the student to where we want
[00:56:09.400]the students to perform?
[00:56:11.410]Generally speaking in order to do this,
[00:56:13.960]we need to identify a variable,
[00:56:16.760]We need to identify what we are going to measure
[00:56:19.910]with regard to that task that allows to determine
[00:56:25.120]the degree to which the assistive technology
[00:56:27.380]is providing that benefit to the student?
[00:56:32.220]We collect about five data points
[00:56:34.900]using the assistive technology to about one data point
[00:56:38.460]without using the assistive technology.
[00:56:41.150]So let's talk about identifying that variable.
[00:56:44.820]The variable to measure is we define it in terms of a ratio.
[00:56:51.310]It is an observable, measurable, countable behavior.
[00:56:55.330]And again, that behavior should relate back
[00:56:58.140]to the task or the activity that we have targeted for use
[00:57:02.190]or that is going to be impacted by the assistive technology.
[00:57:06.600]The denominator of this variable
[00:57:08.410]is some static unchanging value.
[00:57:10.990]And we do this so that we have reliability
[00:57:14.020]or consistency over time,
[00:57:16.820]so that we're measuring the same thing over and over again.
[00:57:21.340]Let's take a look at what that might look like.
[00:57:24.860]So, for example, if you wanna measure the degree to which
[00:57:28.430]the student is expressing needs and wants
[00:57:30.860]in response to a prompt.
[00:57:33.290]Well, what is our observable, measurable,
[00:57:35.500]countable behavior?
[00:57:37.140]We can count the number of incidents
[00:57:39.830]that the student indicates needs or wants
[00:57:42.890]in response to a prompt.
[00:57:44.910]That's the behavior, that's what we're going to count.
[00:57:47.700]But we need to set up this racial variable
[00:57:51.240]to ensure that we are counting and measuring
[00:57:54.070]the same thing over and over again.
[00:57:56.070]So we're going to say that out of five opportunities.
[00:57:58.960]So for every five prompts that the student indicates
[00:58:07.310]needs or wants in response to that prompt,
[00:58:09.940]we're going to go ahead and count,
[00:58:11.450]and we're gonna do that in matches a five.
[00:58:13.620]So we can have one out of five,
[00:58:15.520]three out of five, five out of five,
[00:58:17.460]and that's going to give us different data points
[00:58:20.510]that we could use to track the degree to which
[00:58:24.430]the student is successfully performing the behavior.
[00:58:30.920]I'm a data person, if we're collecting data
[00:58:33.700]for me, one of the best ways to analyze it
[00:58:36.150]is to graph it out.
[00:58:38.170]And so we set up a graph that has a couple elements.
[00:58:43.170]First and foremost, we have a vertical axis
[00:58:46.090]that is the performance on the task,
[00:58:48.140]and this would be the variable that we are measuring.
[00:58:51.850]The horizontal axis, are points in time.
[00:58:54.500]So, we're gonna plot this over time.
[00:58:58.180]We collect information about the students performance
[00:59:01.920]without the assistive technology.
[00:59:04.990]That here is represented by the red dotted line.
[00:59:08.930]The green solid line,
[00:59:10.970]is where we want the student to perform.
[00:59:13.850]We can call this the goal line.
[00:59:16.710]When we are looking at
[00:59:18.550]doing the time series, concurrent and differential,
[00:59:21.320]we're collecting data without the assistive technology
[00:59:24.980]as well as with the assistive technology.
[00:59:31.320]The performance with the assistive technology
[00:59:33.830]is represented on this graph with the blue dashed line.
[00:59:39.680](coughs)
[00:59:40.620]What does this tell us?
[00:59:42.820]It tells us when we started, that first,
[00:59:47.010]the student does have a discrepancy
[00:59:50.030]and performing this task without the assistive technology.
[00:59:54.070]Where the student is performing
[00:59:55.610]without the assistive technology
[00:59:57.370]and where the student needs to perform
[00:59:59.430]there is indeed a discrepancy.
[01:00:01.890]When we put the assistive technology in place
[01:00:04.780]in the beginning, there is some benefit,
[01:00:07.650]but over time we can see that the students performance
[01:00:11.140]using the assistive technology
[01:00:13.220]again, represented by that blue dash line,
[01:00:16.130]further approximates the goal line
[01:00:18.840]of where we want them to perform.
[01:00:20.930]So we can sit there and say,
[01:00:22.400]that this assistive technology
[01:00:24.310]is actually providing benefit to the student
[01:00:29.747]and helping them reach that approximate goal line.
[01:00:34.910]In this scenario, we can see that the red dotted line
[01:00:38.010]or the performance without the assistive technology,
[01:00:40.880]as well as the blue dashed line,
[01:00:43.750]performance with the assistive technology
[01:00:46.040]are relatively the same.
[01:00:48.300]And we can also say that the performances
[01:00:51.400]under both of those conditions
[01:00:53.220]are quite a distance
[01:00:55.160]from where we want the students to perform.
[01:00:57.390]So if we were collecting data
[01:00:59.300]and this is the data set that we got,
[01:01:02.990]we would interpret this
[01:01:04.450]as to be that this is not a good match
[01:01:07.430]in terms of assistive technology,
[01:01:09.350]because it's really not providing any benefit.
[01:01:12.660]Most of the times when we do tool trials,
[01:01:15.530]we go ahead and compare multiple tools and systems.
[01:01:19.980]So, if we do that, we can sit there and see that
[01:01:25.010]one type of assistive technology,
[01:01:27.780]and we'll call this I1 or intervention one.
[01:01:31.920]Does provide some benefit
[01:01:34.560]because the performance with the assistive technology
[01:01:39.350]is higher than or more towards the goal line
[01:01:43.940]than the performance without the assistive technology.
[01:01:46.460]But there is still a significant gap
[01:01:48.310]between the performance with the assistive technology
[01:01:51.670]and where we want the student to perform.
[01:01:54.162]I2 approximates that goal line more
[01:02:01.340]and does show increased performance
[01:02:04.860]over performance without the assistive technology.
[01:02:08.621]I3 shows that performance with the assistive technology
[01:02:14.780]exceeds where we are asking the students to perform.
[01:02:19.700]So, if we are looking at this data,
[01:02:22.120]we would sit there and say,
[01:02:23.090]well, I1 is probably a non-consideration.
[01:02:27.040]We would probably not look at that
[01:02:29.120]because of the gap between performance
[01:02:32.230]with the assistive technology,
[01:02:33.063]or where we want the student to perform.
[01:02:35.330]But I2 and I3 are both possible contenders
[01:02:39.690]for different reasons.
[01:02:40.910]And we could choose either one,
[01:02:43.200]depending on a number of factors like,
[01:02:45.670]well, is the performance expectations on this activity
[01:02:51.320]likely to remain constant?
[01:02:54.160]Or are they going to increase over time?
[01:02:56.740]Will I2, which currently is
[01:03:00.540]approximates the goal performance,
[01:03:02.490]but seems to be just underneath that,
[01:03:04.880]will it keep up as the expectations on that task increase?
[01:03:10.500]Or should we consider something like I3?
[01:03:13.360]Different things to think about.
[01:03:17.260]One of things that happens oftentimes
[01:03:19.600]when we start thinking about
[01:03:22.220]putting a piece of assistive technology in place
[01:03:26.640]is that we have this period of time
[01:03:28.800]in which the performance with the assistive technology
[01:03:32.330]might actually stay level with,
[01:03:36.680]or even go below the performance
[01:03:39.450]without the assistive technology.
[01:03:41.650]And this is a period of time in which the individual
[01:03:44.380]is learning how to use the assistive technology
[01:03:47.210]or warming up to the assistive technology.
[01:03:50.170]And if we were to stop the trial
[01:03:52.550]in between the horizontal bars
[01:03:54.910]where the assistive technology appears to be
[01:03:57.580]at, or below the performance level
[01:04:00.240]without the assistive technology.
[01:04:02.450]In this case, we would be ending prematurely
[01:04:08.670]because if you notice what happens beyond that time period
[01:04:13.120]is that the performance without the assistive technology
[01:04:16.170]remains relatively level,
[01:04:17.650]but the performance with the assistive technology
[01:04:20.380]as a student has acclimated,
[01:04:22.670]learns to accept or learns how to operate
[01:04:25.520]that particular assistive technology
[01:04:27.650]that performance starts to increase,
[01:04:31.020]and approximate the goal line.
[01:04:33.410]So, knowing how long to potentially
[01:04:37.630]run an assistive technology evaluation is also important.
[01:04:43.950]Now I've done a lot of talking
[01:04:45.410]and I wanna go ahead and share with you.
[01:04:47.170]I promised that some of the tools and different things
[01:04:50.170]that I've discussed in this presentation would be available.
[01:04:53.790]Those tools are available, and if you go to
[01:04:56.770]B-I-T.L-Y/E-V-A-L-O-F-A-T-N-E-E-D-S_A-S-D-2-0-2-1.
[01:05:10.050]So that's bit.ly/evalofatneeds_asd2021.
[01:05:18.620]This will get you a link to
[01:05:21.030]a document that has all of those resources.
[01:05:24.840]So, I invite you to go ahead and access this.
[01:05:33.480]I've done a lot of talking, I'll be open to your questions.
[01:05:37.640]And there's gonna be some time,
[01:05:39.280]I do wanna go ahead and share this information.
[01:05:44.560]My name again, is Brian Wojcik,
[01:05:46.220]and you can contact the Assistive Technology
[01:05:49.970]Partnerships Education Program
[01:05:52.040]at atp.education@nebraska.gov.
[01:05:56.600]Please do give feedback about this presentation
[01:05:59.090]in the Guidebook app, and on the evaluation survey
[01:06:01.900]that will be sent out after the conference.
[01:06:04.770]But until then, I'd love to hear what your questions are,
[01:06:08.320]and I look forward to engaging with you.
[01:06:10.750]Thank you so much.
[01:06:19.438](mouse clicks)

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Eval AT Needs of Students with ASD

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