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By Gayl Bowser and Penny Reed
As schools, early childhood special education programs and early
intervention programs address the issues involved in providing assistive
technology services, two options are available. One option is to
develop a separate, parallel track of assessment and planning for
assistive technology. This involves the development of a specialized
referral and assessment process and the utilization of clinical
settings where the special needs of assistive technology users are
addressed. While there are many advantages to such a setting for
individuals with complicated technology needs, it is not an efficient
way to address the needs of students with mild disabilities. In
addition, such a system does not take into account the physical
and social factors in the user's customary environments.
An alternative to a separate assessment and prescription system
is the development of general program policies and procedures that
include assistive technology. These identify the times when assistive
technology questions should be asked and provide support to existing
educational teams to effectively select assistive technology and
implement assistive technology services. Such a system has the advantage
of including everyone on the IEP/IFSP team in a familiar process
and assures that assistive technology will be considered in all
the aspects of the child's educational program. We call such a system
Education Tech Points (Bowser & Reed, 1995, 1998). Each Education
Tech Point identifies the specific times within the planning and
provision of specially designed instruction that the need for assistive
technology (both devices and services) should be considered. Education
Tech Points offer a way to integrate assistive technology into the
thinking of the IEP/IFSP team and the management system that each
school district uses to ensure provision of appropriate services
to children with disabilities. Key points to assist in making decisions
regarding utilization of assistive technology services and resources
are identified and incorporated into the regular educational planning
system. Figure 1 shows a flow chart of the typical special education
service delivery process and identifies these key points. They are
referral, evaluation, extended assessment, plan development, implementation
and periodic review.
Each Education Tech Point represents a point in the process of
referral, evaluation and development of the Individualized Education
Program (IEP) or Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) when consideration
of technology use might occur. This structure provides a way to
effectively organize and monitor assistive technology services while
enabling programs to tailor activities to match the needs of each
student. Initial Education Tech Point questions guide the IEP/IFSP
team through the necessary steps to determine if a child may need
an assistive technology device or service. During implementation,
the Education Tech Point questions at points five and six can assist
the education staff to monitor the program in order to ensure that
needed changes are addressed in a timely and efficient manner. Here
is a brief overview of the Education Tech Points.
Education Tech Point #1-Initial Referral Questions
When a child has an identified educational difficulty, assistive
technology questions at the referral stage center around the specific
problem that the student is experiencing and whether simple, readily
available assistive technology utilized in the classroom might provide
enough support that referral to special education would not be necessary.
Tools as simple as calculators, talking spell checkers and alternative
writing tools such as portable word processors can make a significant
difference for many students. If no solutions to the referral problem
can be found without evaluation, the child's educational team must
be able to clearly identify the problem and know how to request
further assessment. Unfortunately many educators are not aware of
the assistive technology devices that are available. The implications
for the school district here are that student service teams within
each school building need to be aware of what assistive technology
devices are available today and how they can help students. This
requires district wide awareness level training and the purchase
of some general resource materials.
Education Tech Point #2-Evaluation Questions
Questions for the evaluation team included whether the student can
be evaluated accurately without assistive technology and what types
of assistive technology might enhance the student's performance.
The implications for school districts here are that evaluation center
staff must have the same awareness level training recommended for
student service teams, in addition they need specific training on
the requirements of IDEA and Section 504 for accommodations and
modifications. They also need access to an array of assistive technology
devices to use for evaluation purposes and to colleagues with expertise
about assistive technology for various difficulties including positioning,
hand use, augmentative communication, computer access, and print
access. No one person or discipline will know everything about assistive
technology, therefore access to several knowledgeable people at
the local, regional, or state level is essential. School districts
must look not only within their own district, but to other nearby
resources to create a network of knowledgeable people who can exchange
information and support each other. This requires a commitment to
staff development and networking.
Education Tech Point #3-Extended Assessment Questions
Extended assessment is generally understood to mean a trial period.
The questions to be addressed at the point of extended assessment
of assistive technology needs are related to what specific tasks
the student needs to be able to do and what, if any, assistive technology
could possibly help. This Tech Point is a critical one for school
districts. In order to appropriately consider every child's need
for assistive technology, school district staff must be trained
in the use of a clearly defined decision making process. This process
needs to incorporate a focus on the specific environments in which
the student functions and the tasks in those environments that he
or she needs to accomplish (Zabala, 1994). All decision making teams
in the school district need training in the use of this process.
They also need broad awareness level training regarding appropriate
strategies and modifications to use with assistive technology devices.
Finally, school districts must have access to a variety of assistive
technology devices that can be used for trials to determine if they
will be an effective component of an intervention plan. Every school
district should have an array of devices available to their staff
to address difficulties with handwriting, reading
arithmetic, written expression, daily organization, positioning,
mobility, and self-help and resource materials to help them determine
what devices might be useful. In some cases this access may be through
a regional or state level lending library, but access to devices
for trial periods is absolutely critical.
Education Tech Point #4-Plan Development Questions
After the evaluation and assessment data have been assembled an
appropriate educational program must be developed. Some children
will be found to need specially designed instruction and be eligible
for special education services. Other students who have disabilities
may not need specially designed instruction, but may need accommodations
under Section 504. In either case the school district must determine
if assistive technology is needed for the child to receive a free
appropriate public education (FAPE). Section 504 which covers children
with disabilities who are eligible under IDEA as well as those who
are not, requires us to ask whether assistive technology is needed
to insure equal access to an education. Implications for the school
district include insuring that staff members are trained in writing
assistive technology into the IEP and that they include appropriate
periodic review to identify and deal with unanticipated problems.
An effective extended assessment system makes it easier to write
the IEP because a trial has already occurred. However, staff members
often have questions about how to best include assistive technology
in the IEP or Section 504 document. Resource materials and periodic
training are needed to answer staff questions as they arise.
Education Tech Point #5-Implementation Questions
Implementation questions focus on responsibility for day to day
operation. This area includes questions such as, who will make sure
the equipment is up and running, what will happen when it needs
repair, and what the district will provide in the interim if they
are going to seek outside funding to purchase a device. It is important
to identify who is responsible for monitoring each aspect of the
implementation of assistive technology plan (Bowser, 1991). A major
implication for school districts is the need for time to be set
aside for the staff to work together. When staff is encouraged to
work together as a team and time is set aside for team members to
communicate, the likelihood that assistive technology will be an
effective tool is increased (Todis & Walker, 1993). In addition
local building staff will need to be aware of and connected with
other resources at the local, regional, and state level in order
to develop their own professional expertise and the capacity of
the organization to provide effective assistive technology services
(Garmston & Wellman, 1995).
Education Tech Point #6-Periodic Review Questions
IDEA requires the periodic review of each student's IEP. This review
should include evaluation of the effectiveness of the assistive
technology solutions in the child's plan. Questions at the point
of periodic review center around whether the assistive technology
devices and services that were planned and provided have actually
had the intended effect. Did they work? Does anything need to be
changed? One implication for school districts is the need for a
system to insure that review takes place and that it occurs in a
timely fashion. The required yearly IEP review may not be sufficient
if the assistive technology stopped working one month after the
last IEP meeting and nothing was done to fix it. In addition, after
a period of use, a new device may become available or a student
may master new skills and need to move on. Periodic reviews should
be planned into the schedule in anticipation of predictable changes,
as well as to prepare for the typical transitions that occur throughout
a child's school program. As a child moves to a new setting, the
technology he or she uses may not be compatible or staff may not
be trained to operate it. Problems and delays can be prevented with
planned periodic review.
More information about the Education Tech Points Framework can
be found in a manual distributed by the Coalition for Assistive
Technology in Oregon (CATO). The manual is entitled Education Tech
Points: A Framework for Assistive Technology Planning. The manual
contains 450 pages of text, resources, and tools collected from
numerous school districts. All of these are excellent tools to help
you develop an assistive technology process for an individual child
or for an entire school district. The cost is $50 including shipping
and handling. The manual can be purchased from CATO, P.O. Box 431,
Winchester, OR 97495. Checks or purchase orders are accepted. CATO
cannot take credit cards.
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