Adding Assistive Technology to the Toolkit Christine Tonge [email protected].

Adding Assistive Technology to the Toolkit

Christine [email protected]

Today’s Agenda

• The Assistive Technology Continuum

• High Tech Pencil

• Searching the World Wide Web

What is Assistive Technology?

• Assistive technology is any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of children with disabilities. (Section 300.5)

But what does that really mean?

• The key terms in the definition suggest that an AT tool can be anything.

• You can buy it• You can make it yourself• You can customize some other tool

But doesn’t technology mean computers?

• AT is a continuum of low, mid, and high tech tools and strategies

• Low and mid tech tools look more regular and students are more apt to use them

• Low and mid tech tools are easier to train and are usable in more locations

Low Tech Tools

• Look at low tech options first

• Involve no electricity• Simplest and most

often the least expensive tech tools

Visual Schedule

Magnifying Bar

Onion Mountain Technology

Pencils and grips

Mid Tech Tools

• Small, hand held and portable

• Generally involve battery power

AAC device

Portable keyboard

Talking dictionary/ spell checkerCoin-u-lator

Time Timer

High Tech Tools• Require electricity• Include computers and

computer operated communication devices

Laptop w/ head mouse extreme

Springboard LiteUniversal Reader text reader

Promises and Perils

• Assistive technology is incredibly exciting

• Ideally, the best resources are found in the local school

• Assistive technology is just a tool and not a cure

Searching the World Wide Web

www.livingstonesa.org

High Tech Pencil

• Free plug-in

• Works with Microsoft Word

• Reads text

• Highlights words

• Talking spell checker

Tar Heel Reader

• Free

• Easy to read

• Has a PowerPoint format

• Speech enabled when read on the Internet

• Can be downloaded to a computer without speech support

www.tarheelreader.org

TumbleBooks

• Subscription e-book site• Picture books• Chapter books• Puzzles and games• Southfield Public Library