In 2007, the Park Hill School District began conducting formal assistive technology (AT) evaluations as part of their consider- ations for individual student use. This began as a request from a parent who was looking for an evaluation for their child, but was turned away by local agencies due to significant wait lists. Sev- eral Park Hill therapists were involved in this evaluation process and approached the district requesting that a formal assistive technology team be created. A team was then created consist- ing of an occupational therapist (OT), a speech-language pathol- ogist (SLP), and a special education teacher as an additional duty to their normal caseload requirements. Over the years, our prac- tices in AT have evolved and so has our team. We now employ one part-time Assistive Technology Facilitators for Early Child- hood and one for K thru 12. We have moved away from conducting such formal, in district evaluations and have begun utilizing a wider variety of device trials and considerations. These trials could include, low-tech, mid-tech and high-tech systems. As soon as a student has been identified as having a need, these trials begin. The AT Facilita- tor joins the student’s school team to organize and offer sug- gestions about which types of systems to trial within the class- rooms and therapy rooms by teachers and therapists. AT can be
considered for any student who is struggling to make progress towards IEP goals and objectives and/or is struggling to access the general education curriculum and/or needs a different for- mat to demonstrate knowledge. AT is not limited to students who are non-verbal or minimally verbal, but can be considered for students who have poor speech intelligibility, learning dis- abilities, selective mutism and fluency disorders. AT trials could not take place without an arsenal of different levels of systems and supports. Over the years, we have increased our collection of devices and now have access to a plethora of iPads and low to mid-tech options. (See image 1) With the help of a variety of vendors and the missouri AT loan program (https://at.mo.gov/), we have had more access to products allowing the teams to find the best fit for each student, the environment, for the education tasks required. Starting as young as three years old, we can be- gin sending district-owned devices home with families for use at home and in the community. Prior to this happening, teachers and therapists had been monitoring student progress with the devices in the classrooms. When trials at home are being con- sidered, students are typically showing signs of independence with the device such as carrying it with them at all times and having the operational knowledge to be able to independently navigate the system. In order for the devices to go home, team members meet with the families to provide training and sugges- tions on how to implement in the home. This is offered individ- ually for parents on a 1:1 basis and in a larger format for multiple families together. (See image 2)
Image 2: Parent training occurs in large groups several times a year.
When the district began to increase the use of AT, in particu- lar AAC, one of the largest struggles was in the area of building sustainable capacity for such a program. Building such a capac- ity started with defining the expectations for staff and students.
Image 1: Switches on loan through Missouri AT program utilized in play while teaching commenting in AAC.
11
August / September, 2019 | www.closingthegap.com/membership Closing The Gap © 2019 Closing The Gap, Inc. All rights reserved.
BACK TO CONTENTS
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator