ing capacity in AT/AAC use. There are four key factors in prevent- ing AT abandonment and encouraging AT success: • the user • the family • the team: school team, clinical team, and/or personal care team • the community Every member in each of those areas must remember to“PIN.” PIN is our acronym for perception, involvement, and needs. In this article we will refer to “AT” as a general term that en- compasses all assistive technology tools for communication (AAC), mobility devices, low vision, hearing, academic areas (reading, math, written expression), and recreation. By doing this, you will be able to think about your own clients/students/ family members and reflect on the information personally.
they can be connected.
Building Capacity with The AT User: • Involve the AT user in each step of the AT process from ob- taining AT to programming and maintenance • Arrange for the AT user to be exposed to a variety of choic- es in AT, this includes software and hardware options • Always consider the user’s needs and wants. • During trials of equipment, help the user to compare and contrast by making a personalized comparison chart with their goals listed in the chart. • Provide AT education and awareness • Teach the AT user to advocate for themselves; examples in- clude the Communication Bill of Rights and having consis- tent access to their AT at all times across all environments. • Empower the AT user by creating AT passports that explain the AT user’s technology to new people they may interact with. • Expose the AT user to others AT users through camps, sup- port groups, and social media. Some examples of AT users in the media are: º Roll with Cole and Charisma
AT USER
AT User Perception: AT evaluators are the people with the responsibility of con- necting potential AT users with AT. How the AT evaluator per- ceives the AT user affects the outcome of the evaluation, and it can also affect how the user feels about their own potential to use AT. AT can be overlooked because of the evaluator’s per- spective and/or preference. Certain bias, stigmas, and general myths about AT can cause the AT user to be overlooked for cer- tain technologies and “not ready” for next steps due to invented prerequisites for AT use. AT User Involvement: The AT user’s perspective and desires for technology out- comes are often not represented or acknowledged in AT eval- uations. When an AT user is not considered as part of the team when decision making, it can lead to device abandonment. Ev- ery user of AT has the right to self-determination and to be part of the decision-making process. AT User’s Needs: From the moment an AT evaluator works with a student, pa- tient, or client, the AT user's goals or wants should be consid- ered. This is the reason there is an “S” for student, in the SETT Framework (Zabala) and an “H” for human, in the human, activ- ity, assistive technology (HAAT) model. Person first and person centered AT evaluations are key to determining the user’s needs. Considering the question, “who will be the end user of the tech- nology?” can go a long way towards involving the AT user in the process and lead to mapping out their own plan of use. Involv- ing the AT user in instruction, training, and customization after the AT equipment arrives often has missed golden opportunities for us to have the AT user involved in investing in their own AT use. For a person to become a successful and confident user of AT, the three elements that are imperative to have are the “buy in” of understanding WHY they want to use AT, WHAT they want to learn or accomplish and seeing WHO else is using it and how
º Lotsacomptons º Lost Voice Guy
Building Capacity with The AT User when communication is challenging: It's difficult to think about capacity building when there isn't a form of communication that readily allows the person to ex- press their thoughts and feelings about their AT. So, how can there be input from the AT user if they are currently unable to communicate? Ask yourself how does my client/student/family member react to the AT tool? Gestures, facial expressions, and joint attention can be used to determine the user's input and level of Interest. One family shared a story of how a British voice was chosen for their child’s communication device. The mother recalled playing each voice for her son and watching for his reac- tion. He was the most excited for the British voice and therefore she downloaded it. Without words he was able to have input in choosing his voice for his AAC device. Family Perception: Usually a client/student’s caregiver/ parent/guardian/spouse knows very little about AT. A signifi- cant piece of creating a successful AT user is not only educating about the device but educating the family as well. “Family” can be parents, grandparents, siblings, spouses, other guardians, or caregivers. The user and family both need to understand and believe that learning to use AT will improve their quality of life. Depending on age or impairment of the user, a family may underestimate or overestimate their potential for success. Par- ents and or caregivers may feel a child is too young, or an elderly person is too old, or an individual is too impaired to use AT. Or they may simply have the idea that as soon as a tool is used, it
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