TARGET:TEXASGUIDEFOREFFECTIVETEACHING ASSISTIVETECHNOLOGY

ASSISTIVETECHNOLOGY
CHARACTERISTICSOVERVIEWCHART
VerbalSkills Nonverbal Mixed Verbal GradeLevels PK Elementary Middle/High CognitiveLevel Classic High Functioning AreasAddressed (Pre)Academic/Cognitive/Academic AdaptiveBehavior/ DailyLiving Behavior Communication/Speech Social/Emotional

BRIEFINTRODUCTION
Moststudentswithautismrequirestrategies,equipment,and/orsupporttoreachtheir potential(Schlosser,Blischak,Belfiore,Bartley,&Barnett,1998).Researchhasshownthatone suchmeansofsupport,assistivetechnology(AT),iseffectiveforstudentswiththis exceptionality.

DESCRIPTION
AccordingtotheIDEAAmendment(2004),ATisabroadtermusedtodescribeanyitem,pieceof equipment,orproductsystemthatisusedtoincrease,maintainorimprovethefunctional capabilityofachildwithadisability.Furthermore,IDEArecognizedthatATisacritical instrumentinmeetingtheeducationalandoveralldevelopmentalneedsofstudentswith disabilitiesinschool(Smith,MurphyHerd,Alvarado,&Glennon,2005). ATdevicescanbeelectronicornonelectronic.ThreemaintypesofAT,rangingfromlowto hightechnology,canbeusedwithchildrenwithautism.Eachtypeisdescribedbelow. Lowtechnology.Lowtechnologystrategiesdonotinvolveanytypeofelectronicor batteryoperateddevice.Thesestrategiestypicallyincludelowcostandeasytouse equipment,suchasdryeraseboards,clipboards,laminatedphotographs,photoalbums, threeringbinders,PECS,etc.Thestrategiescanbeusedtoenhanceexpressiveand receptivecommunicationskillswithautism.

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TARGET:TEXASGUIDEFOREFFECTIVETEACHING ASSISTIVETECHNOLOGY

Midtechnology.Thesestrategiesusebatteryoperateddevicesorbasic/simple electronicdevices.Examplesofmidtechnologyaretaperecorders,voiceoutput devices,timers,andcalculators.Theyareprimarilyusedasameanstosupport expressivecommunicationandenhanceclassroomparticipation,focusattentionon variousskillareas,andassistinthedevelopmentofsocialskills. Hightechnology.Hightechnologystrategiesarecomplextechnologicalsupport strategies.Theytypicallyinvolvehighcostequipment,suchascomputersandadaptive hardware(touchwindow,software,andtrackballs),accessoryequipment(digital camerasandscanners),videocameras,andcomplexvoiceoutputdevices. Carefultrainingofeducatorsandstudentsontheuseofdevicesisessentialtoensurethatthey are used correctly. AT should be incorporated into every aspect of daily living in order to improvethefunctionalcapabilitiesofchildrenwithautism.Thus,itisimportanttoconsiderthat allATdevices,fromlowtechnologytohightechnology,alwaysbeindividualizedtomeetthe uniqueneedsofanychildwithautism.Mostimportant,theoptimalgoalofATstrategiesisto increase the childs independent functioning skills by decreasing the amount of direct support neededfromanotherperson.

STEPS
TheStudent,Environment,Tasks,andTools(SETT)frameworkisincreasinglyusedby educationalpersonneltoidentifyandselectATdevicesthatmeetthespecificneedsofastudent (Smithetal.,2005).ThisframeworkhelpsintheATconsiderationprocessbyinvolvingteam membersinbrainstormingandcollaboration.Teammembersmeettoevaluate(a)thestudents needs,(b)thestrengthofthecurrentlearningenvironmentandtheavailabilityofthematerials, (c)thestudentsIEPgoals,and(d)ATdevicesthatareappropriateforthechild.

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TARGET:TEXASGUIDEFOREFFECTIVETEACHING ASSISTIVETECHNOLOGY

TheSETTFramework forConsideringAssistiveTechnology SETT Student Questions Whatdoesthestudentneedtodo? Whatarethestudentsspecialneeds? Whatarethestudentscurrentabilities? Responses

Whatmaterialsandequipmentarecurrentlyavailableinthe environment? Whatisthephysicalarrangement?Aretherespecialconcerns? Whatistheinstructionalarrangement?Aretherelikelytobe changes? Whatsupportsareavailabletothestudent? Whatresourcesareavailabletothepeoplesupportingthestudent? Whatnaturallyoccurringactivitiestakeplaceintheenvironment? Whatiseveryoneelsedoing? Whatactivitiessupportthestudentscurriculargoals? Whatarethecriticalelementsoftheactivities? Howmighttheactivitiesbemodifiedtoaccommodatethestudents specialneeds? Howmighttechnologysupportthestudentsactiveparticipationin thoseactivities? Whatnotech,lowtech,midtech,andhightechoptionsshouldbe consideredwhendevelopingasystemforthestudentwiththese needsandabilitiesdoingthesetasksintheseenvironments? Whatstrategiesmightbeusedtoinviteincreasedstudent performance? Howmightthesetoolsbetriedoutwiththestudentinthe customaryenvironmentsinwhichtheywillbeused?

AdaptedMyles,B.S.(Ed.),(2005).ChildrenandyouthwithAspergerSyndrome:Strategiesfor successininclusivesettings.ThousandOaks,CA:Corwin.

BRIEFEXAMPLE
Simonisa15yearoldboywithhighfunctioningautism.Simonhasdifficultyprocessing informationpresentedorally,buthasnodifficultycomprehendinginformationpresented visually.Inclass,Simonalwayshasahardtimefollowingwhattheteachersayswhileheistaking notes.Afterevaluation,SimonsIEPteamdecidesthatanoverheadprojectorandapersonal
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Tools

Tasks

Environment

TARGET:TEXASGUIDEFOREFFECTIVETEACHING ASSISTIVETECHNOLOGY

computerareappropriateATdevicestoenhanceSimonslearninginclasses.Ineachclass,the teacherwillusetheoverheadprojectortoprovideoutlinesandsummariesofthetopicthatare coveredintheclass.Inaddition,acomputerisprovidedsoSimoncantakenoteselectronically insteadofusingpaperandpencil.

TIPSFORMODIFICATIONS
Importanttipsinselectingandutilizingassistivetechnologywithchildrenwithautisminclude thefollowing: Alwaystrylessintrusivelowtechnologystrategiesfirst. Besurethatthetechnologymatchestheneedsandabilitiesoftheindividualchild. Analyzetheenvironmenttoseewhichtypeofdevicewillbestsupportthechilds participation.

SUMMARY
UtilizingATdevicescanprovideaccesstomultipleenvironments,includingthegeneral educationclassroomanditsrelatedacademic,social,andbehavioralrequirements.

RESEARCHTABLE
Number Ages Sample Area(s)Addressed of (year) Size Studies 10 1017 85 Communication,matching,spelling,problemsolving, alertness,motivationandbehavior,taskcompletion, selfhelp,socialinteraction,emotionrecognition,joint attention Outcome

STUDIESCITEDINRESEARCHTABLE
1. LaCava,P.G.,Golan,O.,BaronCohen,S.,&Myles,B.S.(2007).Usingassistivetechnologytoteach emotionrecognitiontostudentswithAspergerSyndrome:Apilotstudy.RemedialandSpecial Education,28,174181. Thispilotstudyexploredtheuseofassistivetechnologytoteachemotionrecognition(ER)toeight childrenwithautism.Theresultsindicatedthatafterintervention,participantsimprovedonface andvoiceERforbasicandcomplexemotionsthatwereincludedinthesoftware,aswellasfor complexvoiceERforemotionsnotincludedintheMindReadingsoftware.
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TARGET:TEXASGUIDEFOREFFECTIVETEACHING ASSISTIVETECHNOLOGY

2.

Myles,B.S.,Ferguson,H.,&Hagiwara,T.(2007).Usingapersonaldigitalassistanttoimprovethe recordingofhomeworkassignmentsbyanadolescentwithAspergerSyndrome.FocusonAutism andOtherDevelopmentalDisabilities,22,9699. A17yearoldboywithASwastrainedtouseapersonaldigitalassistant(PDA)torecordhomework assignmentsinhishistory,English,andscienceclasses.Resultsrevealedamarkedincreasein recordingofhomeworkassignmentsaftertreatment. Robins,B.,Dautenhahn,K.,&Dubowski,J.(2006).Doesappearancematterintheinteractionof childrenwithautismwithahumanoidrobot?InteractionStudies:SocialBehaviourand CommunicationinBiologicalandArtificialSystem,7,479512. Fourchildrenwithautismparticipatedinthisstudy,whichinvestigatedtheimpactofthe appearanceofarobotontheirinteractions.Therobotsservedasinteractivetoystoencourageand mediateinteractions.Theresultsindicatedthechildrenpreferredintheirinitialresponsetointeract withaplain,featurelessrobotoverahumanlikerobot.Thus,thechildrensresponsetowardsthe plain/roboticrobotwasnotablymoresocialandproactivethantoalifesizetheatricalrobot. Robins,B.,Dickerson,P.,Stribling,P.,&Dautenhahn,K.(2004).Robotmediatedjointattentionin childrenwithautism:Acasestudyinrobothumaninteraction.InteractionStudies:SocialBehaviour andCommunicationinBiologicalandArtificialSystems,5,161198. Threechildrenwithautismparticipatedinthisstudy,whichexaminedtheeffectivenessofusinga robottoincreasejointattentionskills.Thedatashowedthattherobotprovidedasalientobject,or mediator,forjointattention. Taylor,B.A.,Hughes,C.E.,&Richard,E.(2004)Teachingteenagerswithautismtoseekassistance whenlost.JournalofAppliedBehaviorAnalysis,37,7982. Threeteenagestudentswithautismweretaughttorespondtotheuseofavibratingpagertorequest assistance.Studentsgeneralizedtheirrequestsacrosssettingsandindividuals. Dyches,T.T.(1998).Effectsofswitchtrainingonthecommunicationofchildrenwithautismand severedisabilities.FocusonAutismandOtherDevelopmentalDisabilities,13,151162. Thestudyexaminedtheeffectsofswitchtrainingonthecommunicationoffourstudents.Results indicatedthatswitchtrainingimplementedusingasystemofminimalpromptsincreasedthe numberofcommunicativeinteractionsofallparticipants. Schlosser,R.W.,Blischak,D.M.,Belfiore,P.J.,Bartley,C.,&Barnett,N.(1998).Effectsofsynthetic speechoutputandorthographicfeedbackonspellinginastudentwithautism:Apreliminarystudy. JournalofAutismandDevelopmentalDisorders,28,309319. Thisstudyevaluatedtheeffectsofspeechoutputandorthographicfeedbackonthespelling performanceofa10yearoldboywithautism.Specifically,hewastaughttospellwordsunder threefeedbackconditionsusingavoiceoutputcommunicationaid.Findingssuggestedthatspeech outputcontributedtoefficientspelling. Kennedy,C.H.,&Haring,T.G.(1993).Teachingchoicemakingduringsocialinteractionstostudents withprofoundmultipledisabilities.JournalofAppliedBehaviorAnalysis,26,6376. Fourstudentsweretaughttouseamicroswitchcommunicationsystemtorequestachangein recreationalstimuliduringsocialinteractionswithpeers.Threeofthemlearnedtousethemicro switchandincreasedtheirlevelofalertness.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

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TARGET:TEXASGUIDEFOREFFECTIVETEACHING ASSISTIVETECHNOLOGY

9.

Battenberg,J.K.,&Merbler,J.B.(1989).Touchscreenversuskeyboard:Acomparisonoftask performanceofyoungchildren.JournalofSpecialEducationTechnology,10,2428. Thisstudycomparedtheeffectivenessofatouchsensitivescreenandkeyboardinimprovingthe taskperformanceof40childrenwithdevelopmentaldelaysand40typicalchildren.Results indicatedthattheuseoftouchsensitivescreensignificantlyimprovedthetaskperformanceofall children,withandwithoutdevelopmentaldelays.Furthermore,thechildrenwithautismperformed bestusingatouchscreenratherthanakeyboard.

10. Colby,K.M.(1973).Therationaleforcomputerbasedtreatmentoflanguagedifficultiesin nonspeakingautisticchildren.JournalofAutismandChildhoodSchizophrenia,3,254260. Seventeenparticipantswithautismwereinvolvedincomputerbasedinterventionsthataddressed languageskills.Positiveoutcomesandimprovementinspontaneousspeechusewerefoundin13 participants.

REFERENCES
Battenberg,J.K.,&Merbler,J.B.(1989).Touchscreenversuskeyboard:Acomparisonoftask performanceofyoungchildren.JournalofSpecialEducationTechnology,10,2428. BernardOpitz,V.,Sriram,N.,&NakhodaSapuan,S.(2001).Enhancingsocialproblemsolvinginchildren withautismandnormalchildrenthroughcomputerassistedinstruction.JournalofAutismand DevelopmentalDisorders,31,337384. Chen,S.H.,&BernardOptiz,V.(1993).Comparisonofpersonalandcomputerassistedinstructionfor childrenwithautism.MentalRetardation,31,368376. Colby,K.M.(1973).Therationaleforcomputerbasedtreatmentoflanguagedifficultiesinnonspeaking autisticchildren.JournalofAutismandChildhoodSchizophrenia,3,254260. Dyches,T.T.(1998).Effectsofswitchtrainingonthecommunicationofchildrenwithautismandsevere disabilities.FocusonAutismandOtherDevelopmentalDisabilities,13,151162. IndividualswithDisabilitiesEducationActAmendments,300.5(2004). Hagiwara,T.,&Myles,B.S.(1999).Amultimediasocialstoryintervention:Teachingskillstochildrenwith autism.FocusonAutismandOtherDevelopmentalDisabilities,14,8295 Kennedy,C.H.,&Haring,T.G.(1993).Teachingchoicemakingduringsocialinteractionstostudentswith profoundmultipledisabilities.JournalofAppliedBehaviorAnalysis,26,6376. LaCava,P.G.,Golan,O.,BaronCohen,S.,&Myles,B.S.(2007).Usingassistivetechnologytoteach emotionrecognitiontostudentswithAspergerSyndrome:Apilotstudy.RemedialandSpecial Education,28,174181. Moor,D.,Cheng,Y.,McGrath,P.,&Powell,N.J.(2005).Collaborativevirtualenvironmenttechnologyfor peoplewithautism.FocusonAutismandOtherDevelopmentalDisabilities,20,231243.

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Myles,B.S.,Ferguson,H.,&Hagiwara,T.(2007).Usingapersonaldigitalassistanttoimprovethe recordingofhomeworkassignmentsbyanadolescentwithAspergerSyndrome.FocusonAutism andOtherDevelopmentalDisabilities,22,9699. Robins,B.,Dautenhahn,K.,&Dubowski,J.(2006).Doesappearancematterintheinteractionofchildren withautismwithahumanoidrobot?InteractionStudies:SocialBehaviourandCommunicationin BiologicalandArtificialSystem,7,479512. Robins,B.,Dickerson,P.,Stribling,P.,&Dautenhahn,K.(2004).Robotmediatedjointattentionin childrenwithautism:Acasestudyinrobothumaninteraction.InteractionStudies:Social BehaviourandCommunicationinBiologicalandArtificialSystems,5,161198. Schlosser,R.,Blischak,D.,Belfiore,P.,Bartley,C.,&Barnett,N.(1998).Theeffectivenessofsynthetic speechoutputandorthographicfeedbackinastudentwithautism:Apreliminarystudy.Journal ofAutismandDevelopmentalDisorders,28,309319. Smith,S.J.,MurphyHerd,M.,Alvarado,D.,&Glennon,N.(2005).Assistivetechnologysupports.InB.S. Myles(Ed.),ChildrenandyouthwithAspergerSyndrome:Strategiesforsuccessininclusive settings(pp.107126).ThousandOaks,CA:Corwin. Taylor,B.A.,Hughes,C.E.,&Richard,E.(2004)Teachingteenagerswithautismtoseekassistancewhen lost.JournalofAppliedBehaviorAnalysis,37,7982. Tjus,T.,Heinmann,M.,&Nelson,K.E.(2001).Interactionpatternsbetweenchildrenandtheirteachers whenusingaspecificmultimediaandcommunicationstrategy:Observationsfromchildrenwith autism and mixed intellectual disabilities. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice,5,175187

RESOURCESANDMATERIALS
AbleData:http://www.abledata.com/ ThiswebsiteprovidesinformationaboutATproductsandofferstohelplocatecompaniesforspecific productneeds.Nodirectselling. AutismCoach:http://www.autismcoach.com/Assistsive%20Technology%20Overview.htm ThislinkstheusertoabasicexplanationofATdevicesforchildrenwhoareunabletousecomputers intraditionalways. AssistiveTechnologyforChildrenwithAutism.CooperativeEducationalServiceAgencyNo.7, GreenBay,WI,SpecialEducationServices.AutismInterventionsandStrategiesfor Success.:http://www.specialed.us/autism/assist/asst10.htm Thisarticleisfullofideasforteachersandparentsandincludesexamplesoflow,mid,andhightech assistivetechnology. AssistiveTechnologyFundamentals.NationalAssistiveTechnologyResearch Institute:http://natri.uky.edu/resources/fundamentals/funmenu.html Thisisaresourcethatteachers,families,andadministratorscanusetodevelopaplanforusing assistivetechnology.
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TARGET:TEXASGUIDEFOREFFECTIVETEACHING ASSISTIVETECHNOLOGY

ClosingtheGap:AssistiveTechnologyResourcesforChildrenandAdultswithSpecial Needs:http://www.closingthegap.com/index.lasso ThissiteoffersinformationaboutATresources,aconferencedevotedtoAT,andATrelated publications. WhatIsAssistiveTechnology?NationalCenteronAccessibleInformationTechnologyinEducation. UniversityofWashington:www.washington.edu/accessit/articles?109 Thisarticleprovidesaclear,printabledefinitionofATandalinktotheAccessBoardsstandardsfor useofassistivetechnology.

GENERALRESOURCES
AutismInternetModules(AIM)www.autisminternetmodules.org TheAutismInternetModulesweredevelopedwithoneaiminmind:tomake comprehensive,uptodate,andusableinformationonautismaccessibleandapplicableto educators,otherprofessionals,andfamilieswhosupportindividualswithautismspectrum disorders(ASD).WrittenbyexpertsfromacrosstheU.S.,allonlinemodulesarefree,andare designedtopromoteunderstandingof,respectfor,andequalityofpersonswithASD. Currentmodulesare: o AssessmentforIdentification o HomeBase o PeerMediatedInstructionandIntervention(PMII) o PictureExchangeCommunicationSystem(PECS) o PivotalResponseTraining(PRT) o PreparingIndividualsforEmployment o Reinforcement o RestrictedPatternsofBehavior,Interests,andActivities o SelfManagement o SocialSupportsforTransitionAgedIndividuals o StructuredTeaching o StructuredWorkSystemsandActivityOrganization o SupportingSuccessfulCompletionofHomework o TheIncredible5PointScale o TimeDelay o TransitioningBetweenActivities o VisualSupports InteractiveCollaborativeAutismNetwork(iCAN)http://www.autismnetwork.org iCANoffersfreeonlineinstructionalmodulesonautismspectrumdisorder(ASD).Modules havebeendevelopedintheseareas: o Characteristics o Assessment o AcademicInterventions o BehavioralInterventions o CommunicationInterventions
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o EnvironmentalInterventions o SocialInterventions

IndianaResourceCenterforAutism(IRCA)http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/irca/fmain1.html TheIndianaResourceCenterforAutismstaffseffortsarefocusedonprovidingcommunities, organizations,agencies,andfamilieswiththeknowledgeandskillstosupportchildrenandadultsin typicalearlyintervention,school,community,work,andhomesettings. o IRCAArticleshttp://www.iidc.indiana.edu/irca/ftrainpapers.html o IRCAModules http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/irca/fmodules.html TexasStatewideLeadershipforAutismwww.txautism.net TheTexasStatewideLeadershipforAutisminconjunctionwiththenetworkofTexas EducationServicecenterwithagrantfromtheTexasEducationAgencyhasdevelopeda seriesoffreeonlinecoursesinautism.Pleasecheckthetraining page,www.txautism.net/training.html,forupdatelistsofcourses,coursenumbersand registrationinformation.Currentcoursesincludethefollowing: o Autism101:TopTenPiecestothePuzzle o Autismo101:Las10piezasprincipalesdelrompecabezas o AspergerSyndrome101Online o AspergerSyndrome101Online o NavigatingtheSocialMaze:Supports&InterventionsforIndividualswithAutism SpectrumDisorders o Communication:ThePowerofCommunicationforIndividualswithAutism SpectrumDisorders o Communication:ThePowerofCommunicationforIndividualswithAutism SpectrumDisorders

TexasStatewideLeadershipforAutismMarch2009