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Special Section: Assistive Technology RoundupFebruary 1, 2012 00:00

By Ellen Ullman

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Assistive technology (AT) can work magic.

A student at Loudon County Public Schools (LCPS) in Virginiacommunicated mostly by pointing until the AT team handed him aTechSpeak 32 (www.enablemart.com/Catalog/AMDI-Inc/Tech- Speak). Nowhe’s able to comment on the environment, ask for what he needs, andmake choices using multi-phrase sentences. Teachers of students withvisual impairments use AT products to scan documents and turn them intoBraille or into digital formats that get read out loud. Other LCPS studentsuse text-to-speech programs to develop their literacy skills.

“We’re trying to model best practices in Universal Design for Learning formuch of our operations,” says Mark E. Nichols, special education supervisorat LCPS. “We look at the tools that are already available and start with theleast restrictive items. We work with teachers and provide training so

everyone knows what to do.”

The AT team includes eight full-time trainers, so whenever a student has difficulty, a team member can seek out the righttechnology.

“We started by working with students who had IEPs—that’s our primary mission— but as we’ve done this for 10 yearswe’ve learned that many of our recommendations are good for all students,” says Christopher Bugaj, one of the ATtrainers. Text-to-speech tools, for instance, can help any student edit his or her writing.

Nichols admits that professional development is one of the team’s biggest challenges. That’s why they developed a robustwebsite with video tutorials, guides, and resources. The team holds workshops and creates podcasts and DVDs forteachers to watch.

For schools without an AT team, Nichols suggests developing a strong relationship with the instructional tech staff. “A lotof instructional decisions impact all children—including those with disabilities,” he says. “Try to provide input before thosedecisions are made.”

LCPS

Loudon County Public Schools’ assistive technology: lcps.org/at

A.T.Tips

The Compendium Blog of the A.T.TIPScAST (AssistiveTechnology: Tools in Public Schools): attipscast.com

ISTE

The Practical (and Fun) Guide to Assistive Technology inPublic Schools: iste.org/chewat

iPads & Autism

Everywhere you turn, there’s an article about how iPads are helping children with autism.Tech & Learning spoke with Katharina Boser, president of Individual Differences inLearning of Howard County, Maryland, and founder of Boser Educational Technologies;and Dan Herlihy, president of Connective Technology Solutions, for tips on using iPads inthe classroom. The pair is co-authoring a book called 21st Century Tools for Students withAutism & Related Disorders (Brooks Publishing).

• Start by knowing what you are trying to teach, and then figure out the right tool, says Boser. “Multiple inputs— sound,pictures—help students with autism learn. Interactive whiteboards and iPads let teachers try different ways to get theinformation out.”

• The iPad’s sensory component is crucial. It’s the direct touch of finger to device—rather than using a mouse orstylus—that children with autism appreciate. “Any kind of removal or barrier can cause confusion,” says Boser.

• Both experts say that the game-like nature of the iPad creates an environment that is free of fear. “Even if you ‘die’ in agame, you learn why it happened and that removes the anxiety. The games help these children learn about feelings and

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emotions,” says Boser.

• To find the right apps for your students, Herlihy suggests downloading Autism Apps (itunes.apple.com/us/app/ autism-apps/id441600681?mt=8, free on iTunes), a comprehensive list of apps already being used by people with autism. It isdivided by category and includes descriptions, reviews, and pricing information.

Autism Apps

bit.ly/appsforautism

Autism Technology

bit.ly/autismtech

Individual Differences in Learning Association, Inc.

gifteddifferentlearners.org

Visualize Your Lessons

Teresa A. Cherry-Cruz, director of speechlanguage and hearing services forBridgeport Public Schools (CT), knew vizZlewould be a great product for her schoolswhen she saw it at a conference. Producedby Monarch Teaching Technologies, vizZleis a Web-based authoring tool that lets

teachers create interactive, visually-supported curriculum customized to theneeds of children with autism and other learning challenges.

She applied for a grant and received an honorable mention, along with twoproduct licenses for the first half of 2011. The teachers loved the programand were devastated when the licenses ran out. They told Cherry-Cruz that the students with autism responded to theprogram’s visual nature and were able to retain more information. The teachers especially liked the plethora of pre-madelessons to choose from.

This year, Cherry-Cruz is trying to buy licenses, including English languagelearners in the mix to stretch her limited funding. She plans to choose fiveteachers to use the program intensely and will offer professionaldevelopment webinars. “Implementation is where people struggle withassistive tech,” says Cherry-Cruz. “I don’t want to just toss it out there.Our teachers need consistent development.”

Web 2.0 Tools That Work

Mo Buti, an administrator with the Office ofSpecial Education and Supports Placement,Reintegration, and Special Projects forautism and intellectual disabilities at ChicagoPublic Schools, is part of a 16-person AT team. She spends most of her time helpingteachers find devices that help students communicate and is a big fan of the Web’s freetext-to-speech tools.

Here are two of her favorites:• Custom Open Source Assistive Technology Software: fullmeasure.co.uk/powertalk• NaturalSoft NaturalReader 10.0: www.naturalreaders.com

To help students learn to read, Buti loves these three sites:• Storyline Online: www.storylineonline.net• Starfall.com: www.starfall.com• Tar Heel Reader: tarheelreader.org

Find more of Buti’s favorites at mobuti.wikispaces.com.

Technology for students with autism approved by Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Ohio

Challenge: The number of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has grown to 1in 110, as estimated by the CDC. Public school systems already hit hard by the economyare looking for cost-effective ways to maintain these students in the least-restrictiveenvironments (as required by IDEA law) and avoid costly out-ofdistrict placements.

Solution: The Iowa Education Consortium, Pennsylvania IU 13 Statewide Software Contract, and the Ohio Center forAutism and Low Incidence have all selected vizZle, a visual learning software for autism and special needs from MonarchTeaching Technologies. As a result, schools throughout these states can buy the product at a discounted rate.

Hopkins (KY) County Schools purchases classroom sets of assistive technology

Challenge: Hopkins County administrators wanted to helpincrease independence and confidence in content-area classesfor their students with special needs.

Solution: The district bought 30 classroom sets of WizcomTechnologies, Ltd.’s Reading Pen 2 for its special-ed students in

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grades 4 through 12. By scanning text with the pens, studentscan see and hear words spoken aloud in English and can,through text-to-speech technology, also receive definitions,synonyms, spelling and pronunciation. “Students who use theReading Pens become less dependent on their peers and adultswhen reading content material, improving schools’ educationeffectiveness and experience,” says Jennifer Williams Luttrell,Director of Special Education and Early Childhood for HopkinsCounty Schools.

The School District of Philadelphia chooses a special education PD provider

Challenge: Philadelphia’s Special Education Department wanted to empower its teachers toimprove academic performance and learn how to personalize the learning experience.

Solution: The Department selected Sublime Learning’seTeachables for Visual Learning and their Inquiry-BasedLearning for Interactive Whiteboards libraries to deliverhigh-quality, just-in-time online professional developmentvideos that focus on integrating the software and hardwareavailable in the district. “We see the great benefit of thecost-effective, easy, and engaging eTeachable libraries as ourteachers work to differentiate instruction for our students,”says Russell Washington, Special Education TrainingCoordinator.

Live online speech therapy for schools across the country

Challenge: With budget pressures and chronic shortages of speech language pathologists, educational organizations areseeking alternative options.

Solution: PresenceLearning offers online therapy services to traditional school districts, charter schools, and virtualacademies. “The response [to PresenceLearning’s services] from our special ed teachers has been very positive,” saysAngie Guterres, Provider Coordinator for Special Services at California Virutal Academies. “Parents and students love thetherapists and the highly visual and interactive computerbased platform.”

A San Antonio district is providing PD for UDL and RTI programs

Challenge: North East Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas, wanted to givegeneral education teachers access to technology training to support all learners.

Solution: More than 4,000 faculty and staff will receive training from Atomic Learning tosupport Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and students in Response to Intervention

(RTI) programs. When a general education student is having difficulties or needs special support, teachers will now beable to address them.

Occupational Therapy Apps

There are now a large number of iPad apps to assist students with several skill areas: fine motor, visual motor, tracking,motor planning, figure ground, bilateral coordination, visual sequential memory, coordination speed, range of motion ofwrists and forearms, and visual attention. Here are some worth noting:

ABC Cursive Writing: $.99 - Cursive letters written in dots for tracing. Works on fine motor skills, pencil grasp, andcorrect letter formation.

Alphabytes: $1.99 - Four games built into one: tracing the alphabet, writing, spelling, and memorization. Improves finemotor, motor planning.

Dexteria: $4.99 - Set of therapeutic hand exercises (not games) that improve fine motor skills and handwriting readinessin children.

iWriteWords: $2.99 - Tracing letters and words to help with correct letter formation. Increase visual and fine motor,letter formation, sequencing, and word/letter recognition.

Magic Shoes: $1.99 - Tying shoelaces can be a very difficult task for children and young adults who have fine motorweakness. This app offers step-by-step instructions and a video collection.

123 Tracer and More Lite: Free - Number recognition and formation, visual and fine motor skills.

Pirate Treasure Hunt: Free - Eight challenges are presented with reading and math skills. Increase visual and finemotor, direction following, sequencing, and visual memory.

Sammy-Squirrel Battles the Alphabet Robots: $.99 - Match upper and lower case letters. Works on visual motor andmemory, matching, sequencing, fine motor, and visual sequential.

Sky Burger: Free - A game that children will love without realizing they are working on visual motor, fine motorcoordination of speed, range of motion of wrist, forearms, and more.

SuperSearch 60: $.99 - For students 8 years and up. Not only are they playing a game, but also working on their visualmotor, fine motor, visual memory, figure ground, scanning and finger isolation.

—Vicki Windman

iPad Apps for Students with Autism

ABC Data: $4.99 - Created to assist professionals and students in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), ABC Data is anunobtrusive data collection tool for counting behaviors and recording session duration.

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EpicWin: $2.99 - It’s a streamlined to-do list, to quickly note down all your everyday tasks, but with a roleplaying spin. Sorather than just ticking off your chores and reminders, completing each one earns you XP to improve and develop yourcharacter.

Everyday Skills: $39.99 - provides self-directed learning sessions for 40 important skills necessary for livingindependently and accessing the community, Features content developed by the Attainment Company.

IDIOM Dictionary: $1.99 - Idioms can be particularly difficult for children on the Spectrum. This online idiom dictionarycan help.

iPrompts XL: $49.99 - allows you to create picture schedules, a countdown timer, choice prompts. It comes with an imagelibrary that includes hundreds of useful illustrations and digital pictures across many categories.

iRewardChart: $3.99 - When stars have been earned, your child can pick from the default list of suggested rewards, oryou can setup your own custom rewards especially tailored to motivate your children on the ASD spectrum.

Practicing Pragmatics Fun Deck: $5.99 - Student looks at an illustration and either reads the prompt or touches thescreen to listen to the prompt. After the student gives a verbal response for each answer, tap the green (correct) or red(incorrect) button to score the student.

Social Skills Sampler HD: Free - The Conover Company has a wide variety of Life Skill videos. This particular one isdesigned to teach and reinforce basic social skills critical for independent living.

—V.W.

Apps and Extras for iPad Accessibility

The iPad is loaded with accessibility features, including font size, assistive touch, speak auto text, voice over, speakselection, and zoom. These features are especially important for people who are visually impaired or physically disabledand need more than one tool to access their iPad independently. Following is a list of apps and accessories that willenhance the iPad experience.

Accessories:

Big Grips frame: Available for either iPad or iPad 2, the “squishy” Big Grips frame helps keepthe iPad from slipping out. Made out of foam, which protects against accidental drops, the BigGrips is non-toxic, lead- and latex-free, PVC free, resistant to oils and chemicals, durable andlightweight. The Big Grips stand can be purchased separately. The frame is $34.95; the frame andstand together is $49.95.

BubCap: Does your child keep hitting the home button when working on an app? BupCapprevents this with three different types of caps—offering regular to maximum protection—that

cover the home button. The company recommends starting with the Explorer 6-Pack ($6.99), which includes two BubCap(regular), two BubCap Ultra, and two BubCap Max home button covers.

iPad Steady Stylus: This T-shaped stylus has a wooden handle with a grip madefrom transparent rubber wrapped around a wooden stick. The aluminum pointerhas a conductive fabric sock plug as the tip. Especially good for people with limitedstrength in their hands; $40.00. Junior model based on Chewy Tubes available for$16.00.

Keyguard: Bumpers to prevent the student from accidental activation of a key.This is especially great for apps such as Proloquo- 2go. Keyguard is $19.95.

Mouthstick Stylus: A capacitive touch solution for quadriplegics and people withALS, MS, or other disabilities that limit use of hands. Customizable stick size can be altered when ordering. It has twoworking solutions—a fully conductive mouthstick with a Stylus Sock on the tip or a separate Stylus Sock that you can wraparound your own mouthstick—plus a slice of the same conductive fabric that connects the sock to the iPad body; $40.00.

Stylus-R-Us: Stylus-R-Us has a wide variety of telescoping styli ranging in price. The average price is around $40.00.

Apps

BIG Contacts – Large Font for Easier Reading: $.99 - BIG Contacts is for anyone who has trouble reading the defaulttext in the iPhone’s contacts app. The bold condensed Helvetica font is one of the easiest fonts to read.

Intellipad: $19.99 - Expensive, but worth it! Offers notepad functionality plus word prediction, text-to-speech, and acustomizable keyboard. The Keyboard Editor allows users to merge cells to form larger keys. Choose from an array ofcolors and color templates that can be applied to the whole keyboard or to select keys.

Sign Language Fun Learning for Kids!: $4.99 - Lively and engaging video app includes proper American SignLanguage for letters, numbers, animals, family members, transportation modes, nature scenes and salutations, and howto couple facial experessions for higher comperehension.

soundAMP R: $4.99 - Using earbuds, hear what you would like to hear. Provides users with clear sound and maximumvolume. Record and bookmark lectures, presentations, and interviews, andexport the recordings to your computer.

Voice Brief: $2.99 - Personal assistant app that reads just about everything; allows users to customize for news, theweather, calendar and more.

Web Reader — text to speech: $1.99 - Uses text-to-speech technology along with Web page content recognition to readWeb pages to users. Configure Web pages to be read as soon as they are loaded, read pages manually after they areloaded, or use cut, copy, and paste to read only sections of text.

—V.W.


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Vicki Windman is a special education teacher at Clarkstown High School South. Read more of Vicki's apprecommendations at www.techlearning.com/blogs.

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Dont forget U-Sync Video Scheduler in your list. I use it for my two kids. It givesthe kids visual scheduled that I control by 'remote control' over the Internet. Youplace video modeling vids in the schedules too. Works for me!

By Anonymous on 2/27/2012

Computers and tablets are only assistants and a good teacher’s will always beneeded. However social networks such as facebook and YouTube as well as greatresources including Wikipedia and Wolfram-Alpha are here to stay so that educatorsmust use them in the teaching process. Some time ago YouTube moved a lot of theireducational content to a separate domain giving people access a broad set ofeducational videos. However, some complaints include the variety of the contentfound there as well as the need for schools to register on YouTube under theacademic section in order to show their videos, leaving out many academics,professionals and students not formally associated with mainstream schools whichcontribute with great videos. Many academics are posting great educational videosand materials online. The only problem is to sort the good ones from the rest andpresent them in an organized manner. This effort is being done by:http://utubersity.com which presents the


That is an amazing list of AT devices. However, I was shocked to not see theLivescribe Smartpen on the list. The amount of functions it can serve in a SPED,Speech, or ESL setting is mind-boggling. You should check it out!www.livescribek12.com or call me (800) 592-3163 x. 305 for more info.


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