Assistive Technology for Reading Webinar

As a teacher, I am constantly looking for ways to improve my practices in the classroom. Today I listened to a webinar as part of an assignment for class. I am posting the link below as a great resource for you to visit. The site has webinars on a variety of topics. However, the topic that I am going to be discussing today is assistive technology for reading support. Fairly often in the classroom, we come across struggling readers or those with reading disabilities. Currently, I am working in a Kindergarten classroom so many of my students are having difficulty learning to read. Reading is a life long skill that is necessary for students. Assistive technology can help those struggling or with disabilities be successful.

http://www.gatfl.gatech.edu/tflwiki/index.php?title=Webinar_Archives

Key points...

• Text Reader: a software program that reads all the text in any given document of application. This is great for students with a reading disability, but adequate vision. Text reader includes reading the web, study tools and supports for writing. 

• Screen Reader: this reads all the text elements on the screen including menu bars, buttons, and boxes. This is ideal for students with visual impairments or reading disabilities.

• Text to Speech: this software includes many features to support reading...

Modify text interface (how the program reads, or chunks, the text)

Choice of high quality voices

Ability to control rate

Built in dictionary

Highlight and extract key information

Ability to insert, create or modify scaffold for reading (how cool is this, only a few programs have this feature!)

Convert to MP3

• Electronic Texts: the webinar provided multiple resources of where you can get electronic text from. 
• One that I really liked was https://www.bookshare.org/ which is all about making reading accessible to people with disabilities. 

Past Event Cards

This post will continue with my last two posts discussing strategies to use with students who have autism or difficulties communicating. This post will focus on past event cards. 

Sample Past Event Card

Many students with autism have difficulty relating past events. Using a visual representation can help to bridge this gap between events, especially between home and school. Teachers can create templates that can be easily circled or filled in each day and then sent home so they know what occurred.

For example, a card might say: Today I... read a book on ___________, made my lunch, watched a movie on _______. Only items completed would be circled.

The past event card reminded me of something that we use at my current work place. We fill out daily sheets to send home with the parents each day. This is because our students are very young and often forget what to say when parents ask what did you do today. The form has key points from lessons to enhance communication and inform parents on what occurred during the day.

Choice Cards

In my last post I discussed one strategy to use with students with autism in order to support their communication needs. This post will discuss another strategy called choice cards. 

Which snack would you like? Pretzels or Bananas?

Throughout undergraduate classes, we learned the importance of providing choice in the classroom for our students. Children feel empowered when given choices throughout their day. This is especially important to remember when working with special education as well. Students ability to make decisions improves their communication skills and behavior which is crucial for those with autism. 

Choice cards are picture cards (visual representations) used to offer a choice between two or more items. The choices can be of anything from what to eat for snack, which activity to do, what book to read, etc. The teacher must be willing to accept either choice and follow through with the child's decision. Choice cards work by having the teacher point to the picture of each choice. A non-verbal child would then point to the picture of their choice. Those with better communication skills could point and verbally state their choice. When presented in this manner, the child is less likely to act out because they are allowed to make a choice of what they want to do. 

Sample Activity Choice Card 

http://lessonpix.com/articles/9/41/Choice+Cards

Break Cards

In my last post, I discussed the communication difficulties that students with autism face. My next three posts will discuss strategies that you can use to support those with autism in the classroom. 

The first strategy that I want to discuss with you is called a break card. 

A break card is a visual support which may be used by a child with autism to communicate the message that they need some time away from an activity, task, or person. During an activity, children with autism may become frustrated or bored, which could then lead to challenging behaviors. This strategy is often used for children who are non-verbal however even those who are verbal may use them as well. I thought this was a great point that I found in my research. Even students that can typically express themselves, find it difficult during times when they are frustrated, anxious, bored, etc. I have definitely seen this in the regular education classroom. Break cards are great for self-management because the student learns how to ask for a break, which can help them relax, gain control, and mange their behavior better. They are simply an alternate way of communicating the need for a break. Break cards can come in many different formats however they all serve the same purpose. 

Sample Break Card

This is a sample break card I created ! 

http://www.erinoakkids.ca/getattachment/Resources/Autism/Visual-Supports/Requesting-a-Break.pdf.aspx

Expressive Communication

Communication is crucial in todays society. All communication has two aspects; receptive language and expressive language. Receptive language is what we hear and understand. Expressive communication is what we say to others. Simply put expressive language is how we communicate with others. This does not have to be just verbally. It can be done with sign language or a communication device. Even writing is a form of expressive language. Expressive language involves making requests, giving information, labeling things. Expressive language is much more difficult than receptive language because the individual has to recall the words they want to communicate and then be able to express. A lack of expressive language skills is often a cause of frustration and behavior. They can become frustrated or tantrum because they are unable to express what they need, want, or are feeling. In order to communicate expressively, children need to have the means to communicate, opportunities to communicate, and reasons to communicate.

All children with autism have some difficulty with communication although the degree of difficulty can vary from child to child. Understanding the child's unique communication profile and impact this has on behavior will help in the selection of strategies to use with him/her. 



This website provides effective teaching strategies for working with students with autism and expressive communication difficulties. #4 especially relates to this post, discussing the importance of alternatives to verbal communication. They talked about how having a visual form of communication can assist with expression. 

http://center.serve.org/ss/commreceptive2.php

http://activitiestolearn.com/receptive-vs-expressive-communication/

http://www.autismtraining.com.au/public/index.cfmaction=showPublicContent&assetCategoryId=1023

A closer look at IEPs

This post will focus specifically on examples of IEPs and their connections to assistive technology. The IEPs were taken from the Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative. My purpose in sharing these IEPs with you is to help you become familiar with different types of assistive technology devices and how those devices can help different students needs and annual goals. 

1. Eric

Present Levels: Eric participates in regular education programs for his academic subjects. His hand strength is limited and he fatigues quickly when doing any handwriting task. Civics and English homework are a particular problem because of lengthy assignments and reports that need to be completed.
Annual Goals: Eric will use a computer or portable word processor to complete 100% of his assignments in 10th grade English and Civics classes.
Assistive Technology: 

Alphasmart, portable word processor

2. Becky:
Present Levels: Becky is learning to read and is anxious to complete writing assignments with her peers. She is not able to produce handwritten material due to severe spastic quadriplegia. Becky is interested in using the computer and has been introduced to it. The staff has helped Becky experiment with several switches in a variety of locations. She seems to be most accurate using a switch mounted next to her head.
Annual Goals: Becky will use a single switch mounted on a switch-mounting arm positioned to the right side of her head and scanning software to access the computer 9 out of 10 times for a variety of educational assignments.
Assistive Technology:

Single switch & mounting arm

3. Mary:
Present Levels: Mary currently communicates with sounds that are not always understood by those around her. She often becomes upset when she is not understood. She likes people and likes to be around both adults and children. She is beginning to play simple games.
Annual Goals: Mary will communicate her interests and needs in three or more environments/situations using a single message voice output device.
Assistive Technology:

Single message voice output device

4. Kelly:
Present Levels: Kelly is in the third grade classroom for most of his day. He has a full time paraprofessional who assists him. He is unable to use a standard keyboard because of his physical limitations. Additionally, his speech is frequently unintelligible. He currently uses single message and multiple message voice output devices, eye gaze, and limited direct selection to complete his academic work. Kelly is functioning at about the second grade level in most curricular areas.
Annual Goals: Kelly will use an adapted keyboard with custom overlays and a computer with talking word processing to complete all academic work.
Assistive Technology:

Adapted keyboard with custom overlays

5. Stephen:
Present Levels: Steven is a four-year-old boy diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder. His placement is in an Early Childhood classroom. He is able to understand and comprehend when spoken to, but does not communicate his needs consistently. When choices are simplified and broken into steps, Steven will try to communicate wants and needs. Peer interactions are limited.
Annual Goals: Steven will use a picture board or voice output device to express wants and needs to adults and peers in both home and school at least four times each day.
Assistive Technology: 

Picture Board

Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative. (2013, 07 12). Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative. Retrieved from: http://www.wati.org/.