October / November 2003

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How do you choose the most effective augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system? Historic approaches to the AAC assessment place teams in the position of being bombarded by an endless list of features and devices from which to choose. Teams frequently resort to a checklist method and trial-and-error strategies to make the most appropriate decisions about AAC systems. At the ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) AAC Leadership conference, Sharon Glennen (2000) referred to the idiosyncratic nature of our assessment methodology.

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The expressive arts (visual arts, music, movement, and drama) are natural and basic parts of young children’s lives, and creative software can extend children’s expressiveness in aspects of symbol making, problem solving, motor abilities, communication, and social interactions. The federally funded Expressive Arts Project* team at the Center for Best Practices in Early Childhood in Macomb, Illinois, developed a model curriculum, ArtExpress: A Curriculum for Young Children with Disabilities (2001). The model promotes child access to the general education curriculum and supports teachers as they implement developmentally appropriate activities aligned with Fine Arts Standards.

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Having the finest of ingredients and the proper pan doesn’t yield a good cheesecake if you haven’t a clue how to make one. Of course, you can follow a recipe from a cookbook and perhaps make a good attempt, but without a base of knowledge, skill, and experience, your finest ingredients and shiny new pan may have been wasted. Similarly, you could be a master chef with the finest of ingredients, but if you have no oven you still have no cheesecake.

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The Instructional Technology Passport System (ITPS) at Illinois State University (ISU) was developed as a way to ensure all teacher education candidates graduate with the knowledge and skills they need in relation to instructional technology. As one of the largest teacher preparation programs in the United States, approximately 750 teacher candidates participate in the ITPS each semester. The teacher candidates come from the 37 teacher education programs that span across early childhood, elementary education, middle school education, secondary education, and special education sequences.

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Jackie pressed a button and her bolt lock opened. Next, she moved toward her front door and it automatically swung open. “Lights on,” Jackie announced as she crossed the threshold of her house.

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Just in time for the holidays, this month we look at how to be a well informed Web shopper. Ever wonder how to get the goods on good stuff and get a good deal in the process? Read on. Oh yeah! We also tell you how to do nothing, do something and learn something.

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Special needs This feature is devoted to companies that produce software and hardware for children and adults with special needs. Many names will be familiar and some will be new. If you are attending the Closing The Gap conference, be sure and visit the Exhibit Center and the booths of many of these companies to see the products first hand.

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Words and phrases, such as independence, independent functioning, and will independently complete tasks, are often found in goals for individuals who have the greatest challenges interacting with the environment in typical ways. Often, in an attempt to teach students independence, prompt hierarchies are introduced as a part of the formal plan to help a student move from a fully assisted behavior (i.e. hand over hand assist) to independence.

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Creative Special Education teachers of students with severe and profound impairments are always searching for new classroom materials to stimulate learning. They’re also challenged by the need to meet curriculum standards and IEP objectives in addition to finding relevant curriculum materials. This being said, how do teachers find the time and financial resources to meet the educational needs of their students?

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Book Port is a flexible book reading device that consists of a small, portable unit with a keypad and earphones, plus accompanying software. It features both text-to-speech capabilities and digital audio support. This means you may read electronic files (with synthetic speech) or digital recorded books (with human speech).

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Educational Activities Software, a division of Siboney Learning Group, is pleased to announce the release of Diascriptive Reading Online. This diagnostic/prescriptive program for comprehension development, covering reading levels 1.5-12, is now available in an on-line, Web-delivered format for anywhere, anytime learning. Completely revised and updated, and designed for students from grades 4 through adult, Diascriptive Reading has been proven effective with thousands of students and follows the latest research from the National Reading Panel on comprehension develoment.

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Altimate Medical Inc.. introduces the EasyStand 5000 XL, a stander that accommodates individuals up to 6 feet,10 inches and 350 lbs. The 5000 XL uses a natural sit-to-stand transition that allows larger clients who are unable to stand fully upright to progress toward standing at a comfortable pace.

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Innotech Systems Inc.., is pleased to announce the introduction or the ACCENDA Universal Remote Control. This is the first in a series of voice activated ACCENDA products. The ACCENDA Universal Remote Control is a revolutionary product that makes using a remote as easy as it should be - regardless of your abilities.

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Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc., innovator of reading technology for individuals with visual or learning disabilities, announces Kurzweil 1000 version 8, the premier reading software for people who are blind or visually impaired. The latest version contains many significant new features, including new natural sounding text to speech voices; enhanced ways to access local files; on-line magazine search and retrieval capability; and additional support for transferring documents to portable devices.

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Nationally acclaimed disability rights champion and inventor, Jo Waldron, announced that a preliminary field study found that Able Planet’s new micro-technology, which provides access to telecommunications for people with mild to severe-to-profound hearing loss, can be used without a hearing aid in some persons for successful telephone access. Able Planet’s micro-technology was unveiled in June 2003, when it was originally believed that all people with hearing loss needed a hearing aid to take advantage of the technology.

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Telesensory has begun to offer its customers a free, one-year subscription to the Reader’s Digest Select Editions Large Type (SELT) program with purchase of any Telesensory product. The SELT program provides best-selling books in large type to help people with low vision. “Helping people to enjoy reading again is our main objective,” said Telesensory President Ken W. Strokes “The large-print books are another service that we can provide to our clients to improve the quality of their lives.”

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The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation (CRPF) announced that it has awarded $620,969 in Quality of Life grants as part of its Spring 2003  funding cycle of the Quality of Life Program .   The Quality of Life Program, conceived by Dana Reeve, CRPF Director and Chair of the Quality of Life Committee, awards grants to programs that improve the daily lives of people living with disabilities, particularly spinal cord injuries. Funding is awarded twice yearly.  Grant categories include: accessibility, education, independent living, arts, sports activities, advocacy, assistive technology, children, counseling, employment, health promotion, practical service and therapeutic riding.

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CAST has received a grant of $150,000 from the California–based William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to support the further research and development of a Universal Learning Edition (ULE) for English Language Learners. This project builds upon CAST’s promising Universal Learning technology—a digital learning environment that support diverse learners in understanding standards-based educational materials while becoming more strategic in their approach to reading. With funding from the Hewlett Foundation, CAST will extend the Universal Learning Edition approach to support English Language Learners (ELL) in grades 4-5 by embedding a variety of scaffolds designed specifically for native Spanish speaking students into digital versions of curricular materials and pilot the approach in selectedCaliforniaclassrooms.

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