April / May 2006

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From the novice professional to the most experienced clinician, identifying and utilizing tools for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) assessment can be a challenge. Within the field of augmentative and alternative communication, there has been a lack of systematic assessment protocols. Evaluation procedures vary widely from agency to agency.

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Imagine this scenario. You are an assistive technology specialist in charge of providing support for teachers and students in a school district. A teacher calls you and explains that he is having problems using an assistive technology software program.

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Introducing assistive technology (AT) instruction into the high school day poses a challenge for special educators. The Postsecondary Innovative Transition Technology (Post-ITT) curriculum integrates this instruction into its Guidance Activity sequence designed for students preparing for college. This article describes these new activities and the process used to create them.

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“Handwriting is one of the most important skills that children acquire and use throughout the school years.” If a student’s handwriting is illegible or their production is slow, the student typically falls behind their classmates. Studies by Graham and Weintraub found, “when handwriting skills are deficient, children suffer various consequences related to their academic performance.” By third grade, a student with poor handwriting is significantly behind and often loses interest in school. Considering that an estimated 10 to 20 percent1 of children have legibility concerns, and a correlation between handwriting difficulties and overall academic performance is established1, the authors consider it best practice to understand alternatives to standard handwriting options.

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Here are the latest and best of new adaptive equipment, software, games, books and DVDs for children and adults with special needs. Thanks to the publishersfor all the quality products for home, school and therapy.

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The use of technology in general education classrooms, with students with special needs, increases every year. Over the course of the past 25 years, the variety of technology equipment and the strategies for its use have changed remarkably. In the early 1980’s, Apple introduced its desktop computer to education by donating computers to numerous schools.

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First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. – Mohandas Gandhi.

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Learners with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs) often find it difficult to ‘track’ effectively – tracking words within sentences, tracking letters within words or copying words and sentences in reading or writing. These difficulties may also be exhibited by learners who do not have SpLDs, but have other literacy difficulties. Christine deGraft-Hanson, a SEN and ICT consultant for SEMERC, explains how ICT can help pupils improve these vital skills.

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Freedom Scientific announces the new OPAL ultra-portable video magnifier. This exciting new product offers powerful features for low vision users on the go and is an excellent companion to the TOPAZ line of desktop video magnifiers the company announced in December.

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These kits were a big success for us at the 2005 Closing The Gap and 2006 ATIAconferences. All 250 people loved making their own functional switch from twoCDs, no soldering.

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Rex is a medication bottle with audio capability, and Rex essentially reads the medication label instructions or some other informative message to the patient. Rex is a powerful tool for people who are blind, visually impared, cognitively impared, those unable to read English, or anyone with difficulty in reading or understanding a medication label.

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Marblesoft announces Early Math Skills, the latest in their Early Learning Series of software programs for special education. Early Math Skills contains seven activities that teach early addition, subtraction, number sequencing and greater than/less than. This CD replaces the earlier Early Learning II and Early Learning III titles from Marblesoft.

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Macintosh speech recognition authority, MacSpeech, has released new ScriptPaks for Pages 2.0 and iWork ‘06. The Pages 2.0 ScriptPak adds almost 150 commands to iListen that allows the user to do virtually anything in Pages they would normally do using keyboard shortcuts or menus. The iWork ‘06 ScriptPak combines the Pages 2.0 ScriptPak with the recently released Keynote 3.0 ScriptPak and includes almost 300 commands.

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Advance Mobility, the special needs division of the Baby Jogger Company, unveiled The Freedom Jogger, a high performance mobility device that is designed as an alternate method of transport for adults and children with physical disabilities. The Freedom Jogger, equipped with several unique features, offers those with physical disabilities the ability to pursue an active lifestyle and more versatile options when traveling.

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Case management software (heavily used in social service, and rehabilitation agencies) has had a long history of being inaccessible for the blind and visually impaired community. Visually impaired employees have often had to rely on sighted assistance to manage case information and client details.

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The producers of the groundbreaking PBS program announces a special release ofthe Freedom Machines DVD Education Package, a powerful new resource for universityand secondary school educators, school districts, staff and professional development,and government and community agencies.

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Dolphin is pleased to announce the release of Pocket Hal in North America. Pocket Hal is a full screen reader developed specifically for standard, off-the-shelf, PDAs and offers blind and low vision computer users access to the same levels of technology, at the same regular prices, as that enjoyed by their sighted colleagues.

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Dating4Disabled.com was developed by a group of volunteers who want to provide more social, intellectual and romantic outlets for individuals with disabilities. This growing community has become a gathering place for the international special needs population, home to members from over 15 countries world-wide. It is a place for people of all nationalities, backgrounds and life-challenges to share, connect and just be heard.

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With more than 30 years experience in helping special needs students learn, Crick Software, Inc. announces the release of the Crick Assistive Technology Bundle. This new all-in-one solution is designed around the award-winning Clicker 5 software.

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Cambium Learning, Inc. announces the acquisition of IntelliTools, Inc., an industry-leading technology provider for preK-8 students requiring differentiated instruction and alternative means of accessing the curriculum. Based in Petaluma, Calif., IntelliTools employs 35 people.

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