April / May 2007

Preview:
Integration is a word that comes up often when discussing assistive technology(AT). The problem is that, depending on the context, the term can have varying meanings. Sometimes integration is used to discuss the process of bringing technology into the user's daily life.

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Illiteracy is a problem that is plaguing many high school campuses across the nation. Many learning disabled students begin high school reading below grade level. I teach reading to students with learning disabilities at North High School in Bakersfield, California, and one of my biggest dilemmas has been figuring out how to motivate and engage reluctant readers.

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Barbara has Lou Gehrig's disease. The disease has cost her her voice, but she still wants to talk with her daughter, Stephanie. She is a good typist and uses e-mail to keep in touch with Stephanie, who lives in a distant city.

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I have worked with a variety of children who have severe, moderate, mild, or physical disabilities, as well as the full range of autism. I have worked in many different environments: self- contained, pull-out, push-in, inclusion and now consultative. All of my students, no matter what ability or disability they may have, have benefited from one thing..

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Boardmaker Plus Version 6 (Mayer-Johnson: 800-588-4548, <www.mayer-johnson.com>) Boardmaker has been the standard of excellence for creating printed classroom and at home materials with Picture Communication Symbols (PCS). Boardmaker Plus! adds computer-based interactivity and makes Boardmaker activities come alive on the computer with voice, animation, and video support. Boardmaker and Boardmaker Plus! now come with more than 4500 PCS and over 300 ready-to-use templates for schedules, AAC and calendars.

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In this issue, our featured columnist is Joanne Cafiero, Ph.D., Autism and AAC Consultant, Cafiero Communications, LLC, Rockville, Maryland. Join us, as Joanne challenges the reader to ask, “What are the most common assumptions AAC practitioners make concerning people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)? What do the terms “low functioning,” “no communicative intent” and “language and cognition not measurable” mean? How do those terms impact the quality of AAC supports and interventions that are provided? This article will challenge these and other limiting terms and world views and hopefully provide another belief system from which a practitioner can operate.” What are the most common assumptions AAC practitioners make concerning people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)? What do the terms “low functioning,” “no communicative intent” and “language and cognition not measurable” mean? How do those terms impact the quality of AAC supports and interventions that are provided? This article will challenge these and other limiting terms and world views and hopefully provide another belief system from which a practitioner can operate.

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Historically, educators have been successful teaching students with severe disabilities to activate a switch. Most students learn to play with toys, control environmental devices and use cause-and-effect computer programs fairly early. However, teaching the student to make meaningful choices that can be translated into academic achievement has been a much more difficult journey.

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A major European initiative has been launched to increase the awareness of assistive technology in supporting learning, as well as fostering independence amongst people with learning difficulties and disabilities. Ann Aspinall, Project Manager at TATE (Through Assistive Technology into Employment) and Christine de Graft-Hanson, SEN Consultant for SEMERC, discuss the European TATE project and how it will drive the employment of adults with disabilities.

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Macintosh speech recognition authority MacSpeech Inc. has released new ScriptPaks for TopXNotes and TopXNotes iPod, the popular notepad applications from Tropical Software. The new ScriptPaks add almost 150 commands to iListen, allowing users to do virtually anything in TopXNotes orTopXNotes iPod they would normally do using the keyboard or menus."iListen is by far the best speech product ever created for Macintosh," said James Lee, President of Tropical Software.

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We are proud to announce the release of our latest CD, Natural Disasters . The CD includes nine books and corresponding comprehension tests developed in SoftTouch, Inc.'s My Own Bookshelf and Test Me Score Me product sets. Please note that you do not need a copy of My Own Bookshelf to play or read the books, as a reader is provided on the CD, but you do need a copy of Test Me Score Me V2.1 to run the tests.The nine-book collection includes books on the following subjects: Avalanches, Blizzards, Droughts, Floods, Hurricanes, Thunderstorms and Tornadoes, Tsunamis, Volcanic Eruptions, Wildfires.

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Enabling Devices announces that it has once again developed an innovative, yet inexpensive communicator, the Phrase Maker. Now individuals who are non-verbal can select pre-recorded words and/or phrases to create their own unique sentences.According to Steven Kanor, Ph.D., President of Enabling Devices: “There is great demand in the market for communicators that allow users to create their own sentences. The few products that exist can be prohibitively expensive for many individuals.

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With a recent surge in autism, developmental delays, and other related disorders, many special educators often face the difficulty of selecting and implementing the proper individual educational plan (IEP) for those with speech, language, and learning impairments. The variety and complexity of these disorders create many challenges for those seeking the proper course of treatment and intervention.However, the recent launch of a new language system is offering solutions to these and other complex issues facing parents and educators within the special needs community.

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DynaVox Technologies announced the release of the DynaVox V and Vmax speech-generating devices at the Assistive Technology Industry Association's annual conference in Orlando, FL. Featuring the new InterAACT language framework, the V and Vmax provide individuals of all ages and abilities challenged by significant speech disabilities a system that supports successful and efficient day-to-day communication, as well as language and literacy skill use and development.The new V and Vmax give speech-language professionals valuable tools that allow them to spend more time helping their clients develop critical communication skills, while presenting augmented communicators with an array of features that make it easy to communicate and be understood in person, by phone or e-mail,or via text messaging.

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Microsoft Corp. and assistive technology (AT) vendors have unveiled an array of innovative products and services for people with disabilities at the Assistive Technology Industry Association's eighth annual conference. The products will be available when Microsoft launches the Windows Vista operating system and the 2007 Microsoft Office release."Today marks the culmination of a process that began almost two years ago, when we brought over 30 AT companies into our labs to give them a first look at Windows Vista," said Rob Sinclair, director of Microsoft's Accessible Technology Group.

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Tom Snyder Productions, a leading publisher of educational software and a Scholastic company, is releasing a new, improved version of its award-winning, research-based software series, Science Court. The program helps elementary students build lasting understanding of science topics through guided discussion and fun, hands-on learning.Science Court draws on decades of research to help students overcome common misconceptions in science by replacing them with lasting, correct understanding. The software incorporates research-based instruction, hands-on learning, and multimedia to systematically tackle scientific fallacies (e.g., that seasons are caused by the distance of the earth from the sun).

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Use of Kurzweil 3000 at Catalina Magnet School in Tucson not only raises test scores and grades, but is also expected to ease students' transition to college or the workplace.

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Conceptual Speech Technologies, LLC <www.ConceptualSpeech.com> announces the release of SpeechVibe 1.0 <http://www.SpeechVibe.com>, which introduces many innovative ways to interact with a computer through voice. SpeechVibe can perform every single operation on the Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP operating system that used to require keyboard or mouse interactions, but this time by the exclusive use of voice. SpeechVibe enables innovative interactions through speech, including drag-and-drop operations, from any point on the desktop to another, and dictation into any application that accepts text input, just to name a few.

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The one-handed typing tutor Five Finger Typist continues to undergo development. Last year saw the release of version 2.0 for Windows, which was a major upgrade of Five Finger Typist . Now SoftDawn Software is releasing Five Finger Typist 2.1 which includes a significant new enhancement.

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Observing the emotions of her seventh-grade class as they read Building Wings, How I Made it through School, Jennifer Dickens felt it important to share her students' thoughts with educational publisher and author, Don Johnston.Mrs. Dickens, a reading teacher at Ransom Middle School, Cantonment, FL, said, "I believe all teachers should read Don's book. Struggling learners are often stereotyped as behavior problems in school.

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The State Leaders of Assistive Technology in Education (SLATE) met in January at the ATIA conference in Orlando, FL to discuss issues related to the statewide provision of assistive technology in education. Over 20 states were represented in this most recent SLATE meeting, providing attendees the opportunity to share common concerns and creative solutions related to universal design for learning, provision of assistive technology, and implementation of the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) to insure the timely provision of accessible instructional materials.

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