AAC

My Experience with AAC:

Two of the five students in the classroom I am student teaching in are nonverbal and use an AAC application on the iPad, Proloquo2go, as their main form of communication. This application is wonderful because you can create symbols, phrases, and categories. The students have learned to maneuver through the application to find the proper symbols to express their needs and answer questions we pose. It is especially interesting to see how students use the speech available to them on the iPad to create novel phrases that are not already preprogrammed. For example, one student asked "When are we going to the park?" in response to the teacher saying we were going on a field trip. He did not have the phrase "Where are we going?," so he used another phrase to communicate this meaning. Similarly, he will click on the symbol that say's his mother's name then the symbol for car in order to say his mother is picking him up. The only drawback to this application is the amount of time it takes to update it with more phrases and symbols. 

What is language?

Language is a code used to communicate wants and needs. It is a dynamic system of sounds, symbols, and gestures used to communicate. 

What is speech?

Speech is the spoken form of language. 

Inherent difficulties of unaided system:

I have a nonverbal student who has created his own signs. When he wants to watch Blues Clues, he points to his stomach. Anyone who hasn't been told what his unique signs mean will have to guess. It is useful for him to have this unaided system to communicate his needs when his iPad is not available, but only those who have worked with him know what he's saying. 

Planning with Technology

Students may have barriers to accessing educational content in one or more networks: strategic, affective, and recognition networks. These are actual networks in the brain:

Although, teachers cannot use brain imaging to identify which networks may be under active, they can use assessments and observation to identify students' strengths and weaknesses. Teachers can match up the strengths and weaknesses assessed to the different networks and determine which technologies would best address their needs. We have a large technological tool belt at our disposal, but we have to make sure the methods we choose meet the diverse needs of our learners. Luckily, many of the technologies we use have features that activate multiple networks. One such technology is the SMART board. It allows a teacher to manipulate the presentation of information so that students are using multiple sensory modalities to access the information (recognition network). It allows for multiple means of interaction and engagement (strategic network). Additionally, using interactive lessons with media is highly motivating for most students (affective network). 
It is important for teachers to use technology with purpose. We may inadvertently complicate a lesson or make it less accessible by trying to incorporate technology, so we must always reflect on the needs of the students and how the technology will address those needs. 

Assistive and Adaptive Technology

Adapting Classrooms for AT Users: Challenges and Solutions


Nothing seems more cruel to me than having a student who cannot run sit on the sidelines in a gym class watching his peers run and play sports. We need to take a Partial Participation approach to including students in activities that are typically considered off limits. Those who are not familiar with adapting activities find it easier to just find an alternate activity for students with disabilities. This video details classrooms designed for students with disabilities. A modification like a supportive chair can allow a child to participate in an activity without falling off her chair. Something as simple as putting felt in between the pages of a book make it easier for a child with a physical disability to turn the pages. There are many modifications and accommodations that are costly but there are also things we can do that cost very little. We have to think outside of the box and be willing to spend some time to make classrooms accessible to all students. 

Disabled Bodies, Able Minds: Giving Voice, Movement, and Independence to the Physically Challenged

Providing students with disabilities access to assistive technology devices increases their independence. My non-verbal students with autism use Proloquo2go to communicate. Without it (and the devices that preceded the iPad and this application) all the adults in these students lives would just guess what they needed and do everything for them. The students in this article/video were able to pursue their interests and participate fully in school and extracurricular activities through the use of assistive technology. When there was no technology yet available (the device made to play the instrument), it pushed someone to create it. Without students like this who continually seek to be involved in activities considered out of their reach, we would not continue to make advances in AT. 

Interview with Richard Keller

Dr. Keller explains the difference between assistive and adaptive technology, two words that are often used interchangeably. Dr. Keller points out that assistive technology is derived from the medical model of disability in which the person will somehow be fixed or made complete. On the other hand, adaptive technology changes the technology, not the person --a disabilities study paradigm. Dr. Keller explains further, "when we say assistive it means you're helping me and when it says adaptive, it's a tool that works specially for me in the circumstances I want to use it in." I think it is very important to speak about disabilities using language that empowers individuals. Dr. Keller also speaks about gaining independence through the use of adaptive technology.