Transcript Assistive Technology Program - Los Angeles Unified School

Assistive Technology Program
Los Angeles Unified School District
OT PT AT Program
Background
• Assistive Technology (AT) is technology
used by individuals with disabilities to
perform functions that might be otherwise
difficult or impossible.
• AT supports individuals with devices and
training for daily living, employment and
education
• AT for students in LAUSD is provided
through a multi-disciplinary team approach
with a focus on access to instruction
Assistive Technology and the Law
The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that IEP
teams consider the assistive technology needs of a student during the
development of an IEP.
Assistive Technology Device
Means any item, piece of
equipment, or product system,
whether acquired commercially
off the shelf, modified or
customized that is used to
increase, maintain, or improve
function capabilities of a child
with disabilities
Assistive Technology Service
Means any service that directly
assists a child with a disability in
the selection, acquisition of AT
equipment; selecting, designing,
maintaining, repairing, or
replacing the equipment…
What is Assistive Technology?
• An umbrella term for technology to increase,
maintain, or improve functional capabilities of
individuals with disabilities.
• Augmentative and Alternative Communication
(AAC) relates to technology to support
communication. (insert reference to S&L
Program oversees AAC?)
AT at the School Site
• Local school site technology plans shall
include consideration of students with special
needs.
• School sites have primary responsibility to
provide AT devices to support assessed
student need, with assistance from AT
Program, as needed. The Assistive
Technology Lending Libraries have resources
available for short-term loan.
Assistive Technology for Access
• Individual Education Program (IEP) teams
are required to consider student need for
AT when developing IEPs.
• Most often, AT Assessment is used to guide
IEP team in determining any technology
supports required for students with
disabilities.
Who are the AT Professionals?
• A multi-disciplinary team of general and
special education teachers (including
deaf/hard of hearing, and vision), speechlanguage pathologists, occupational
therapists and physical therapists
• Assistive Technology Assessors are highly
qualified educators with additional
certification in Assistive Technology.
Access to Instruction
The District believes that in an effort to support
a successful school experience for all students,
they will:
•Access their educational environment with
appropriate accommodations;
•Access a variety of strategies and materials
within their classroom setting, including UDL;
•Take an active role to participate in their
educational program to attain skills for
successful post-educational transitions.
Access to Learning with UDL
• Universal Design for Learning (UDL) has been
developed by the Center for Applied Special
Technology (CAST)
• UDL establishes principles for student access
to curriculum through:
– Multiple means of representation
– Multiple means of expression
– Multiple means of engagement
• UDL provides the foundation for Assistive
Technology in the field of education
The Role of Assistive Technology Assessor:
Response to Instruction and Intervention (RtI2)
Response to Instruction and Intervention (RtI2)
is a systemic multi-tiered framework that guides
the development of a well integrated system of
instruction, and intervention that is matched to
student need and directed by student outcome
data from multiple measures.
(BUL- 4827.1 Multi Tiered Framework for Instruction,
Intervention, and Support)
The Role of Assistive Technology Assessor:
Response to Instruction and Intervention (RtI2)
The five essential elements of RtI2 include:
• Multi-tiered framework to instruction and
intervention
• Problem-solving progress
• Data-based decision making
• Academic engaged time
• Professional Development
Response to Instruction and Intervention (RtI2)
Multi-Tiered Instruction and Intervention
The AT Assessor:
- collaborates with other related services staff to
identify student needs,
- contributes expertise to the problem solving
process and
- provides strategies for any student who may
evidence challenges in accessing the curriculum
Response to Instruction and Intervention (RtI2)
Multi-Tiered Instruction and Intervention
Tier 3: Intensive Instruction and
Intervention
Tier 2: Strategic or
Supplemental Instruction
Tier 1: Core Instruction
Response to Instruction and Intervention (RtI2)
Problem Solving Cycle in General Education
Identification
AT Assessors may be called upon to assist in the
identification of issues involving functional access to
the curriculum that students may be experiencing.
Problem Analysis
AT Assessors analyze problems in concert with
classroom teachers and are experts in the
identification of tools and strategies to assist
students in accessing their instructional program.
Intervention Design
AT Assessors will assist the instructional team with
incorporating the use of assistive devices and
strategies into the classroom instructional program
to provide universal access to instruction for all
students.
Response to Instruction and Intervention
AT Assessors will also assist the educational team with
progress monitoring, ongoing data collection, and
evaluation to determine the success or failure of the
intervention. Results are analyzed to determine the
level of intensity and support necessary for
individual students.
Intervention Strategies – Tier 1
Core Instruction
At this level of service students have not been identified as requiring
assistive technology and consultation is focused on:
– Increasing the general knowledge base of teachers on how to use the
material within the classroom and school to enhance learning for all
students
– In-servicing teachers on universal design for learning principles and how
they can be applied to their instructional program
– Increasing the general knowledge base of teachers on how to use the
materials within the classroom and school site to enhance access to
learning for all students.
– Providing ideas for setting up the physical arrangement
of classroom for student success.
Intervention Strategies – Tier 2
Strategic or Supplemental Instruction & Intervention
AT program staff will assist school-site teams in:
– Matching appropriate strategies and/or assistive technology
devices within the school environment to address the specific
needs of students.
– Providing information on how and where to acquire additional
strategies and/or materials to make curriculum accessible
– Providing professional development for school site teams in the
area of assistive technology for specific curriculum areas.
As part of the screening process, the assistive technology
assessor will review with the school site team in the data
review process
Intervention Strategies – Tier 3
Strategic or Supplemental Instruction & Intervention
AT program staff will provide:
– Professional development activities to enable school-site AT teams to
select appropriate assistive technology devices and customize their
features to assist students in accessing the curriculum.
– Strategies and/or equipment will be put in place for a trial period and
linked to a specific curriculum goal
– If the trial with available strategies and/or equipment is successful,
student should continue to utilize them for as long as necessary to
accomplish curriculum goals.
If participation in a comprehensive Response to Instruction
and Intervention (RtI2) program is not successful to
address the student’s area of need, school sites should
consider referring the student for special education
assessment.
Assistive Technology
Evaluation
• Students who continue to have difficulty
accessing the curriculum should be referred for
assistive technology evaluation after they have
been provided:
– Targeted Intervention, with progress monitoring,
and review of intervention for effective access to
curriculum.
• Parents may request assistive technology
evaluation, in accordance with District special
education policies and procedures.
Assistive Technology Access
Assistive Technology is a related service that
supports the educational program for students
who have difficulties in accessing the curriculum
in one or more of the following areas:
•Reading
•Writing
•Mathematics
•Physical Access to Instruction
•Communication – Augmentative & Alternative
Communication (AAC)
Examples of AT for Access to Reading
• Sentence isolators
• Audio Books
• Screen reading
software that allows
printed materials to be
scanned into a
computer and read
aloud to the user
• Text-to-speech
software that allows
users to change the
appearance of the text
by manipulating font,
color, size, spacing,
etc.
Examples of AT for Access to Writing
•
Pencil grips and wide-lined paper
•
Text-to-speech word processors with
or without built-in phonetic
dictionaries and spell checkers
•
Use of dictation, either to a peer or
into a tape recorder
•
Software that combines pictures with
words for those students with limited
spelling abilities
•
Portable electronic word processors
•
Voice output portable electronic
dictionaries
•
Word prediction software
•
On-screen keyboards for students
who cannot access traditional
keyboards
Examples of AT for
Access to Mathematics
• Calculators
• Software that
provides
symbols and/or
math formatting
support
• Software with
on-screen
manipulatives
Examples of AAC for Communication
• Picture communication
books or boards
• Specialized keyboards
for computer access
• Speech generating
communication aids
Models of Assistive Technology
Service Delivery in Special Education
Assistive technology is available as a support
to students, classroom teachers and other
support staff on an as-needed basis.
Models of AT service delivery include:
•Consultation
•Collaboration
•Direct
Assistive Technology Services
Consultation
Service provided indirectly to the student
consisting of:
- regular review of student progress,
- student observation,
- accommodations and modifications for core
material,
- developing and modeling of instructional
practices
Assistive Technology Services
Collaboration
Service with collaboration may include:
- training students to use recommended
assistive technology equipment,
- customizing the set up of the equipment
specifically for the student,
- training for the student’s teacher, parents and
support staff in the use of the equipment
including how to integrate its use into the
classroom instructional program.
Assistive Technology Services
Direct
As student abilities and curriculum demands
change, students may require occasional direct
support.
Direct services to students may include:
- monitoring to make sure their equipment is in
working order and continues to meet their needs
throughout their school career
- training in how to use and integrate the
equipment into the instructional program.
Assistive Technology
Service Completion Guidelines
•
•
•
•
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The student’s disability no longer negatively affects his or her
educational performance in the special education or general
education program.
The student is able to access the curriculum successfully without the
use of assistive technology.
The student consistently demonstrates behaviors that are not
conducive to service provision, such as a lack of cooperation,
motivation, or chronic absenteeism. In these circumstances the IEP
team should consider alternate services or strategies to remedy
interfering behavior or conditions.
The student’s needs will be better served by an alternative program
and/or service, as determined by the IEP team.
The student graduates from high school or reaches age of 22.
Additional Assistive Technology
Resources and Information
AT assessor assigned to local school site
LAUSD Division of Special Education Policy and
Procedure Manual http://sped.lausd.net
Assistive Technology Position Paper LAUSD
Division of Special Education Website
http://sped.lausd.net
Assistive Technology Lending Library Website
www.lausd.k12.ca.us/lausd/offices/spec_ed/ATLL
How Do You Contact the
Assistive Technology Program?
OT PT AT Program
Related Services Department
Beaudry Building – 18th Floor
333 South Beaudry Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Phone: 213.241.6200
Fax: 213.241.8435