Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009

In class this week, we viewed a tutorial on providing switch access for people with disabilities to accomplish a task that they could not otherwise do. The four criteria for choosing and mounting a switch included consideration of the positon the user is in, his or her movement pattern, the best control site or part of the body to be used to activate it and the type of switch. The focus for the decision was very simple; to enable the user to do whatever he or she needs it for in a way that is easiest to locate and activate.

While this was a technical tutorial, I had strong sense of the nobleness of this work. Its aim was to to empower individuals with disabilities to have control over their environment, to overcome barriers that may be there and to enable them to develop themselves and make a contribution. I believe there is dignity in being able to do things for yourself and being able to use your gifts to make life better for yourself and others.

I am often inspired by people who strive against all odds to accomplish goals and make a difference. The possibilities that switches open up seem endless. The video shows clips of people using various switches for computers, appliances, lights, wheel chairs and other equipment. I think of a student who operated a popcorn popper, or the students who operate a paper shredder. Enabling them to have a meaningful role truly makes them part of a community.

I think it is especially exiciting for very young students with very involved motor or cognitive disabilities. It is not only fun for them to activate a toy or some stimulating equipments such as a fan, it provides them an opportunity to grow as an individual with unique needs, thoughts, desires, and gifts.. They are motivated to put forth the extra-ordinary effort needed to use the switches, developing their abilities, learning cause and effect and the prerequitistes for more advanced applications.

Seeing the video on integration of students with various disabilities demonstrated how important the assistive technology is in facilitating the students involvement and development in the school setting. Students work on therapy goals while participating in regular class activities. Michael joined circle time, while Todd participated in gym with a specialized chair. Justin used a switch to play tapes while the class read and Joy used a communication device. Each of the students benefited from the participation that the assistive technology made possible, but equally important is that the other children learned acceptance, compassion and that each is a valued member of the learning community.

During our last class, we had an opportunity to experiment with different ways of accesssing a key board. First of all, it was an amazing revelation that all those possibilities existed right on my laptop. Who knew what an array of choices existed under "settings"!
We experimented with using a keyboard with a one hand or one finger approach by making an adjustment to the caplock feature which is done just before Upper case is needed.
Then we tried using a method that required manipulation of a single key with a hovering setting if the use of fingers was limited. This was extremely time consuming and challenging. Lastly, we experimented with a method of using a dot placed on our nose to direct the hovering to choose keys.
I had observed several individuals in the past using a key board through a head switch. The experience of accessing the key board in the different ways gave me a great appreciation for the patience, determination and focus that individuals using this technology require.
I am very impressed with the accomplishment of any individual who masters these alternative ways of accessing the technology. I think it is a testament to the ingenuity and determination of the human spirit to find ways to communicate with one another.
I think it would be interesting for students, as a hands on experience of disabiltiy awareness to try some of these approaches to keyboarding!
As our population ages, and there are more people who are affected by strokes or conditions that affect mobilty, I think these ways of keyboarding will increase options and bring hope and new life to users.

The Boardmaker Ordeal

When I attempted to download Boardmaker Plus, the program would not accept my information for the registration. After numerous attempts, I resigned myself to seeing my husband's help. He asked me what the problem was, since I had apparently stopped the download in progress. This was the first indication that this exercise was not going to go well!
After going over the tutorial and then seeing the step by step instruction for creating an interactive book, I sat down enthusiastically. After several hours of clicking and dragging and starting over about twenty times, my husband arrived and once more filled me in on basic information that I was missing. (I needed to use the Select button.) After several more hours struggling to follow the instructions, I understood what my dyslexic students go through spending hours reading a text that a proficient reader can do in twenty minutes. My enthusiasm had waned considerably!
After viewing the product that I had been able to create with my very limited skills, I saw all the flaws and could do nothing more about them. How do I get all my pages in the same place? Where are those linking arrows ? Is this interactive? How do I do the popups? I felt like my dysgraphic students who survey their handwitten work after intensive effort with dismay. I had some problem solving to do.
What my life experience has taught me is that I will eventually be able to do this with satisfaction because I know there are people to support me and I have the inner resources to make it happen. This keeps me from despairing about my lack of technological know how. I realize that it is this that I need to help my students develop more than anything. I need to support their attempts to create meaningful products and learn new skills, encouraging self-assessment, progress monitoring and goal setting, so they too will have the courage to take risks and hang in there when the going is rough. I also realize most of them could teach me a lot about technology!

Dilemmas, Challenges, and Opportunities

The chapter, "Dilemmas, Challenges, and Opporunities", taken from "Living in the State of Stuck", was a thorough, realistic presentation of the factors that must be considered in providing AT for people with disabilities, based on what led to more or less success with AT in accomplishing the goal of improving quality of life, functioning and self-concept. I really like how this view was woven through the article. As the author pointed out, "If an AT device doesn't do this, it will not be used, nor should it."

As I was reading it, I kept making connections with the AT successes and problems I've seen with students with learning disabilities. The research was all there as why the students became avid users or were reluctant. For example, the family of an LD student has purchased a laptop for him to use at school but he leaves it at home. The milieu is not conducive to his use of the laptop. He has pressure from others, rather than than choosing to use it himself. It is too heavy to carry in addition to his bookbag It doesn't fit in his locker and he does not like having to come to the office to have it stored . As an adolescent, personality factors make this AT not suitable. He does not want to be identified as having a disability. He has deficits in the skills needed which is an adequate typing speed. As to the technology, he is comfortable with the computer, albeit very slow, but prefers his normal routine of having his mom' support and scribing when he gets home.
The author has developed an indepth assessment tool to determine a good fit with the individual's needs and the technology available. When I went over the Nova Scotia Assistive Technology manual, I realized that the process of determining a student's AT needs and monitoring and refining his or her use includes consideration of these factors.
Having sat in on many Program Planning meetings where a students' adaptations including AT were discussed, I see how helpful having this framework is to analyze why the AT is working or not and problem solve with improvement of the student's quality of life, functioning and self-concept in mind.