During our class today we discussed the various assessment tools and instruments that are used when performing a preliminary assessment of a student's needs for assistive technology. The assessment tools can be quite in depth and very detailed, which of course is needed as this makes the assignment of a particular assistive technology tool more effective, useful and functional for a given individual.
As well, we worked in small groups and were given an AT tool to work with. In my particular group, the individual was a non-verbal individual and was attempting to take part in an in depth conversation about the oil spill crisis in the U.S. and President Obama's response. Initially, without any device, our group discussed the difficulties presented when a non-speaking person is in on a conversation. Things that were cause for concern were the other individuals knowing that the 3rd person was non-verbal, being aware of their feelings about this and the fact that they want to be included in a conversation. This meant that the other parties had to make eye contact with the non-verbal person and look for that person's facial expressions, head nodding or shaking and animation by fist slamming or slapping their hands to show agreement or strong disagreement. When we were given the device, the Cre-Reader, this alleviated some of the concerns, however it presented its own challenges. First of all, on a positive note, the Cre-Reader allowed the person to engage in the conversation in full and allowed them to have a voice and express their opinions rather than just simply agree or disagree strongly. The challenges were that the LCD display on the device is small and hard to read with the contrast as there is glare. In addition, the keyboard is not set up as a traditional keyboard, so factors of the individual's keyboarding skills, let alone their knowledge of letters and sounds needs to be assessed before such a tool is introduced. Another factor that I found, as a speaking person, was that it was very stressful for me to try to type my response when I knew that others were waiting for this. However, this brought about the fact that the person's engaging in a discussion would need to be mindful of this with the non-verbal person and be patient and accepting of this when engaging in conversation.
We also had other groups in our class share their examples of how they used a particular AT device, such as the On the Go grids, as well as the iPad and iTouch.
It was very interesting to see the various pieces of equipment used and how they could be used in different environments for different students.
In class we discussed the MPTTT, WATI and SETT frameworks when doing assessments on individuals. Of particular importance when making this determination is to focus on the Milieu (Environment), Personality of the individual for whom the device will be used, the type of Technology that we are requesting as well as the time and task we are looking for the person to be doing. All of these factors need to be assessed in order to ensure that the best AT device can be assigned to the individual based on what function they need to be doing. Of tremendous importance is for people to be aware that this is an ever changing process. The individual's needs may change, the technology may become outdated or not useful for their needs anymore. In addition, when considering mobility or vision/hearing issues for an individual, these could change as well and they consequently would require a different device. These are the most important factors when making determinations on what technology will best be suited for an individual and the fact that you need to constantly and continuously assessing the needs and effectiveness of the technology in assisting the individual on becoming successful as a functioning member in their environment.
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