Assessments

Today's class was very informative. The variety of assessment tools used to determine student abilities and needs are important to know as a starting point to ensuring a level of independency. As mentioned, this level of independency may change over time as the student's needs change. A student may start off with a low-tech tool and progress to a high-tech tool. This is determined through careful assessment of the student's physical, sensory/perceptual, linguistic and cognitive abilities. As stated in an earlier class, it is not fair to "presume competency" so it is important to work as a team to determine the exact nature of the student's needs and abilities in reference to what is expected of him/her. Another extremely important step that must be remembered is the training for the communication partners or others who will be interacting regularly with this student. The partners must also see the value in the device. The South Shore Regional School Board's model of assessing and working with and for students who require assistive technology appears to be highly efficient.

Today we used an IPod Touch to explore the Proloquo2go program. It is amazing what this little hand held device can do to free students up to speak and interact. Communication is not cumbersome with this device. What is really attractive about this device is that students would look so natural carrying it around. Perhaps the reason for carrying the device would be a little different, but teenagers everywhere would recognize it and appreciate it for having another capability. Who doesn't want one of those amazing little machines!

I have created a link to the Department of Education, Assistive Technology Supporting Student Success handbook. In the appendices of the booklet there are a number of checklists and other information gathering tools for determining students need for assistive technology devices and services. These are helpful tools for any planning team or classroom teacher to be aware of and to use as reference guides when planning for students.