October News You Can Use Recognition Award Winners!
Spotlight on Success
AT Tip: Adapting Play
Edited by Allyson Robinson, SLP and Assistive Technology Specialist and
Sandra Wright, PhD., CCC/SLP, both of Oklahoma ABLE Tech
Special Note!
You may have noticed our note above showing who is behind the SoonerStart & ABLE Tech Collaboration eNews... and we want to especially note the fact that Sandra Wright is a new employee at ABLE Tech! She will be working very closely with Allyson on a variety of projects and consultations as well as providing content for the eNews(as she did this month in the "AT Tip: Adapting Play" article below).
Sandra earned her doctorate degree in speech-language pathology from the University of Kansas. She has over 15 years of experience working with children with significant communication challenges, developmental language disorders or delayed social language skills. She is an expert in augmentative and alternative communication, social language and one of the only 80 speech-language pathologists in the country who holds the American Speech Language Hearing Association Board of Recognized Specialist in Child Language. Sandra is married and loves showing her dogs in obedience and agility as well as having them serve as therapy dogs.
Recognition Award Winners! 1st Quarter
Creek and Cleveland County Teams Win!
Creek and Cleveland County SoonerStart Teams will receive $500 in new assistive technology (AT) to include in their county kits. Infants and toddlers under 3 years old and their families will be able to receive demonstrations of the new AT items. These services help families determine appropriate accommodations for children and decide whether or not they need AT.
Congratulations, Creek and Cleveland Counties! (read their stories below)
Spotlight on Success
On the left, this 2-year-old little girl has been working toward expressing her wants and needs using an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device. She typically expresses herself with gestures, body language, and facial expression but has been recently using the GoTalk NOW app on the iPad to improve her ability to communicate with her caregivers. She is able to use the device to make requests, give commands, and indicate choices during age appropriate activities, such as playing ball, blowing bubbles, and reading a book!
And, the 3-year-old to the right was able to participate successfully in potty time and dressing during her morning routine when she used her assistive technology! Prior to the use of the picture schedule, she was "negotiating or refusing" to participate. With the picture schedule, the family was able to initiate the routine, support the sequence of activities, and signal "all done" or completion of the activity. The pictures shifted focus away from "refusals" and power struggles that can occur in daily routines in the world of a toddler. Over time, she has become more independent with self-care and the family learned to redirect her to the routine using the pictures/picture schedule. They also applied the same strategies to mealtime routines.
Assistive technology used as a means for adapting play is not typically considered until age 3 due to the perceived ‘skills’ needed for its integration. However, during those first 3 years of life including infancy, developmental opportunities are frequently missed for those children with disabilities. With the integration of AT at an early age, the gap of developmental milestones could be lessened. A great example is the useof a mobile and using an interactive switch toy to provide equal developmental opportunities.
At first, very young children (4-8 months) will reach and grab towards a mobile placed above them with the result being incidental perhaps even accidental. Even at this very young age, the interaction with a mobile is learned as an independent activity, others are not needed for its enjoyment or purpose. The child determines if the action/reaction becomes desirable and will attempt to repeat movements in an intentional and purposeful manner towards the mobile in order to recreate the initial response. The child will likely start using the same type of motions on other objects to determine if the outcome is the same. For children who have disabilities, such as limited mobility or reduced tone, this independent play development and opportunity may be missed or deemed ‘not possible’.
With just a few tools which are contained in the AT Kit, this statement and thought process becomes false. For example, the spinning light show toy could be suspended above the child while seated in the versa form positioning pillow with a switch located in an area that they have a consistent motor response. The concept of this activity will support the growth of environmental awareness, effect on one’s environment, independent play, and cognitive development. As the child incidentally or accidentally activates a switch, there will be an outcome within the light toy. The child can then determine the desire to repeat the action, which could then turn into a desire to turn it on again and then hopefully attempt to change other things in the environment as well (the personal fan, the CD player, etc). It is an activity that with correct setup helps to build independent play even in a child under 1 year of age.
The early intervention of setting expectations of cognitive development and independent play should provide the incentive, stimulation and support to families for children to succeed as they develop.
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. Albert Camus
Need funding to assist in the purchase of assistive devices? Oklahoma ABLE Tech offers a comprehensive online guide for Oklahoma Funding for AT. Additionally, ABLE Tech, in partnership with Oklahoma Assistive Technology Foundation (OkAT) and BancFirst of Stillwater, offers Financial Loans to purchase assistive technology. Several programs of funding are available, all with LOW interest rate and flexible repayment terms, as well as special qualification opportunities for applicants who might not qualify for a traditional bank loan. For questions on the Financial Loan opportunities, call Shelley Gladden for more information at 800.257-1705.
Allyson Robinson,
Speech-Language Pathologist and Assistive Technology Specialist
Oklahoma ABLE Tech
Oklahoma State University
1514 W. Hall of Fame, Stillwater, OK 74078
Phone: 800.257.1705
Email: allyson.robinson@okstate.edu
Sandra Wright,
PhD., CCC/Speech-Language Pathologist
Oklahoma ABLE Tech
Oklahoma State University
1514 W. Hall of Fame, Stillwater, OK 74078
Phone: 800.257.1705
Email: sandra.wright@okstate.edu
You may have noticed our note above showing who is behind the SoonerStart & ABLE Tech Collaboration eNews... and we want to especially note the fact that Sandra Wright is a new employee at ABLE Tech! She will be working very closely with Allyson on a variety of projects and consultations as well as providing content for the eNews (as she did this month in the "AT Tip: Adapting Play" article below). 
