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Oklahoma ABLE Tech
AT News You Can Use
March, 2018
March 2018 Edition Online Now!
In this issue:
- AT Support Team Training: AT Award Winners Announced
- Accessible Educational Materials: Ensuring Access
- Success Story: Eye Gaze for Communication
- Case Study: Fourth Grade Student with Cerebral Palsy
- Device Feature: Musical Fan Switch with Lights
- Transition: Importance of Planning for AT
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AT Award Winners Announced
Congratulations to Latta and Enid teams for being chosen to receive AT Awards of $250 worth of assistive technology for students in their district! They were chosen by random drawing of teams which successfully completed the assignments following participation in the AT Consideration and AT Assessment Part 1 workshop, held Jan. 29.
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Latta Winners Left to right: Shelly Williams,
Shale Long, Tisha Martin, Cami Dotson, Linda Jaco |
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Enid Winners Left to right: Amy Martin,
Talitha Osgood, Linda Jaco |
Participating teams have two more opportunities to win! Drawings will also be chosen from teams successfully completing assignments following AT Assessment Pt. 2 and AT Implementation, held Feb. 15 and AT Feature Matching and AT Funding to be held March 29. To qualify for the random drawings, teams must complete all assignments by deadline including a success story, which will be used in upcoming editions of AT News You Can Use.
The March 29 workshop will focus on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Accessible Educational Materials (AEM). Participants will also learn how to utilize the ABLE Tech resource, Oklahoma Funding for AT, to locate potential funding sources to supplement district funds.
Approximately 100 educators from 25 districts are participating in spring workshops. Registration is now closed; however, we are taking requests to be added to our waitlist, and to be added to our AT-L LISTSERV to receive notifications of future training dates. Click here to be added to the waitlist.
Click to read more about AT Training and other ABLE Tech Services for Educators.
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Ensuring Access
Does your district create its own educational materials, use open educational resources (OER), or purchase educational materials that are not on the State Textbook Adoption List? If so, then the district must take special care to make sure these materials are accessible to students with disabilities.
This means that text sizes, fonts, and colors should be customizable, and text-to-speech should be available to students who need to hear, rather than see, the words. An electronic file should be available for conversion to braille or large print. Graphics should include alternate text, and any video or audio content should include closed captions and transcripts.
If districts are using textbooks and other curricular materials from the State Textbook Adoption List, then the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) has already taken the necessary steps to ensure accessibility, by requiring that publishers submit NIMAS-conformant files to the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC). NIMAS stands for National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard, which is a file format designed to be easily converted into specialized formats including braille, large print, audio, and digital text.
To ensure accessibility of any materials your district acquires, you should include NIMAS language in your purchase contracts. Visit the ABLE Tech AEM page for more information and to view sample contract language.
ABLE Tech provides technical assistance and training to help schools acquire Accessible Educational Materials. Contact Kimberly Berry to schedule professional development in your area. Call 1-800-257-1705 or email kimberly.berry@okstate.edu.
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Eye Gaze for Communication
 “Cookie” is a six year old first grader who is non-verbal and has poor arm/hand control due to Cerebral Palsy. She did not have a communication device when she transferred to Mounds Schools at the beginning of the 2017-18 school year. The IEP Team agreed that an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device with eye gaze capability would be best, due to Cookie’s limited motor ability.
Brenda Van Zandt, Speech-Language Pathologist and AT coordinator for the district, borrowed the Tobii Dynavox from Oklahoma ABLE Tech for Cookie to trial.
Special Education Teacher Stephanie Eager said that Cookie was very excited to try something that she could use independently to give herself a voice. “The smile on her face when it was explained she could use the Tobii to talk to us was incredible!” said Eager. Cookie will continue to trial the Tobii Dynavox to ensure it is the appropriate device for her.
Click to see Tobii-I15 with Eye Gaze in ABLE Tech Loan Inventory.
This Trial Loan Success Story was submitted by Brenda Van Zandt of the Mounds AT Team. They were one of the AT Award Winners from last fall, winning $250 of assistive technology to benefit students in their district. Congratulations Mounds Team!
Has assistive technology helped someone you know? Share your story! Submit our Online Success Story and Photo Consent Form.
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Fourth Grade Student with Cerebral Palsy
This 9 year old girl has decreased muscle control of arms and legs. She uses a reverse walker to ambulate in the school. She has difficulty participating in PE activities such as relay races that involve being on the floor doing movements like a “bear walk” or “crab walk.” She also has difficulty maneuvering a scooter board.
Possible Recommendations:
 The student could continue to use her walker and the activities could be adapted for her. The student could use a wheelchair and either mobilize it independently or be mobilized by a peer. Another option is the Maddacrawler Prone Support Walker. This device can actually function like a scooter board in that it allows her to be on her stomach but elevated off the floor so she can effectively use her arms and legs to propel herself. She could participate in scooter board activities with this device and could more closely simulate the animal walks and other floor activities in PE.
Goals and Outcomes: Due to the student’s and IEP team’s desires for the student to be able to participate as other students do, the Maddacrawler was chosen for these activities. It allows her to be in similar body position as her peers and be independent and effective in mobilization.
Sample solutions available in the ABLE Tech Short-Term Loan Inventory:
ABLE Tech provides case studies as examples for educators considering assistive technology (AT) for students with disabilities to help them reach their educational goals. Visit AT Discovery for feature matching solutions based on the Student, Environment, Task and Tools (SETT) framework developed by Dr. Joy Zabala.
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 Musical Fan Switch with Lights
Savor a delightful breeze, hear the sound of music, and see the bright lights when you press this fan’s bright yellow, textured switch. This device is great for developing an understanding of cause and effect!
Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price: $95
Purchased from: Enabling Devices
Click to see Switch - Musical Fan with Lights in ABLE Tech Device Loan Inventory
Watch Musical Fan Switch with Lights Video on YouTube.
Each week ABLE Tech features one of the many assistive technology devices available for trial through our short-term loan program. Our inventory offers a wide range of AT for communication, computer access, hearing, vision, daily living, environmental adaptations, learning/development, health, safety, and recreation.
Search our Device Loan Inventory!
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Transition: AT for Hearing
For a student moving into adult life, assistive technology (AT) can facilitate greater independence. While some individuals with disabilities need AT to stay competitive with their non-disabled peers, others require technology to independently access their environment. Regardless of the specific need, students benefit most by having AT prior to the transition. For this reason, experts say that transition plans should address how AT devices and services will be transferred from one setting to another. A successful transition process involves people from different classrooms, programs, buildings, or agencies working together to ensure continuity. Self-advocacy, advocacy and implementation are critical issues for transition planning. (Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology Transition, http://qiat.org/docs/Indicators2012Rev.pdf).
Planning related to AT that will be needed during and after transition should begin at the same time other transition needs are addressed. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates that transition planning begin no later than the first IEP to be in effect at the beginning of the ninth grade year or by age sixteen, whichever comes first.
IDEA divides transition planning activities into five areas:
- Instruction;
- Related Services;
- Community Experiences;
- The development of Employment and other post-school adult living objectives; and
- If appropriate, acquisition of Daily Living Skills and provision of a Functional Vocational Evaluation.
AT can be associated with any or all of the above areas. If it is determined that a device used in high school should transition with the youth, the school district can agree to sell the device to the entity receiving the student. In this case, it is best practice for both entities to sign an Agreement for the Purchase/Sale or Statement Declining the Sale of AT Devices. This form and device depreciation examples are included on pages 90-95 of the Technical Assistance Document Assistive Technology for Children and Youth with Disabilities IDEA Part B.
More information regarding best practice for AT Transition can be found at www.qiat.org and in Education Tech Points: A Framework for Assistive Technology by Gayl Bowser and Penny Reed. For additional guidance, see the AT Assessment Resources and Consultations page, or call 800-257-1705.
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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.
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| Linda Jaco, Director
Oklahoma ABLE Tech
Oklahoma State University
1514 W. Hall of Fame
Stillwater, OK 74078
Phone: 800.257.1705
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Kimberly Berry, Assistive Technology Teacher
Oklahoma ABLE Tech
Oklahoma State University
1514 W. Hall of Fame
Stillwater, OK 74078
Phone: 800.257.1705
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