Our
purpose is to expose educators, students and families to the
wide variety of Assistive Technology tools and services
available. Our staff will assess a student's Assistive
Technology needs, make appropriate recommendations, and
provide ongoing technological support to parents and
teachers to ensure that the proposed technology is
successfully incorporated into the student's daily routine.
We can also support educational teams in the acquisition of
assistive technology tools through various group buy
programs.
Through expanding awareness and acceptance of Assistive
Technology, we will be better able to incorporate the use of
AT in the classroom, better meet the educational goals of
our students, and greatly improve the quality of their
lives.
What is Assistive Technology?
Assistive
Technology (AT) can fall into two categories:
Assistive
Technology device:
Any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether
acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or
customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve
the functional capabilities of children with disabilities.
Assistive
Technology service:
Any service that directly assists a child with a disability
in the selection, acquisition or use of an assistive
technology device.
Our Mission
To link children
and adults with disabilities to technology systems that will
increase opportunities to achieve their potential in
education, daily living and employment.
To provide
Assistive Technology assessments for students within the
school districts served by the South Shore Educational
Collaborative
To provide
consultation, training and support for educational
professionals in the use of Assistive Technology devices,
software and services.
To expand
awareness and acceptance of the use of Assistive Technology
through our workshops and AT Fair.
Services
Consultation:
A district or program may request a consultation to provide
support for students and staff in the most effective use of
technology. Consultation services can be provided across a
continuum of settings and times, to be negotiated between
the CAT staff and the appropriate educational
administrators.
Assessment/Evaluation:
Upon
receiving a student referral, the AT Service Coordinator
will send the contact person from the student's school or
program a packet containing parent consent forms to be
filled out by parents or guardian, and student information
forms to be completed by the teacher, and other team members
(speech, OT, PT etc.). We will request that the contact
person send us these forms, with copies of most recent
evaluations including Speech, OT, PT, and vision, psychology
or medical reports if appropriate. SSEC CAT team members
will visit the student in his/her classroom and meet with
members of the student's educational team. Depending on the
student's needs, further assessment at the SSEC Assistive
Technology Center may also be indicated. The team will
generate a final report that will include a description of
the student's performance with the technology that was
introduced during the assessment. The report will also
include recommendations for both low and high tech
strategies that the student can utilize at school or home,
equipment costs, vendor information, and plans for
follow-up.
Training:
In
addition to hosting an annual Assistive Technology Fair, CAT
staff are available to provide professional development
workshops on a variety of Assistive Technology tools and
topics. They can also provide customized training in the use
and implementation of Assistive Technology within the school
setting. Trainings can be provided on-site or in SSEC's
computer lab. We can design workshops to meet the specific
needs of a classroom, school, program or district.
Suggested Resources
The
AT Team is currently working on a collaborative account for
free access to Bookshare.
The following are other links to AT resources.
Co:Writer
Kurzweil3000
Write OutLoud
Dragon
Naturally Speaking
Kidspiration/Inspiration
Kurzweil3000
Boardmaker
Writing With Symbols
Speaking Dynamically Pro
Intellitools
Clicker5
Lexia
Start to Finish Books
Read Naturally
Classroom Suite4
