By Antoinette Chambers
October / November, 1997
Copyright © 1997 by Closing The Gap, Inc.
Consideration will provide documentation of the process which answers the following questions:
A) What is it we want the child to be able to do within the educational program, that he/she isn't able to because of his/her disability?
Would assistive technology enable the child to meet the goal? The team should be specific in answering this question, keeping short-term as well as long-term goals in mind. Areas to consider include:
handwriting
reading
math
written expression
daily organization
communication
mobility
recreation
seating/positioning
listening
seeing
self-care
levels of independence
cognitive processing
Once the area of need(s) is specifically identified, the team must ask:
B) What has been tried to meet the special education needs? What has been tried may include a variety of interventions met through strategies or modifications which are not considered assistive technology, or are low-tech in nature, or there may be assistive technology devices in place which are high-tech in nature.
Examples:
A child with a learning disability who is unable to memorize multiplication facts because of his/her disability may use a multiplication table which could be identified as a supplementary aid in the regular environment. An assistive technology device, such a calculator, identified as a low-tech device could also be used to meet the child's need.
A child who has difficulty writing may have written assignments modified to a shorter length, may require the use of a pencil grip, Dycem to hold the paper in place, a rubber stamp for his/her name, or a wrist support. These are all interventions which may be considered no or low tech which may meet a particular need. High-tech devices which may be in place include portable word processors, computers with word prediction software or computers which offer alternative input options for the user.
C) The question the team must ask themselves after identifying the strategies, modifications and devices that are in place to meet the educational need is; Is it working? That is, is the strategy, modification and/or device meeting the child's specific need, in the environments he/she needs to complete the task, to the level of desired independence, providing the child with the least restrictive environment where he/she is able to receive FAPE?
D/E) If the team agrees that the specified needs are being met within the least restrictive environment, and that the student's programming is appropriate with the strategies, modifications and/and or devices that are in place, to the level of independence desired, there should be evidence to support the effectiveness and appropriateness of the interventions. The evidence may be in the form of work samples, classroom tests, formal testing, recorded observations, video taping, or any other form appropriate to the child and his/her needs. Evidence should be provided by anyone involved in the student's education, from home or school. The use of successful interventions should be documented within the IEP as part of present levels of performance, within goal statements, as components of the objective or as related services.
F/G) If the team agrees that a specific educational need is not being met with present interventions, they must ask themselves additional specific questions:
What was tried?
How long was it tried?
How was it tried?
What were the results?
That is, what worked about it, what didn't work?
H) The team must then ask themselves: Do we as a collaborative team have the necessary knowledge and resources to continue to try and meet the child's special education need through alternative interventions, inclusive of strategies and/or modifications, as well as assistive technology devices and/or services?
I/J) If the not, the team must then seek additional assistance. This may come from within the school, be at a district level or require the services of another agency. Not every team can be expected to know everything about every possible assistive technology device and/or service. The individual variables of the system as well as the background disciplines of the team members will impact the decision at this point. There are varying degrees of training, experience, and accessibility to devices which may limit the capabilities of a particular team in relation to the needs of a specific child. Recognizing the limits and seeking additional input at this point is the responsibility of the team, and required under IDEA when considering the assistive technology needs of the child.
K/L) If the team agrees they have not exhausted their own knowledge base and resources, they must develop a plan of action to meet the specific needs of the child. Based on what has been tried, they need to decide on alternative intervention strategies, devices and/or services, or modifications to interventions already in place.
Given the specific educational needs of the child, the team needs to decide:
Is it eductionally necessary?
Under what conditions will it be tried?
In what environments will it be tried?
How long will it be tried?
What is the criteria for determining whether or not the need is being met?
This action plan should be incorporated into the IEP as documentation of consideration of assistive technology which will be acted upon to meet the appropriate educational needs of the child in the least restrictive environment.
The documentation of assistive technoloby may be incorporated anywhere within the IEP, however, there are three places in the IEP where asistive technology commonly appears:
1. Annual goals and short-term objectives.
2. Enumeration of supplementary aids and services necessary to maintain the student in the least restrictive environment.
3. List of related services necessary for the student to benefit from his or her education.
It is important to realize that the decisions to the questions must be based on the individual special education needs of the child. The amount of time tried with a device or service will vary, depending on the child, the need and the device. The criteria will also be unique to each child, depending on the desired goal. Is the goal for the child increased independence, task mastery, the rate at which a task is accomplished, increased stamina, accuracy, attentiveness, increased interactions? The goal(s) all depend on the individual needs of the child and that must be determined on a case by case basis.
M) It is important to remember that the consideration of assistive technology and evaluation of it's role in the educational program of a child, is an ongoing process. While there may be a beginning, there could well be no end. As the needs of the child change, as environments change, as the tasks required of the child change, as abilities change, his/her needs may change as well. The process of consideration should be a part of every annual IEP review, at minimum. In best practice, the evaluation process will be ongoing, with those around the student continuing to ask, are the needs being met?
The process of condsideration is published in the CASE/TAM Assistive Technology Policy & Practice Series, Has Technology Been Considered? A Guide for IEP Teams. In addition to the process of consideration, the book answers commonly asked questions, provides definitions, examples and models to assist in consideration as well as providing additional resources. It is available through:
The Council of Administrators of Special Education,
Inc.
615 16th Street, NW
Albuquerque, NM 87104
(505) 243-7622
Order Number AT-12 call for price information
Note: Antoinette Chambers is the author of CASE/TAM Assistive Technology Policy & Practice Series', Has Technology Been Considered?