Reflections of Assistive Technologies

Some technologies are worth more than their weight in gold.  Below is Josh's story.  It is about 8 minutes long and definitely worth watching if you have any interest in assistive technology, children with autism, or education in general.  The video is about a child named Josh who has autism.  At first he was described as non-verbal and  by the end of the video he's making eye-contact and reading to his teacher and classmates.

Assistive technology like the AbleNet Super Talker and the AbleNet Bookworm (more info on AbleNet here: http://www.ablenetinc.com/) allow students to communicate in a socially safe and predictable manner.  Josh's teacher was able to identify the toys that he enjoyed playing with and figured out what technology could be used to make him feel more comfortable communicating, not only with his teacher, but with everyone in his social circle.  The great thing about these technologies is that they really only need to be used temporarily.  Once the student has developed the skills/comfort that the technology provides, it can be phased out of use so that he/she can do the things other students can do without the use of any additional help.

The goal of any school special needs assistance is to get the student to the point where they don't need the assistance any more.  I see that with Aurora (my daughter) as well.  She has mild spastic diplegia cerebral palsy.  When she was going to public school she had an IEP (Section 504) plan because her brain has a hard time switching topics and ideas.  It's mild but it's there.  In addition, she wore braces on her feet, ankles, and lower legs while going through physical and occupational therapy several days a week.  Because of the IEP and all the therapy and braces, she no longer needs as much individual attention in the classroom, is out of her braces, might go out for the swim team at the YMCA, and rides horses like a champ!  Sometimes these assistive technology devices give just the right amount of help to give the students the momentum to stay caught up.