One of my favorite websites is n2y.com for group and current events. They have a new issue every week, and every article is differentiated a thousand different ways to Sunday. They have two levels of the same article, one has PECs under every word, both levels will read to you, and it comes with a wide variety of differentiated activities to do that relate to the article.

On the other side of that coin... TL;DR: Apple is not sensitive to those with cognitive disabilities and the only way around that is to lie about your brother's age to put parental controls on his account so he doesn't spend all your money on coins for Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War.

As most of you know, my brother has autism. He has an iPhone that he uses for everything under the sun, including games. We set him up with his own account because he was downloading things like crazy and clogging everything up which was fine. Apple requires you to have a credit card to download anything from the iTunes store, even if you use a gift card. I know this because we give him an iTunes gift card (his choice) as allowance every week. He can't use it unless either my mom or myself put in our credit card information (he can't have one because of SSI). My mom and I sat down and brainstormed things we could do to remedy this situation. We got him the green light card and it was working great until he overspent by whatever the amount was. It locked up his account and chaos ensued. See on Google Play if you don't have enough money on your primary form of payment, it tells you payment denied, which I feel is the responsible thing to do. Apple does no such thing. Apple says "sure! We'll give that to you even though you don't have enough money, but we won't let you cancel it." Not a huge problem for someone who understands the concept of numbers and value and money. Big problem for us. We called Apple and explained that he has autism and asked if there was a way we could put parental controls on his account... they were less than kind. His account quickly went from his chronological age of 31 to his cognitive age of 10.

SETT Framework includes student, education, task & tool. Encourage collaboration between team, student, teacher, caregiver. If you assess a student an assistive technology device or support is designated, the student must know how to use it. In order for the device to assist in the child's education, they need to use it ofter to establish independence.

1) The Assistive Technology has to be in the student's IEP, because he/she will need it specified when travelling around the school and working with others.

2) Data collection needs to take place to ensure that the student is benefiting from the AT being used.

3) Another question is: Is the AT being used lowering the barrier for the student? Must keep collaboration open.

4) Must know a student's goals before assessing if AT is needed to achieve or work towards the goals.

5) Which tasks will the student need the tools?

1. IEP members need to be knowledgeable about AT devices or have someone present in the meeting that is. This can help the discussion of what may be considered for or needed by the student.

2. Something that is used in the classroom by every student but is required by a specific student needs to be put in that student's IEP as an AT device.

3. Having a conversation about AT devices and not the services is ineffective. Services are needed to benefit students in effectively using and implementing AT (especially in different environments).

Lastly, using the QIAT indicators can lead to supporting a more effective consideration of AT. AT needs to be considered for ALL students not just those who are considered to have severe disabilities. Additionally, it helps in expressing the need to explore a range of AT devices that could potentially benefit the student and not just a few. QIAT indicators also allows for the AT consideration to be based on the student's IEP goals and objectives.

The QIAT indicators could support more effective consideration of AT needs.  AT should be considered for all students.  The collaboration throughout the decision making process, while also looking at the data that was collected, would also be an important part. 

Professionally, the pandemic made it very difficult to effectively teach students with autism who needed additional supports such as prompting. There were various aspects of student IEPs that could not be implemented such as community goals, behavior supports, and to some extent, assistive technology. Most students had access to their communication devices and basic materials that parents were able to gather. Some students however, required needs beyond what their parents could provide in terms of behavior. Our program ensures that everyone has the proper Safety Care training to de-escalate and mitigate challenging behaviors. We also knew the reactions our students would have to being asked to complete a school task. We tried to minimize activities that might instigate a behavior because the parents had no training on how to stay safe. We also struggled with more vocational tasks such as sorting. Very few people have 50 identical sets of 3 items to sort.

Upon return from virtual instruction, educators had to adapt teaching techniques even further to adapt to the classroom as a whole. Due to the diverse needs of our school, administration allowed students to remain virtual for quite a while after we returned. It was a logistical and technological nightmare. However, we now had access to a huge library of digital teaching materials and we discovered that some students learned better with digital materials. After all the wrinkles were ironed out, it allowed educators more flexibility to differentiate instruction.

1. AT must be in the IEP. If it is written and signed off on, legally, it must be implemented. If it's not written it doesn't have to happen and the student will not be able to succeed.

2. The only way to determine is if the AT is working is to take data. In my setting, we don't do anything without data. It helps show trends of successful implementation and may even help identify factors that are causing the AT to be ineffective. For example, if the AT is consistently less effective at a specific time of day, it is worth taking a look at what the student is experiencing during that time. It could be something as simple as the AT is not needed during that period (think AAC during gym class vs reading), or it could be something more complex like the student is unable to use it effectively at that time due to environmental factors such as access to a charger, or untrained staff.

3. The AT is only as good as the person using/teaching it. Quick anecdotal story that perfectly shows this. A CST from a school outside our district but within Bergen County approached our program and asked if we would accept a student with higher behavior rates and that utilizes an AAC device. That's our wheelhouse so we set up the intake and ended up accepting the student. The CST gave the student TouchChat installed on an iPad to help the student communicate but nobody taught him how to use it. We spent the first 2 months simply teaching him how to use the program and we saw a natural reduction in behaviors because he was able to tell us what he wanted. It just so happened that I was working with him during that time. I am not familiar with TouchChat but through working with him, I was able to identify issues with the program settings and with the speech therapist, research how to change the settings to be more effective for the student. We also took a look at the student on a whole. Was it really necessary for him to hit the "I" button and then the "want" button and then the "iPad" button? For this student no, so we eliminated all the extra button presses that were causing frustration and made the iPad button say "I was iPad". Behaviors reduced even more.

First off, I had absolutely no idea that there were EIGHT senses! I don’t know when this changed from the typical 5 I learned about in school (touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste), but boy was I surprised when I started reading.  The three inside senses were the three I was unaware even existed: body movement (vestibular), body position (proprioception), and interoception (how the body feels).  

All of this was new information to me: Vestibular deals with balance, posture, and muscle tone.  Proprioception deals with our position in space and general body awareness.  It is critical for development of motor skills and motor planning.  Interoception Awareness is the ability to notice body signals and connect body signals to the emotion.  Interoceptive awareness plays the starring role in this ability to notice and connect the internal signals of the body and allow you to know exactly how you feel.

The module gave many examples for all eight senses about behaviors one might exhibit if an individual is over- or under-responsive to sensory input. Upon reading this, it made me immediately think about specific students that I have. For instance, today in my Art Modified class, we were working with plaster and I had two students who did not like the feel of the plaster on their hands and would dip their hands in the water bowl to clean them after applying each strip of gauze.

I found it very interesting that there are countless first person reports directly from people with ASD, sharing that sensory differences are the most problematic symptom of the diagnosis.  In the art room, we use a wide range of materials with different textures, smells, and levels of “messiness”.  I plan to contact our school’s OT, as they have specialized skills and knowledge in assessing and supporting sensory needs.  Prior to this module, I did not think about coordinating with the OT in regards to sensory issues.  

Customized Employment

I chose to explore customized employment for individuals with disabilities. Customized employment is necessary for individuals who have disabilities (such as Autism) because it can be very difficult to find meaningful employment that matches their skills and interests. Traditional vocational practices are ineffective for people with complex disabilities and support needs to be customized for the individual. There are many stages that and employment specialist provides to the individual who has a disability. Some of the steps provided are called Discover process where they gain a realistic and more comprehensive understanding of that person. They look at their interests, skill sets, family life, community. Then they assess "Personal Genius" of that individual. Next they try to establish vocational themes that are tied to their interests. They complete informational interviews and the job specialist goes on the interview. The job specialist acts as a representative for that individual and narrows down the employment position. Finally, the job specialist assists with the individual and future employer the development of an employment opportunity.

Customized Employment

I chose to explore customized employment for individuals with disabilities. Customized employment is necessary for individuals who have disabilities (such as Autism) because it can be very difficult to find meaningful employment that matches their skills and interests. Traditional vocational practices are ineffective for people with complex disabilities and support needs to be customized for the individual. There are many stages that and employment specialist provides to the individual who has a disability. Some of the steps provided are called Discover process where they gain a realistic and more comprehensive understanding of that person. They look at their interests, skill sets, family life, community. Then they assess "Personal Genius" of that individual. Next they try to establish vocational themes that are tied to their interests. They complete informational interviews and the job specialist goes on the interview. The job specialist acts as a representative for that individual and narrows down the employment position. Finally, the job specialist assists with the individual and future employer the development of an employment opportunity.

Overall, I never realized the various additional diagnoses that come along with autism and the higher rates of sucide and depression that they may experience. Although I have not worked with students with autism for very long, I have not seen signs of depression or even occasional sadness from these students so it was truly eye opening to realize that you may never know how some students truly feel. This definitely made me more aware of certain situations relating to students with autism.

Minoculars.

Lighted magnifiers  (Low Tech)

3X - 5X magnifiers Dome Magnifiers.
For Adults:

Electronic Magnification at Home

Microsoft Accessibility Features 

Immersive Reader (New Technology).

Tablet Stands that erognomically positions the reading tablet.

Hearing aids have different programs for listening to music, lecture, televisions, etc.

Interesting fact about dementia and depression is common with individuals with hearing loss. I learned hearing aids are the first choice, if that doesn't work, then a cochlear is considered as a surgical option. Another surgical option is called BAHA, which bypasses the part of the ear that is not working and pinpoints what is working. Amazing.

1. Screencastify allows you to screen record and explain something to someone when they need an additional explanation.

2. An example of direct therapy is a speech therapy session whereas an indirect therapy example could be sending a video to parents about modeling something. Both types of therapy can be done in person or digitally.

3. When teaching AAC virtually it is important to focus on the important things that may occur in the person's life (like cooking or washing hands) instead of something that may not be as important (like making slime).

2) Functional abilities are the primary focus and not the disability. This is something that is not obvious or intuitive to me that is now. You should be looking at what is working best and looking to make sure that this is maintained and supported first. Starting from strength as it were.

3) Of course, the importance of information gathering and data and the collaboration between all of the partners and stakeholders is always really critical to the success of any IEP or student plan.

The QIAT indicators provide a framework and the organization to work through these problems and this is important as a resource for those who are working to level the playing field for the students that are involved here.

1. Indirect instruction is just as important as direct instruction. Our program currently uses the 3:1 model of support for our related services where the student receives 3 weeks of direct instruction and 1 week of indirect instruction. This time is often used to collaborate and troubleshoot with therapists on issues the student may be having in the classroom.

2. Teaching the parent is just as important as teaching the student. If the student can only use the device in the school setting because the family is not familiar with how to use the program, then it is not truly effective in helping the student communicate.

3. Screencastify- I wish I knew about this in 2020! It is a program that allows the user to record their screen and share it. This would have made my virtual lessons much more effective.

While technology has enabled flexibility and accessibility in learning, it has also highlighted disparities in digital access and skills among students and educators. The return to in-person learning brings new challenges and opportunities for leveraging technology to enhance classroom experiences, promote personalized learning, and support student well-being. It underscores the importance of leveraging technology intentionally to create inclusive and effective learning environments that meet the diverse needs of learners in today's evolving educational landscape.

1) Assistive technology (AT) should be included in the student's Individualized Education Plan (IEP) to ensure it is documented for use during school activities and interactions with peers.

2) It's essential to collect data to assess the effectiveness of the AT being utilized and determine if it is positively impacting the student's learning outcomes.

3) Continuously evaluate whether the AT being implemented is reducing barriers for the student and fostering collaboration among stakeholders.

Additionally, it's crucial to understand a student's goals before assessing the need for AT to support achieving or progressing towards these goals. Lastly, identifying specific tasks where the student requires AT tools is essential for effective implementation.

One highlight was the variety of AT solutions demonstrated, such as tablet stands and iPad handles, each using different materials and construction methods. The presenter showcased multiple versions of these devices, complete with the necessary supplies, which I found immensely helpful. Additionally, the durability tests conducted on these devices provided a compelling visual demonstration of their effectiveness.

I am enthusiastic about collaborating with our technology teacher to involve students in designing and building AT devices. This hands-on approach could yield innovative solutions that benefit students in my self-contained art class. The practicality and creativity demonstrated in this webinar have inspired me to explore new possibilities for integrating AT into our classroom environment.

Screencastify-Tool used to record screen. This seems like a great tool to use, for either long or short videos. In my classes, I always accompany my step by step instructions with images. This could be a great tool to use to make short videos for each step, so that the students can physically see the process, as a refresher or if they were absent during my demonstrations.

Curate-don’t create! The idea of using other things that have already been created and curating it in a way that will work for our students is fantastic, and advice that I wish I used more frequently. There is no need to reinvent the wheel!