When you are expecting to have a child with orthopedic impairment in the class, consider the accessibility of the classroom. If the child is in a wheelchair, the class should be accessible by wheelchair. Check if the flooring is adequate for the child’s needs. Also check door width, stairs or thresholds and the door knobs. Toilet accessibility is another important issue that needs to be considered. If your classroom is not suitable, you will need to consider renovation or shifting to a different room.

· Autism is a bio-neurological developmental disability that generally appears before the age of 3

· Autism impacts the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction, communication skills, and cognitive function. Individuals with autism typically have difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities

· Individuals with autism often suffer from numerous co-morbid medical conditions which may include: allergies, asthma, epilepsy, digestive disorders, persistent viral infections, feeding disorders, sensory integration dysfunction, sleeping disorders, and more

· Currently there is no cure for autism, though with early intervention and treatment, the diverse symptoms related to autism can be greatly improved and in some cases completely overcome.

 

· Autism now affects 1 in 44 children; over half are classified as having an intellectual disability or borderline intellectual disability

· Boys are four times more likely to have autism than girls

· Children with autism do progress – early intervention is key

· Autism is treatable, not a hopeless condition

For more information,  go to this link.


Assistive Technology for AUTISM

 
Watch this video! 
Experts talk about Assistive Technology for AUTISM

1  Low-tech AT includes anything that needs no electricity; think weighted vests, sensory balls, or picture boards.

2 Mid-tech AT is simple enough to be relatively inexpensive and easy to operate. Examples include battery-operated sensory toys, visual timers, and social skills videos.

3 High-tech AT is digital technology and can include anything from augmentative communication technology for non-verbal people to robots built to increase social skills in children on the spectrum.

 

· Low-tech AT – PECS 

· Mid-tech AT – Proloquo2Go

 

Low-tech AT 

Low-tech options for handling sensory issues include simple tools for reducing anxiety and increasing focus, such as stress balls, worry beads, weighted vests, and standing desks.

 

For executive functioning, ordinary written planners, color-coded schedules, and visual reminders can all make a positive difference. Most children with autism do best with hands-on and visual learning, so manipulatives like Cuisenaire rods (which are also available in virtual form) and alphabet blocks are good choices for teaching academic skills.

Mid-tech AT 

Mid-range options are easily available and relatively low-cost. Some examples include watches with alarms, visual timers, sound-blocking headphones, and calculators.

 

For many people with autism, audiobooks and recordings can be a great way to replay lectures or instructions. Because many people with autism are very visual learners, videos can be a good alternative to written books or spoken lectures.

High-tech AT 

At the high end, there are many types of software and apps that are intended to help visual learners think, write, and communicate.

 

LucidChart 

- used to make connections among apparently disparate ideas and turn those connections into usable outlines and other products.

 

LiveScribe and Dragon Home

- Speech to text software can also be useful, as can tools specifically created for students with learning disabilities.

Low-tech AT 

- Social Stories 

- Social skills cards and games: There are social skills games similar to Chutes and Ladders created to reinforce empathy; Uno cards focused on feelings; and dice games that are intended to reinforce social communication skills.

Mid-tech AT 

- dedicated to creating videos to teach everything from polite greetings to joining a conversation to asking someone out on a date.

 

The Social Express 

- is a social skills tool for middle school learners with autism and related disorders.

 

High-tech AT 

Kiwi, a “socially assistive robot” created by a team of researchers from the University of Southern California that teaches autistic children both how to do math and socialize. Related information. 

QTrobot, created by a company at the University of Luxembourg, which is intended to "increase children’s willingness to interact with human therapists, and decrease discomfort during therapy sessions." Related information. 

Human-shaped robots created at MIT to help develop social skills and empathy in children with autism. Related information. 

Low and Mid-tech AT 

Therapists may use trampolines, swings, brushes, balls, and similar tools to help over-responsive sensory systems become less sensitive.

 

Classroom teachers and paraprofessionals often use noise-canceling headphones, weighted vests, and tinted glasses to help students avoid excessive sound and light. To calm the nervous system, teachers and parents may use ball pits, weighted blankets and vests, or "squeeze machines" to provide tactile input.

 

Helpful apps

- Brainworks 

- Miracle Modus 

- Heatpad 

 

Keep in mind that even the simplest of tools is considered "technology".

Here is an incredible example of a resource available for disabled children who do not have the motor skills to touch or swipe a screen. It is an alternative access method using eye gaze called the "Look to Learn" software, which enables children to have control of a screen using their eyes.

A child with hearing and vision loss has difficulty or delays in understanding what's going on around them. This means that deafblindness can affect other areas of your child's development: Communicating – for example, a child might not see someone waving and smiling at them or be able to make eye contact.

Click on here to see the 4 basic categories for deaf-blindess.

How to accommodate deaf-blind students in the classroom.

1.) Maximize hearing and vision: These include medical devices like glasses and hearing aids, assistive technology, and individualized educational accommodations. Teacher should stay in one spot for the lecture (student may not be able to track sounds from various locations)

2.) Use of Student Aids/Accommodations: There are several types of support Teaching Students Who are Deaf-Blind Considerations When NETAC Teacher Tipsheet services available to students. Access to these services will help increase the student’s understanding in class and maintain the general pace of the course. These may include:

3.) Things to do before class: 

Keep in mind also that the lighting may have an affect as well. The teacher must be patient and flexible to be able to help these students.

Here is a more in depth example of a modal classroom which supports students with deafblindness.

_{3. Make sure lighting is suitable.} 

It is possible to prevent hearing loss with public health strategies and clinical interventions implemented across the life course.

1) Hearing loop (or induction loop) systems use electromagnetic energy to transmit sound. A hearing loop system involves four parts:

2) FM systems use radio signals to transmit amplified sounds. They are often used in classrooms, where the instructor wears a small microphone connected to a transmitter and the student wears the receiver, which is tuned to a specific frequency, or channel. 

3) Infrared systems use infrared light to transmit sound. A transmitter converts sound into a light signal and beams it to a receiver that is worn by a listener. The receiver decodes the infrared signal back to sound.

4) Personal amplifiers are useful in places in which the above systems are unavailable or when watching TV, being outdoors, or traveling in a car. 

Medium Incidence

 

What is it?

Intellectual disability (ID) is a term used when a person has certain limitations in cognitive functioning and skills, including communication, social and self-care skills. These limitations can cause a child to develop and learn more slowly or differently than a typically developing child.

Assistive Technologies

- Cognition tools assist people lacking thinking skills, attention, and memory retention. Time management tools, graphic organizers, activity planners, and reminders are some common examples.

 

Educational tools such as screen readers, voice recognition programs, text-to-speech software, graphic organizers, and proofreading software provide ease of reading and writing for students.

 

Communication tools such as audiobooks and communication cards offer an alternative to speech and allow for communication in an augmentative way.

 

-Academic Accommodations: Adaptations to the curriculum and learning activities may be required to include the student in the classroom.

- Learning Environment: Some students with ID may also have visual, hearing, and/or physical disabilities. Seating plans, classroom arrangements, behavior expectations, and classroom procedures may need to be adjusted.

- Consider adjusting communication styles like getting their attention before speaking, being clear and specific, using visual instructions, and using “least-to-most” prompts.

- Customize activities to their current level of understanding to increase engagement and promote success.

- Students may require extra repetition and practice.

- Provide many opportunities for students to work with groups and allocate specific tasks. Peer learning, friendships, and social skills are an essential part of group work.

 
Sources

 

 

Speech and language impairment is defined as a communication disorder that adversely affects the person’s ability in the following areas: speech, comprehension, reading, and writing. This disability category can be divided into two groups: speech impairments and language impairments. 

High Incidence 

Fluency disorder: “an interruption in the flow of speaking characterized by atypical rate, rhythm, and disfluencies (ex. Repetitions of sounds, syllables, words, and phrases; sound prolongations; and blocks” (ASHA) 

Voice disorder: There is an atypical quality to the voice, in the areas of pitch, volume, tone or resonance. 

Articulation disorder: “the inability to correctly produce speech sounds (phonemes) because of imprecise placement, timing, pressure, speed, or flow of movement of the lips, tongue, or throat.” (NIDCD)

Language impairments affect communication. “A Language impairment is defined as a disorder in one or more of the basic learning processes involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language.” (Florida Dept. of Education). 

It is important to know what kind of language impairment a student has, or if they have more than one.

Receptive disorders affect a student’s ability to understand spoken or written communication.
Expressive disorders affect a student’s ability to express themselves to others through both verbal and written language. Cognitive-communication disorders affect a student’s ability to organize information, remember things, and solve problems.

Assistive Technologies

Speech Apps
Children always like to play games. Look for games designed by speech pathologists that will help the student work on their pronunciation/phonics skills. Examples: Speech Wizard, Articulation Station, Speech Tutor

AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) Devices
AAC is the use of symbols, aids, strategies, and techniques to improve communication. It can be as simple as using gestures or sign language to communicate. As well, the student could have a writing board in order to answer questions without having to speak.
High Tech AAC Devices:
Text-to-Speech Software: Allows the student to give presentations without being nervous.  Examples: Dragon Dictation, TTS Reader, ClaroSpeak

Multiple Disabilities (MD) can be defined as a student having more than 1 category of severe disabilities which would render special education programmes inadequate to accommodate the extremity of the disability (as per the IDEA). 2.1% of students aged 6-21 are categorized as having MD as they struggle with more than 1 of the key developmental areas:

 

1.     Intellectual skills

2.     Adaptive skills (practical and social competencies including the cognitive skills to function in usual social settings)

3.     Sensory skills – hearing or vision difficulties (or both)

4.     Motor skills – significant challenges experienced with movement.

5.     Communication – limited or completely no speech

 

There is no set reason for MD in students although genetic and birth complications play a big role in existing cases.

 

The same screening process applies as with that needed to determine a need for disability.

Step 1: observation

Step 2: screening

Step 3; pre-ferral

Step 4: referral

Step 5: non-discriminatory evaluation

 

1.     include picture cards

2.     peer-tutoring

3.     varied communication devices such as iPads and computers

4.     keyboards with special interfaces (to facilitate varied motor skill levels)

5.     involvement in normal school-activities

6.     student differentiation learning strategies

People who have a traumatic or acquired brain injury may experience a wide variety of communication difficulties. Brain injuries can cause conditions like aphasia, which affects a person's ability to express and understand written and spoken language. The following assistive technologies may assist those with a brain injury communicate.

A speech-generating device is "a portable that contains one or more panels or switches that when depressed will activate pre-recorded digitized or synthesized speech output." These may be a standalone device, usually very small and light, or it can be software that is installed in a tablet or phone.

Recording devices can be useful for people with a brain injury in situations such as classes or work. Some symptoms of brain injury might make it difficult to take notes and keep up with teachers or presentations. A recording device can allow a person with a brain injury to go over recorded moments with less pressure and more control.

Many smartphones have recording capabilities, but often the sound recordings are not high quality. Other options include:

Traumatic/acquired brain injuries can affect a person's fine motor skills and also their ability to understand and communicate. The following assistive technologies can help people who have a brain injury that may have stronger oral abilities or need help with vocabulary while writing.

Personality or Mood
Children can be prescribed medications that help with their mood and/or improve their personality. 

Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiLBPsTRLnQ
https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/tbi/conditioninfo
https://guides.library.illinois.edu/c.php?g=497977&p=3409451

Listening Include 

Teaching style and support Include

Emotional and social support Include

Useful video to learn more about SLD, and specific accommodations below
https://youtu.be/KcuXaZGHIDg?t=9