In this issue you will Find Topics On:
Assistive Technology
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Get the conversation on AT going. |
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Assistive Technology 101. The basics of AT is a good place to start on our theme. This fact sheet from the Family Center on Technology and Disability introduces AT, gives examples of how different types of AT can help people with different kinds of disabilities, looks at how to choose the right AT device(s) for your child, and connects you to sources of more info on AT. https://www.fctd.info/factsheet/at101  AT Solutions. Lots of info in this 11-pager. Its contents? (1) Basic questions to consider when identifying AT devices well-suited for your child. (2) Illustrated examples of selected AT options. (3) Icons to indicate whether a device is high-tech, mid-tech, or low-tech. (4) A product list with vendor information. https://www.fctd.info/assets/assets/21/AT_solutions-may2012.pdf  What About AT in the Workplace? Not surprisingly, AT can make all the different in the workplace, too. JAN (the Job Accommodations Network) is a valuable resource for employers (and employees with disabilities) to consult. Visit JAN’s Technology page for starters. https://askjan.org/topics/tech.htm  AT by its Function: Visit AbleData. AbleData provides objective information about AT products and rehabilitation equipment- almost 40,000 product listings in 20 categories such as aids for daily living, education, computers, transportation, and products for people with different disabilities (e.g., visual impairment, communication, deafness/hearing impairment, physical). For each product, there’s a detailed description of the product’s functions and features, price information (when available), and contact information for the product’s manufacturer and/or distributors. https://www.abledata.com/abledata.cfm  Fun for children who don’t like to read, struggle to read, can’t read. Everyone loves a good story. If your child struggles to read due to a disability, hook them up with Bookshare, the world’s largest online library of copyrighted content for people with qualified print disabilities. You really don’t have to read a story to enjoy the story. You can listen!  3 Tips for Integrating Technology in Your Classroom. Innovative K-12 instructors can successfully bring technology into the classroom by assigning online course content, using adaptive software for students with special needs, and utilizing online student assessments and other digital tools. 10 Free Text-to-Speech Tools for Educators. Easily select any part of a text and hear it in the voice and accent you want. https://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/05/10-free-text-to-speech-tools-for.html AT for Students with Learning Disabilities. From Great Schools, this resource page will connect you with AT that helps students with learning disabilities with skills such as writing, reading, listening, organization and memory, and more. https://www.greatschools.org/articles/?topics=188&language=EN AT Self-Assessments. The self-assessment was designed and field-tested by Tots-n-Tech to help states evaluate their systems and supports for the use of adaptations, including AT, in early intervention. https://tnt.asu.edu/self-assessment  Web Accessibility: Guidelines for Administrators. How can administrators in educational institutions, libraries, companies, and other organizations assure that the websites their employees create and maintain are accessible to people with disabilities? Without technical expertise themselves, how do they direct their staff in this area? This publication provides guidance to non-technical administrators regarding how to assure that websites in their organizations are accessible to everyone. https://www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Technology/web_admin.html  Resource on Home Visiting. Toolkit: Planning Home Visiting Partnerships. This toolkit from CLASP, intended for states, includes background on home visiting partnerships and information on available home visiting models and their potential for use in partnership with Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) caregivers; a planning guide for states to explore home visiting partnerships, including potential policy changes; and case studies of existing partnerships. https://www.clasp.org/admin/site/premium-publications/files/Home-Away-from-Home.pdf  |
CurriculumTeachers Write: Free online summer writing camp. We’re passing along this news from Reading Rockets, who says “Meet up with fellow teachers and librarians to work on your writing craft over the summer – for free! Then apply what you learn with your students next year. That’s the simple, brilliant idea behind Teachers Write – a collaborative, low-key way to sharpen your writing skills and become part of a community of educator-writers. Virtual “camp” runs from June 4th to August 10th.” Sounds good, doesn’t it? Find out more at: Making Sure Students Have Instructional Materials They Can Actually Use. Accessible materials are a must for students with print disabilities-and that’s a lot of students. Visit the National AIM Center and check out its two free online courses that have been designed for educators, administrators, parents, and others involved in the provision and use of accessible instructional materials (AIM) in schools and at home. https://aim.cast.org/experience/training/courses AIM Across the Curriculum. Learn about planning considerations, products, and solutions for access to the general curriculum, categorized by content area. https://aim.cast.org/experience/acrosscurriculum Check Out Game-Playing to Promote Skill Learning. Arcademic Skill Builders are online educational video games that offer a powerful approach to learning basic math, language arts, vocabulary, and thinking skills. See what’s available for your classroom and students. https://www.arcademics.com/ |
Early Intervention
Using Assistive Technology with Infants & Toddlers.
Infants and toddlers are likely to depend on the simpler forms of AT – like towel rolls to provide trunk support when sitting, an infant bathseat used by parents of all babies to provide sitting support in the bathtub, or a homemade communication device. Here’s an info-rich article to help you decide on AT for our little ones that supports their developmental learning.
https://tnt.asu.edu/files/Brief_5_ATUse_8-24-09_final.pdf
And how do we train the adults to use the child’s AT?
This research brief, Evidence-Based Strategies for Training Adults to Use AT and Adaptations, summarizes findings from a research synthesis of the effectiveness of different types of practices for promoting practitioner and parent adoption of different kinds of AT and adaptations for young children with disabilities.
https://tnt.asu.edu/files/TotsNTech_ResearchBrief_2011.pdf
16 New Practice Clips.
Thanks, NECTAC, for this item! The Desired Results access Project, funded by California’s Department of Education, recently added a new “Practice Clips” section to its Digital Video library. The section includes 16 video clips that give early childhood staff with opportunities to practice a variety of skills, including observation, documentation, and assessment. Download the clips free, and use them in educational and professional development activities.
https://www.draccess.org/videolibrary/
Developmentally Appropriate Practice – New Collection of Resources from NAEYC.
And thanks, NECTAC, for this item, too! The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has developed a new collection of resources on developmentally appropriate practice (DAP), an approach to teaching grounded both in the research on how young children develop and learn and in what is known about effective early education.
IEP Teams
La TecnologÃa Asistencial.
We’re also pleased to offer a brief discussion in Spanish of the uses and benefits of assistive technology, as well as a list of resources in Spanish on AT.
https://nichcy.org/espanol/temas/tecnologia
Find Your State’s AT Project.
Have a look at NICHCY’s webpage on the Assistive Technology Act, which was passed by Congress to promote providing AT to persons with disabilities, so they can more fully participate in education, employment, and daily activities. The webpage will connect you with the law itself, give you a summary of its purposes and provisions, and put you in touch with your state’s AT project that’s funded under the Act.
NICHCY’s Assistive Technology Pinterest Board.
https://pinterest.com/elaineindc/assistive-technology/
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Participation requests
OJJDP and SAMSA Observe National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day
https://www.samhsa.gov/children/
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will observe National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day on May 9, 2012. This year’s observance will promote recovery and resilience for children and youth in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. OJJDP, SAMHSA, and partnering agencies will support efforts to help the public recognize signs of child trauma, promote treatment for children’s traumatic experiences, and promote trauma-informed social services and supports. They seek participants in Awareness Day 2012 Community Events activities. The Community Events link on the Web site lists activities already planned state-by-state.
LeadCast Blog Invites Entries from Scholars
https://niusileadscape.org/bl/
The Equity Alliance at ASU’s LeadCast blog was initially created to talk directly to school principals, and has expanded to include researchers, practitioners, scholars, and state and district administrators dedicated to improving education through advocacy, research, social agency and the arts and transforming the ways education is conceptualized and delivered in this country. They invite scholars interested in submitting blog entries to email niusileadscape@asu.edu.
Participants Sought for Survey on Mentoring Services for High-Risk Youth
www.surveymonkey.com/s/YouthMentoringSurvey
The National Mentoring Partnership, Global Youth Justice, and the National Partnership for Juvenile Services are conducting a survey to improve the design and delivery of mentoring services for youth at risk for delinquency, alcohol and drug abuse, truancy, and other problem behaviors. Results will be included in a research report and in training and technical assistance materials, which will be free and available online. The survey is funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Mentoring and juvenile justice professionals working in detention, corrections, probation, dependency courts, delinquency courts, and teen court/youth court diversion programs are encouraged to participate.
America’s Promise Launches Grad Nation Communities
https://www.americaspromise.org/gradnationcommunities
America’s Promise Alliance is drafting more communities into its campaign to boost high school graduation. The Alliance recently launched Grad Nation Communities, part of the Grad Nation Campaign, a 10-year initiative to mobilize all Americans to take action to end the high school dropout crisis and better prepare young people for college and the 21st century workforce. The Alliance invites communities to join this network of cities and towns that will work to improve high school graduation rates by focusing on the local schools that are most in need of improvement.
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