week 2

Augmentative communication is a subset of assistive technology – understanding the differences and similarities between augmentative communication, assistive technology, high, low, and no tech AT is confusing but critical in understanding the field of assistive technology

The field of AT is very broad and it can be used to help people with a variety of needs. One of the subsets of AT is augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) which is the process of using AT to communicate; this is needed to fully function in the world. Since AAC is part of AT, it is easy to believe that it is similar to the rest of AT but it is not. There are specific characteristics that make a device AAC; it must improve an individual’s ability to communicate effectively with the world around them. Not all AT is absolutely necessary for a person to function in the world but AAC is necessary.

AAC gives a person the ability to have a voice in what is going on around him or her; for young children who have verbalization difficulties it can give them the freedom of choice. The website YAACK describes the importance of AAC in the development of children. It explains that AAC is needed for young children because communication is what “cognitive, social and academic progress depends on,” and without it they would stall. (http://aac.unl.edu/yaack/toc.html) The website also suggests, when children are young they need to communicate with adults in a meaningful way to get their needs met and if they cannot they may shut down. AAC can help aid children in learning how to meaningfully and affectively communicate with the world around them. If they do not feel that they are being listened to it could cause them to stop developing all together. Also, if individuals and especially children do not have a way to communicate their needs, they will fall into learned helplessness and they will never develop the skills to do things for themselves. For adults who want to be independent of others and interact with the world as a whole they need AAC. Adults who have communication disabilities need AAC in order to be independent of others and communicate without the assistance.

AAC maybe the one area of AT where high tech devices are truly needed. Some low or no tech AAC devices may work for young children or those with limited cognitive abilities but for fully cognitive adults high tech devices are a necessity. The example of the no tech AAC that I used last week, the picture board, was great for preschool students because they did not have complex communication needs. Also at a young age children do not have a complete grasp of sentence construction or spelling. For adults a picture board would not work and would be too limiting. Adults require AAC that allows for complex communication with a wide variety of options if they desire independence. One example of an option for adult communication would be the Freedom 2000 Touchbook. (http://www.abilityhub.com/aac/aac-devices.htm) This device allows adults to interact with employees in a store to ask for assistance in finding an item, in a restaurant to place an order, or to hold a conversation with someone at work. Without the option of complex, high tech AAC devices adults will be limited in the things that they can do.

The main thing that needs to be understood about the differences between AAC and AT is that AAC is needed to truly communicate with the world. One cannot function without assistance in the world if they cannot communicate on their own. In order to be independent of others one needs AAC to help them.

Week 1

One of the biggest myths about assistive technology is that it involves only high tech items and that it is always costly…

The above statement describes many people’s beliefs about assistive technology (AT); to many AT does mean high tech items that are costly. Of course, this is a misperception of AT because anything that helps a student perform better can be considered assistive technology. It is easy to see that the reason people believe it only contains high tech devices is because they are more glamorous than a no or low tech device. No or low tech devices do not catch people’s attention in the same way that high tech devices do and therefore they are not always remembered.

Along with no or low-tech devices not always being remembered, the term technology in AT could also be what misleads people. The term technology to many means that there has to be power involved and a computer chip. This assumption is often wrong and today we tend to forget that in 1879 the light bulb was considered the newest, greatest piece of technology. The term technology changes, for the mass public, with every new invention and many of us forget about the most basic forms of it. For the vast majority of students who need to use a form of assistive technology it will be something that their teachers, and aids can create and build with little to no effort. Some students, for whom no or low tech devices have not worked, may require the use of high tech equipment, but it is by no means the only form of AT available.

One summer during my undergraduate studies, I worked in a preschool that mainly serviced students with Autism and while I was there I witnessed the use of many no to low tech assistive devices. At the school many of the students had picture boards to help them communicate with the adults in the building. Most of the students were nonverbal and had no other way of communicating but to point to a picture of an item they wanted or an activity they wanted to perform. Before that experience I could have been categorized as one of the people who believed in the myth. I had never thought of something as simple as a picture, laminated with Velcro on the back as AT. These picture boards provided enough communication for the students and the situation did not call for a costly high tech device even though one could have been used (ex. M³ http://www.dynavoxtech.com/products/m3/.) In the world of education and helping people with special needs money is often very scarce and the myth that AT is expensive probably turns many people away from it. The no or low tech solutions should always be explored before the high tech, costly ones.

In the article entitled “Edtech and AT: Two Technologies Converge” the author demonstrates that anything can be used as AT. Many of the high tech devices that are already in the classroom are considered AT. For example, most schools already own computers by the hundreds and an AT device can be created out of them. High tech AT can be created with little additional cost. One feature standard on Macintosh computers is that text on the screen can be read to the user. This built in feature can be used to help students with vision or literacy problems. An example of additional hardware available to alter the average computer into an AT device is an adaptive keyboard (http://www.rjcooper.com/keys-u-see/index.html.) The Keys-U-See keyboard is much larger than the typical keyboard found in a classroom. It can provide students with fine motor skills and vision difficulties just the adaptations they need. This keyboard gives students a larger typing area and provides larger print on each key for easier use for the small fee of $129. These are just two examples of accessible solutions that remind us that even high tech AT does not always need to equal costly.

The myth of AT being only high tech items and expensive is just that, a myth. After a simple Google search and some creative thought anyone can see that there are endless options of no, low and high tech items available to help students in the classroom. Some students may truly be in need of high tech costly items, but not all are and there are many cheap and easy solutions out there for those who try.