Apple's iPad Gets Assistive Technology Boost

 Through a partnership with a venerable name in the world of assistive technology, people with disabilities can now control Apple's iPad using nothing more than their eyes. Read More >

Google Offering New Tools To Help Those With Disabilities

Google is introducing new technology to simplify smartphones for those with cognitive disabilities and it's beefing up its map program to make it easier to know if destinations are accessible. Read More >

Assistive Technology Basics Webcast

A recording of the Job Accommodation Network's (JAN) webcast on “Assistive Technology Basics” is now available on the JAN website. The webcast focused on the many options available for employees with assistive technology needs. JAN Consultants Teresa Goddard and Lisa Mathess reviewed frequently requested technologies, clarified how to use them, and discussed new and improved tools.   • View all of JAN's archived webinars

5 myths about assistive technology

Assistive technology can be crucial to learning for students with disabilities, writes Jennifer Sullivan, an adjunct instructor. Sullivan shares five common misconceptions about assistive technology, including that it is a form of cheating and that it is too expensive.  Edutopia online

Microsoft Spotlights Adaptive Device In Holiday TV Commercial

Microsoft is touting one of its latest adaptive offerings with a national television advertisement featuring a boy with a disability and his friends. Read More >

Transitioning from High School to Vocational Rehabilitation and Work with AT

This short information brief from the LEAD Center, Funding for Assistive Technology: Transitioning from Secondary School to VR And Work, answers the important question, “To what extent can Assistive Technology (AT) follow an individual with a disability who moves from secondary school to postsecondary education, vocational rehabilitation, and/or work?”

Introduction to Assistive Technology

Welcome to this short video outlining basic topics and concepts for using assistive technology with students with disabilities. Students, parents, teachers and other service professionals can benefit from this overview video.   https://www.ctdinstitute.org/library/2017-10-05/intro-assistive-technology-video  

Through an introductory engineering program, junior high and high school students are developing real-life solutions for kids with disabilities, all on a budget of just $35. Read More;

Microsoft Unveils $25 Million Disability Initiative

Microsoft is putting big money into a new effort aimed at ramping up development of technologies benefiting people with disabilities. Read More >

Making Some Music with Assistive Technology

Assistive technology is found in every realm of life, including music! Every person, including those with disabilities, should be given an opportunity to explore and find what music makes them groove!  

In this blog check out a few of my favorite pieces of AT for creating or playing music. Keep in mind, this is not an exhaustive list, rather a starting place for exploring AT for music.   http://ndipat.org/blog/make-some-music-with-assistive-technology/ 

Aided Language Stimulation Explained by Cartoon!

Aided Language Stimulation is a researched based type of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) intervention that has been around for decades.  Basically, with this strategy, the communication partner (i.e. mom, dad, teacher, friend, etc.) uses the AAC device of the child with the disability along with verbal speech to communicate with the child.  This modeling of the communication system in many cases can build a strong communication foundation and can encourage the child with the communication disorder to use the device.   AAC Language Lab has a great handout to explain this strategy with references.

GoTalk NOW App

GoTalk NOW App

3 ways tech increases opportunities for students

Students in Mississippi are using online resources and technology to gain greater access to courses and educational offerings. This article highlights three examples of these resources, including the use of computers to learn foreign languages and access to online Advanced Placement courses.

The Hechinger Report

Robotic Device Shows Promise For Kids With Cerebral Palsy

Training with a robotic device may help some kids with cerebral palsy gain strength and improve both posture and walking abilities, researchers say. Read More;

Capture All of Your Notes with AudioNote 2

AudioNote has been around for a long time and works similarly to the Livescribe Echo SmartPen in that it syncs what is being written with what is heard in the classroom, doctor’s office, etc.. When you want to hear what was said the moment you wrote a particular sentence or doodle on the page, you simply hit Play, and then touch the word, mark, or picture with your finger/stylus. You can then go back and fill in the notes you missed if you desire.

Pictures of PowerPoint slides, white board info, or other photos can be inserted to bring even more meaning to your notes.  You can use typing, your finger, or a stylus for input and save all of your documents in a nice folder/sub-folder system.  The notes can be saved as pdfs and emailed, printed, and uploaded.  The audio recordings can also be saved, emailed and uploaded.   Continue Reading...

indePENdence

The C-Pen Exam Reader pen scanner is a great tool for individuals who comprehend more successfully when their exam questions are read to them. Students who have reading difficulties can independently take exams knowing that they can read and understand the questions. The pen can read text in English, Spanish, French, German or Italian!  It is a portable scanning pen which reads printed text out loud using an embedded camera, optical character recognition (OCR) and text to speech (TTS). This pen was designed to promote active and independent reading for the purpose of improving understanding and learning. It allows students to take exams in the same location, and at the same time as their peers.

An earlier Assistive blog explained the features of the C-Pen Reader pen scanner, which operates the same as the C-Pen Exam Reader, but also includes access to high quality electronic dictionaries when the user is unsure about a word.  The C-Pen Exam Reader does not contain dictionary access.  Which makes it an acceptable tool for students to use when taking exams. The Exam Reader has been approved by The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) for use in exams.

Electronic Devices Help Nonverbal Kids Find Their Voice

With ever-growing options, electronic devices are allowing children with disabilities who are nonverbal to start communicating and, in some cases, learn to speak on their own. Read More >

I Went To Therese Wilkom’s Make And Take Workshop And This Is What I Thought!

Recently, Therese Willkomm “The MacGyver”of Assistive Technology (AT)  flew from her home in New Hampshire to teach North Dakotans and Minnesotans how to better make a positive impact on other’s lives through AT made on the fly. She uses common products to create amazing results. The average person walks by a political sign and sees just that. Therese walks by the same sign and invisions an iPad mount, slant board, cup holder, modified utensil, and more!  I know that sounds completely ridiculous, so to see what I mean, check out some of her work on this YouTube channel – ATinNH.

After attending her make and take workshop, this is what I thought!

I was amazed!  Continue Reading...

Assistive Technology in the Classroom: What Parents Need to Know

The term assistive technology (AT) refers to any device that helps a person with a disability complete an everyday task, whether in the classroom or in life. For someone unable to hear, a telephone with amplification is AT. For someone with poor eyesight, a magnifier is AT. Anything that provides access to those things an individual otherwise would be unable to do is AT. Such technology can be critical for the person using it. If you wear glasses, imagine how hard it would be to get through the day without them. In the classroom, AT can be an equalizer, allowing…
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Instant Access to AT Videos in NPCTE’s Online Library

PACER’s National Parent Center on Transition and Employment (NPCTE) has 20 short and engaging videos on assistive technology topics available for immediate viewing via our online video library. These include transition tips and strategies, success stories, awareness/education tools and more. See more.