Assistive Technology - The New PowerTools

(Transcript of the January 17, 2001 Broadcast)

Transmitted via New York 's Public Broadcasting Stations, produced by the New York State Education Department and the New York State Satellite Broadcast Network; recorded at the studios at Bulmer Telecommunications Center, Hudson Valley Community College.

For additional information, call or write:

John Quinn

Room 668 EBA

Office of Curriculum and Instruction

New York State Education Department

Albany, NY 12234

(518) 474-3954

E-mail: jquinn@mail.nysed.gov

>> Rochelle: From the simplest of slant boards to sophisticated computer software, assistive technology is designed to help the student with disabilities access the general education curriculum. We'll look at some devices in use, and a discussion of how to find them are a part of today's "Tools for Schools" program, "Assistive Technology, the New Power Tools."

I'm Rochelle Cassella. Welcome to today's program, sponsored by the New York State Education Department Broadcast Network and the Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Students with Disabilities.

We know that federal and state laws require that students with disabilities have access to the same curriculum as their general education peers. In the best of scenarios, that means inclusion in the general education classroom. Some students will need assistive technology to aid them in the classroom, the slant board perhaps, or something to amplify audio, maybe a more sophisticated communication device.

Today we'll talk about the options available and we'll see students using a variety of them in classrooms at pre-kindergarten classrooms in Williamsville, at a third grade class in the rural community of Salem, and at a high school in urban Niagara Falls.

With me in the studio today are Dave Grapka, Project Director for the Technology Resources in Education Center; Parker O'Mara, Technology Supervisor of United Cerebral Palsy of Western New York; Erin Cowles, who is a special education teacher from Salem Elementary School, and Tanya Parisi, special education teacher from Niagara Falls High School. We'll begin now with the federal requirements and definitions summarized for us by David Grapka. Dave?

>> Dave: Thank you very much. It's nice to be here today, Rochelle.

On the graphic, there is a partial quote from the federal requirements called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or the I.D.E.A. It just talks about the responsibility of all schools and all agencies to provide assistive technology for students with disabilities. What isn't shown there are a couple of things. One is that these assistive technologies need to be provided as either part of special education, as part of related services or as supplementary aids and services.

Additionally, there's been a reauthorization of the I.D.E.A. that says that all schools need to consider assistive technology for all students with disabilities. If they determine that that assistive technology response is necessary for free and appropriate public education, then they need to provide that.

>> Rochelle: Um-hmm.

>> Dave: One other thing, though, that I think that's missing from the federal requirements is the notion that really assistive technology is for all students. If we didn't have this federal requirement, I think we would know that good people would be doing -- providing assistive technology for all students because it's the right thing to do.

Really on a broader scale, assistive technology, or technology, is for all students. If you look at all of our schools today, you see grand computer labs for students, and what we're trying to say here is that assistive technology should become a part of the total technology program and make the technology for students with disabilities a bit more personalized through the I.E.P. process.

>> Rochelle: We're going to see a real prime example of that in Niagara Falls in a building that is totally wired and assistive technology for all students involved.

>> Dave: Yes. To guide us, though, the federal government has given us some definitions for both assistive technology devices and services.

The next graphic, I think, talks about the definition of an assistive technology device. It's a broad definition and deliberately so. The very first word there is a very short, small word, "any." What it's really talking about is giving students with disabilities a broad range of options and giving their teachers and parents a broad range of options to choose from. We're taking a look at things that are acquired commercially, modified or customized, and that we use to increase, maintain or improve that child's functional capabilities.

The next graphic, I believe, talks about the definition of assistive technology service. Again, a very broad definition. It includes everything from evaluation through coordination of the assistive technology services with all the other services that the student receives.

And the last one there, training for the child and professionals, very important. Without that training, that technology goes unused and stays in the closet. So we need, as we consider assistive technology for all students, consider how that technology is going to be implemented in the classroom, who's responsible for that and how we're going to support those people to implement that technology for that child.

>> Rochelle: Okay. Very good. We talk about low-tech/high-tech options. We don't want to talk of -- we think assistive technology, we think automatically computer, expensive equipment, but that's not necessarily true, is it?

>> Dave: Absolutely not. These days, a lot of the technology is built into operating systems, for example, in MacIntosh and Windows formats. For example, one of the examples that's given on the next graphic talks about computer screen readers and magnifiers, and built into both operating systems is a control panel that allows a person to go in and tell the computer to magnify what is seen on the screen so that a person with a visual impairment then can see what's on the screen a lot better. So too with the contrast, the color or black and white schemes. These things, too, are built into the software.

The large print materials can be gained for free from the Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic Service out of Princeton, New Jersey.

Again, these things are low-cost. They don't cost an arm or a leg or the sun, moon and stars kind of price, but things that are relatively low in cost and easily accessible both to adults and to students.

Other examples, dealing with auditory impairments. On the next graphic, we talk about captioning. There's relatively inexpensive software for that. Flash prompts, again you can control -- with the control panel on the operating software, you can control the flash prompts that will flash at a person when something is happening on the screen rather than it beeping at them. So a person with the need for assistive listening devices can access the computer more inexpensively and more easily.

For students with motor and fine motor impairments, again there are a variety of low-cost options. You'll notice one of those deals with switches. And I think anybody who is handy with a soldering gun or who is interested in learning to use a soldering gun can make their own switches and make it possible for a person who has limited motor abilities to hit that switch and create a cause-and-effect situation with the software on the computer.

Continuing on with other technology options for students with fine motor impairments, slant boards, I think one of the things we'll see today. In fact, we'll see a lot of these in the tapes today of the students that we looked at. Slant boards and special seating is, again, something that's relatively inexpensive to purchase and even less expensive to make.

>> Rochelle: Okay. And wheelchair ramps and elevators, we don't think of those in terms of assistive technology. And, Parker, also -- Parker O'Mara from United Cerebral Palsy, you were talking about a lot of things being able to be made without having to go out necessarily and purchase them or adapt them.

>> Parker: Yes, a lot of adaptations we actually make in our children's center out of materials we have lying around: Cardboard, foam, pieces of wood, things like that.

>> Rochelle: Very good. All right. And we will see some of them.

Dave, I want to get back to you: Assistive technology a process and not necessarily a product. We don't want to think of it in terms of just "the thing." Explain that for me.

>> Dave: Well, one of the myths I think and misunderstandings that abounds in assistive technology is that they automatically think of assistive technology as one expensive device that's going to break their budget, their pocketbook, their insurance company. But that's not the case.

What we're really talking about is an ongoing process of trying to match a student with an appropriate system or an appropriate solution. The acronym that we use is the SETT acronym, and that stands for Student, Environment, Tasks and Tools. So what we're trying to do is find out all we can about the "S" in that acronym, the student: Their hopes, their dreams, their goals, their aspirations, their strengths, their abilities. Find out what is we asking that student to do in what environment? The classroom, the library, the cafeteria, the bus? Take a look at what tasks we're asking that student to do in those places. Finally, after we know that student, the tasks we want them to do and the places we want them to do them, then we take a look at the solutions or the tools that will help that child do those things in those places. Those solutions can run the gamut of really three groups of options, from no-technology options to low-technology options to high-technology options. And I think we'll see the gamut here today but focusing primarily on the no- and low-tech options.

>> Rochelle: Terrific. All right. Assistive technology is as important at the pre-school level as it is for students "K" through 12. In Williamsville in western New York State, we visited two child care centers working closely with United Cerebral Palsy of Western New York to provide preschoolers with the technology and devices that enable children with disabilities to interact with their non-disabled peers.

>> Very good. Uphill is a little harder. Everybody is coming! Oh, you'll be the first one in!

>> My role as coordinator of technology services with United Cerebral Palsy is that I oversee the technology services that we provide to individuals with disabilities. In terms of the children that we are responsible for in technology services, they range in age from anywhere from 1 year all the way up to 21. So we see a lot of different types of students with a lot of different types of disabilities.

>> Today we're going to talk about our sense of sight. What can we see?

>> Me.

>> I can see you. What else?

>> I can see you.

>> I can see you.

>> I can see everyone at once.

>> You know what? We're going to play a game. I want everybody to take one shoe off and put it in our -- what shape is this? In the middle of the octagon. Take one shoe off and put it in the octagon.

>> We work with a lot of local public school systems, districts in the area, to do what we call technology assessments. They can be augmentative communication assessments or computer access assessments. We'll work on a contract basis with the local school districts and we'll go meet with the student and the family, teachers, aids, anyone who is around the student in the area where the student will be using the technology.

>> Are you watching?

>> Computer: All right! It was the crow.

>> The crow made that print.

>> Computer: This one is cool. Who left these tracks? Click on the animal that left the tracks and then click go.

>> Whose turn is it? Al's, yes, very good. Now you have to click on the animal, babe. Do you want to do the dog or the bear?

>> The bear.

>> Do you want to use the switch, the mouse or the window? The mouse? Okay. We have to bring it up... Bring it up on the dog. We have to look up at the screen, Alexandria. All right. Now push. Good!

>> We've got adapted keyboards, switches, onscreen keyboards, and mice, talking software, voice-activated software, you know, just a whole range of different technology for different types of computers. It's trial and error a lot of times. You'll sit down and kind of try and see what may or may not work, and then you have to give the child time to use it, to get comfortable with it. Oftentimes during that trial period, you may decide that that isn't going to be what's going to work the best for this individual. So you'll go back and you'll start over and try other things.

>> We're going to do it this time without the touch window on, all right? We're going to either use the mouse or the switch. Okay? Hi, Rem.

All right. Now, remember, we have three pennies here. So do we want the three or the nine, Al? Which one? We're trying to find a three. One, two, three. Is this the three or is that a three? Those are the three pennies. And your friend just told you -- show her again. Where is it on the screen? There you go.

>> Because most of the children that we get to know are included in regular classrooms within, you know, a public school setting, we tend to work cooperatively with the regular education teacher, the student's one-on-one aid if they have one, the special education consultant teacher, the occupational therapists, speech therapists, any number of people who are working in a teamwork fashion for the student.

>> Bring your feet forward like Jacob. He can show you how it works. Now, your feet have to be in front like Jacob. There you go. Now, that's it! All right!

>> In terms of the curriculum, a lot of times we'll go in there and computerize textbooks. Nowadays, you can get textbooks on CD-ROM; you can install it on the computer. So for children with low vision, the computerized textbooks have helped them quite a great deal.

We have enlarged materials, you know, workbook pages and things like that. We set up scanners on the classroom computer to scan homework and classwork.

We'll also go in the classroom and kind of see -- especially for the younger grades, see what it is that they're working on within the classroom so that we can make suggestions to the teachers in terms of software.

>> I'm responsible for six special needs children being integrated into the three and four-year-old rooms. But I also work as a team with a therapist and the regular educators in each room.

>> Do you need to go on the computer? Let's go.

>> Right now in one of my three-year-old rooms, we started off with just picture symbols. She's non-verbal to quite an extent that you or I would have conversation, and we just started out with simple things like a symbol that would say "hi," or a choice of two. When she came in for free play, a picture of blocks versus puzzles that she could eye-gaze and reach to.

>> Reach for "go," G-O, the green button...

Good job.

>> Computer: It was the black bear.

>> Physically, Alexandria has one side that's more involved than the other. So, therefore, it limits her within the curriculum without assistance. So the computer, with the technology, the use of the mouse or the use of the switch or the touch screen, allows her to show us what she knows.

>> Which one is red, Al?

>> This one.

>> Very good.

>> Alexandria uses the adaption of an easel board which just puts a slant on her paper which makes it easier for her to write. She'll probably need assistance at the wrists, and she can do most of the motions of her name with a pencil or marker herself.

>> Another sun. Very nice!

>> Jacob, you ready to go on the computer?

>> Yep.

>> Remi, you want to join us? Cool. If you want to come watch, hon, you can.

>> Jacob, as incredible as he seemed, has difficulty focusing and staying on task. With the computer, I don't find that problem at all, so I can see more where his cognitive ability is, following directions, visual eye gaze to the screen, being able to transfer your gaze like you wouldn't be able to in a group, from the adult who's teaching it down to the material at the table after the directions were given. So that's what we're working on the computer: Look up, listen, reach down, touch, or to move the mouse, again eye/hand coordination.

>> Are you ready to go play, Jacob?

>> Yes.

>> Nicely done using your voice. Thank you, Remi.

>> Without the technology, without the use of the computers and without myself being able to bring up the symbols and thematic pictures, children like Jacob, I wouldn't know that he is able to focus. Where he's not always able to focus within a group, where he has a small group and he's on a computer, he has intense focus, visual focus, and the ability to follow a direction. So if we can just shift that over into the natural environment, it will be great. But right now, he's showing me that in a small group with the technology, he is capable of doing those things.

>> Here at Briarwood, we have approximately 90 children on average per day. We have an inclusion program with U.C.P., and they bring with them six children and three of their staff members.

>> Stephani, Mr. Brent is going to finish stretching you out, and then we're going to go and work on the computer.

>> Stephani is five years old. Her disabilities are cerebral palsy. She has a tracheotomy and a feeding tube. We felt that she needed to be in an environment with children who are doing normal kid things. We wanted her to be in an environment where children were speaking. Hopefully down the road, Stephani will be able to get her "trach" out, and we wanted her to be hearing proper usage of words and just normal vocabulary.

(Children singing)

>> With a child like Stephani, she has to have a wide variety of communicative systems. She's not always going to be able to carry a device around with her, or a computer, so we use whatever systems we have.

>> The low-tech items that we will use throughout the day that Stephani is here, a floor sitter that's made out of foam, customized for her to give her the best support at that moment while she's sitting on the floor with the other children. She has a wheelchair that has a seat that can be removed so she now can be sitting at table-height with her friends so she's at the very same height that they are at. When they need to get up and walk someplace, then that same seat is removed from a base, goes into her wheelchair so now she's at a higher level.

She uses her picture board as a communication device when we present it to her. We put it on a board and we would have Stephani reach toward a picture that we might ask her to get, or if she wants to tell us something, we would ask her what picture she wants to touch.

>> Get your hand ready. You find the letter " O" and touch it.

>> I'll help you. Get your arms ready.

>> Okay. You're grabbing the letter "O."

>> We also do alphabet letters or numbers for her and -- on a board, the same way.

>> Is this letter "O"?

>> Yeah.

>> Yes! You're right. Thank you!

>> Very good, Stephani!

>> On the higher end of the technology, we have a computer that we take her to. There are computer games that she can access using a single switch.

>> Computer: Hi. I'm Kimalee.

>> Good job. Ooh, we've got Kimalee.

>> And then there's a program that we have on the computer that I can get from Stephani, using yes/no questions, what she might want me to put in there.

>> Today I was calendar helper. I used my one-step switch. Yes? Okay. That's all right. My friend Lauren helped me today and she recorded the day of the week for me. Is that good? Shall we leave that? Yes.

>> Stephani can hit the switch and it will speak whatever was put into it. Generally, I will have a typical student record for her.

>> Do you want the star?

>> What did she say?

>> She said yes.

>> She said yes.

>> Lauren has become a very natural part of Stephani's communication system. We have a kid relating to a kid and that kind of separates it from the disability. Lauren will speak to Stephani in a manner that Stephani can communicate. Lauren will ask yes/no questions and that's how Stephani is able to answer and respond.

>> Okay. Lauren gave me your right hand. Is this the hand you want to use? Yes. Okay.

>> I can't tell you what it does for a parent to come in and see your child interacting with other children.

>> Stephani. Hi! How was your morning? Are you going to tell me about your morning? Yeah? Okay.

>> Are you ready, Stephani? You can hit the switch now. Tell Mom.

>> Computer: Good morning. Today I was calendar helper. I used my one-step switch. My friend Lauren helped me...

>> Down the road, as she gets better at some of these devices, she can gain more independence by hopefully accessing categories of things. She on her own can choose a category to talk about and then, within that, access other areas within the category.

>> I knew you were seeing Mr. Brent today. Thank you. I like it when you say, "I love you."

>> Rochelle: Parker O'Mara from United Cerebral Palsy of Western New York. I want to talk with you a moment, Parker, about the process used for determining which assistive devices children need. We talked a little bit about-- we heard in the video "the assessment process," that we do an assessment. Give me some more specific details about how that assessment works.

>> Parker: Well, to start the assessment, we'll usually go to the school or to the home, and we will observe the child who is going to be using the equipment. We'll interview teachers, therapists, aids, any staff member that's going to be working with the child and has an idea of what the child needs to be doing with the technology.

So the second thing we determine are what are the physical limitations that need to be overcome with the technology? And from that, we'll make recommendations, be it a touch window, an adapted mouse, things to make the screen larger, easier to view, and then we'll work with the staff to find out what are the educational goals? We can select software and load it on to the computer that will work toward achieving those goals.

These kids were young that we just watched and they were doing some very introductory work on the computer. Their goals were probably things like using a switch, understanding cause and effect. But we also can recommend software programs for training on how to use a joystick because a lot of these kid some day will be using a power wheelchair. There's software to help start that kind of training.

>> Rochelle: So it's as specific -- it goes back to what Dave was saying earlier, the student and that individual's specific abilities or limitations, where they are doing this, at home, at school, what kind of school setting? What is that we want the child to be able to achieve? What are the goals, the specific goals? And then what tools do we need?

Now, how specific do you get in a recommendation about the tools?

>> Parker: Well, after we have done the observations and we've done the evaluation, we'll make a write-up that needs to be submitted to the school district. On that, we try to be very specific with our recommendations, giving software titles with vendor's prices. If we're going to recommend a computer, we'll make a very specific computer recommendation, as far as operating system, amount of RAM, hard drive space, what kind of ports it has. We try to be as specific as possible to make it easier for the school district to make a purchase of proper computer equipment.

>> Rochelle: Okay. Now, once again, what role do you play in getting that equipment once the school says, "Okay. Here's what you've recommended. Let's get it"? And what about maintaining it and then training in terms of how to use it?

>> Parker: Well, if the school district wants to make the purchases on their own, if purchases are required -- a lot of times the recommendations don't require a purchase; it's just adapting existing equipment, maybe making some changes. But if they want, if we do need purchases and they want us to, you know, make the phone calls to the vendors, we'll do that because you do need some computer knowledge to order the computer or the proper software to make sure everything is going to work together and be compatible.

And after that, we'll go out and set up the computer, set up any software, and we'll work with the staff to do training. If they're not very computer literate, we'll do some basic computer training and then do some computer training into the specific adaptive assistive technology software, hardware that we have put on the computer.

After that, we'll keep it going as an ongoing, for technical assistance, troubleshooting. If the computer breaks, we'll go out and fix it and keep tabs on the student to make sure the technology is being used, that it's working properly and that it's continuing to be appropriate for the student.

>> Rochelle: Because kids are going to change, right? They're going to get bigger; they're going to grow; their abilities are going to change. So how does that work? It's an ongoing relationship then.

>> Parker: It's an ongoing relationship that is going to hopefully stay with the child all the way through their schooling. When we talk about the process, we try to -- optimally, we make a computer recommendation for technology that can expand as the child's needs expand, as their academic needs change, as their goals change, and we try to make recommendations that will expand along with the student.

>> Rochelle: Okay. One of the things I thought that you said earlier that was very interesting was "I spend more time training teachers than I do the children."

>> Parker: That's true. I have found the training of the staff that's going to be using the computer is equally as important as training the student. If your staff can't use the computer, if they don't know what to do when your computer crashes or when things aren't working right and they can't troubleshoot, then the computer is just going to sit there, and it's useless if it's not being used. So training --

>> Rochelle: Or being used properly.

>> Parker: Being used properly, also, yes.

>> Rochelle: In that piece, we also saw some "low-tech" things that Dave was talking about: The felt board with the letters attached to it, the slant board, the easel board that Stephani used to raise things -- or Alexandria used to do some writing on as well. Those are low-cost things that maybe your school maintenance individual can do as well?

>> Parker: Yes, at the U.C.P. Children's Center, the OT department does a lot of those low-tech adaptations, making a slant board, using cardboard or using pieces of foam. We also have an assistive technology department that makes boards, trays for the wheelchair out of wood or plastic.

>> Rochelle: Terrific. Okay. We're going to see a child progressing along in the system now with Peter Craft, who's a bubbly third grader in a school district in the rural community of Salem in Washington County on the New York/Vermont border. Cerebral palsy left Peter with multiple disabilities, but a variety of assistive technology, from low-tech manipulatives to a high-tech talking computer, combined with curriculum modifications, have all enabled Peter to remain in the same classroom as his non-disabled peers since kindergarten.

Here's a portion of one day at school with Peter.

(Children singing)

>> I have worked with Peter now since he was in second grade. He receives ninety minutes a week, basically two 45-minute blocks of assistive technology within his classroom. One is a direct instruction to him, himself and the other is instruction to the staff that is involved with him to train them on how to use the technology for the best interests of him.

>> Ready?

>> Are we going to do it in front of the camera today?

>> Yep, we're going to do it in front of the camera today. Up. Step. Good job!

>> Originally we had had a BOCES technology assistive tech woman who came in when Peter was in kindergarten and she did the evaluation process for the kindergarten teacher because Peter was unable to communicate in the classroom. She did an evaluation and made a recommendation for him to use the iMac computer with the Intellikeys with specific software programs.

Right now, as we do it, Lorraine, who is our assistive technology person through BOCES, what she's been doing is bringing in programs and letting us choose to use them on a trial basis, maybe for a week, a month, however long we feel. What we're doing is really evaluating those, seeing what we can tie them into at far as curriculum and the standards are concerned.

>> What do you need next? Right. She gets. Ga-Ga-Ga-Ga... "G." Ga-eh... what's your "eh" letter? Not "A." Eh...Thank you.

>> The assistive technology evaluation team comes into a situation and evaluates a student, and if it's deemed appropriate that they have support services, then I would be the person that came into the role next. My role is primarily to help the staff integrate all of the technology into the classroom, to help Peter access his curriculum as easily as possible.

>> Good job.

>> My role in this situation particularly has been to help the staff understand what is capable of the programs and to help them figure out how it's really going to mesh with the curriculum.

>> Find "Nee..." Nah, nah, nah...Right. And there's a Y at the end. Sounds like an E, but it's an Y. There you go.

Okay. Is that what you want to say?

>> I will come up with lessons to reinforce what they're teaching, not really lessons so much but the overlays to help Peter do the same activity.

>> Peter is using Intellikeys. It's basically an adapted keyboard that allows you to put certain overlays in it so that it functions as a keyboard for him. He's also using three different software programs. He's using a word prediction program and a talking word processor. The word prediction program and the talking word processor works hand-in-hand usually and what that does is Peter can type with his Intellikeys and adaptive keyboard and he can -- if he was going to write a letter or was going to write an essay, this would help him choose the words or find the words that he's trying to spell. So, for example, if he was going to write about family and he typed "F-A," under the prediction column you might find "family, face, far," whatever starts with F-A, and then he would be able to look at that, listen it and choose family because that's what he was meaning to spell.

>> You know how to spell "the." Okay. "The fence." After "the" you need what? You need a space...

>> And then he uses a software program that uses pictures, sound and movement to introduce or to -- kind of like a study guide I guess you would call it. Or it is in Peter's case.

>> First and foremost, it keeps him in the classroom, rather than moving him out to a special classroom or a self-contained classroom. He is able with those devices to stay in the classroom working with his peers, communicating with his peers and his teacher.

>> The first thing that we did was we had our morning meeting. Peter participates in our morning meeting each day. He has a special chair that he sits in that our aid puts him in the morning so he can be down with the rest of the students on the carpet.

>> Peter, would you choose a nice greeting for us this morning?

>> Handshake.

>> A regular handshake?

>> Yeah.

>> Good morning, Pete.

>> Good morning.

>> Good morning, Jimmy.

>> Good morning, Len. Good morning, Lauren.

>> Good morning, Jim. Good morning.

>> Good morning, Lauren. Good morning, Erin.

>> During the morning meeting we talk a lot about communicating with other people, you know, looking them directly in the eye when you're talking to them, greeting them -- and it makes it so instead of him being higher and the other students being lower, they're at eye-level, and I think he feels much more a part of the group when he's down with us on the carpet and actually right there with us.

>> What Lauri and I do as his classroom teacher this year, what we do is we sat down and we really looked at her goals and objectives for the year in the areas specifically of reading, writing and mathematics because those I feel are the most important goals and objectives for Peter. And we looked at some of them, and what our focus really was to maintain that Peter get direct instruction and be -- I guess be evaluated on skills that were daily living skills to him.

>> Today in class, Peter had a math lesson on taking change, counting change, putting money together to find items. His classmates are now working into triple-digit numbers, including dollar signs and decimals. Peter really has been trying to master down just the coins, getting the penny, nickel, and dime. Picking out items from the store, we were changing the money amounts to make it more adaptable to his learning and where he was really at as far as counting the change. What he was doing was telling me the amount of money first that was on the box and then he was putting that into the big calculator on the computer.

>> The Shredded Wheat, 8 cents. Can you enter that in the calculator for me?

We're adding money. So it's 8 cents, and you hit the plus sign -- we need the box of Cap'n Crunch.

>> Ten.

>> Can you add in the 10 for me? Excellent, Peter.

>> We wouldn't let the computer add it for us and give us the answer yet; he had to then take manipulatives, these hands-on manipulative coins, count them out to find the right amount, put the coins together from largest to smallest and then count the entire amount to find out how much money was there.

>> Now, we have 5 -- what comes out to 5? So what do we have? Is this 8 cents? Okay. What would make 10 cents in my hand? What could we use?

>> Okay.

>> Then we put "equals" on the computer sign and that was his way of rechecking his answer, to make sure he was right as well.

>> Let's see if you're correct. There it is! Good job! Whoa!

>> Originally, the building, because it was built some number of years ago, did not have handicapped-accessible ramps located on the structure here, so as soon as we determined that we wanted Peter to attend Salem Central School, we initially built two ramps on the building here.

At that time, we were not accessible to the second floor. We have a two-story building here, and so what we did was any service that was offered on the second floor, if that was a service that Peter would need, we would bring the service down to the first floor so the student would have full availability of that service.

>> Down the hallway to the elevator.

>> We just recently completed a renovation and expansion program here at Salem which included the addition of a new elevator so that our second floor became fully handicapped-accessible. The student often wondered and expressed verbally what it was like up on the second floor. It was a mysterious place to him. Other students would talk about what was up there, but he never had the occasion to see it.

So on that first day, just this past September, when school opened and the student was scheduled for his first class upstairs, we had a number of students at the lower level, at the elevator, watching and encouraging Peter to enter the elevator. We had a number of students then go to the upstairs to greet Peter as he got off the elevator on the second floor. It was quite a celebration, a lot of cheering. We threw confetti.

>> Throw it in.

>> Cool! Twelve points!

>> Yeah!

>> I've seen tremendous growth in Peter. I have seen a much more responsible attitude about his learning, a much more acceptable attitude to the environment he's in now. He doesn't want to have the help that he normally did. He really seeks the independence.

>> Open the doors. Here we come. Here we come.

>> I did it.

>> Rochelle: You just saw her in the video. Now in our studio, Erin Cowles, special education teacher at Salem. She's been working with Peter for two years and is also his case manager. Erin, welcome to the studio.

>> Erin: Hi.

>> Rochelle: We saw some great stuff going on for Peter, some talking computers, overlays, Intellikeys. Tell us about the process for getting that equipment and maintaining that equipment and then using that equipment effectively for Peter.

>> Erin: Okay. Each year I think the process is ongoing. We evaluate what his needs are for that school year, his academic needs, what we think he'll need to mesh in with the regular ed curriculum. And then we really rely on our technology team through BOCES to have her come in and bring materials in that we can use and we can evaluate as far as what Peter's needs are. We use them for a little while, make adaptions to them or we may send them right back and try something totally new. So it's an ongoing evaluation every day in the classroom.

>> Rochelle: Parker talked about really working with the teachers more than with the student in how to use the technology. You were shaking your head yes in agreement with that. Tell me a little bit about your work with the assistive technologist in learning how to use that equipment effectively for Peter.

>> Erin: Okay. Lorraine comes in about twice a week, and I always try to touch base with her and let her know academically where Peter is at as far as his skill areas and what we really need as far as new overlays, changing overlays, adapting the overlays we already have. Lorraine is very good about that. She sits down and helps to train us on what the computer is capable of and what new software is out there that we should try.

>> Rochelle: Is it sometimes a matter of you and Peter's general ed teacher sitting down and saying, "This is what we need Peter to do. This is where the kids are in the curriculum and this is what we need Peter to do" and then going to Lorraine and saying, "Can we get it to do that? How can we make it do that?"

>> Erin: Absolutely. We have great ideas but she's the one that really makes it happen for us. We go to her and we just simply tell her, you know, "This is where we're going with this, this is what we would like to have, and she's incredible. She can create all these overlays that really adapt to Peter's reading, adapt to his mathematical skills, adapt to his spelling strategies.

>> Rochelle: I'm laughing because Parker is saying behind her, is going "Oh, yeah." So obviously teachers have said that to you, Parker, "This is what I want to do." And as Captain Luc Picard would always say, "Make it so." (Laughing)

>> Parker: Right.

>> Rochelle: So that's very important, that having that good relationship and ongoing communication. What about the role of Peter's mother? How would a parent interact in the assistive technology decision-making process?

>> Erin: We try to keep an open communication with Peter's mother. She contacts us on a weekly basis. We let her know what's happening in school, what type of technology we are using, what she's seeing at home as far as his needs to do homework and for study skills there. We try to incorporate her needs at home with our needs at school and adapt as need be.

>> Rochelle: And once again, as he progresses through the academic system and his needs change, that technology changing or need for different overlays... you have been with Peter for two years. What have you seen in the two years that you have been working with him? What kind of changes have you seen in the technology that he's required as a result of more demands on him?

>> Erin: I think as each year progresses, the academic demands become greater. I think this year what I have seen versus the past few years is just absolutely more time spent on the computer. He's now doing reading on the computer; he's doing his spelling program on the computer; he's now doing math on the computer. All of his written expression is on the computer. So I think just the gradual increase in the amount of time that he's actually on the computer and using it to be engaged in the classroom every day has increased.

>> Rochelle: Peter is a third grader. Next year he's going to be facing those fourth grade assessments. He will be participating. How will his technology come into play in that?

>> Erin: With the fourth grade E.L.A., there's a written expression piece on there where he'll have someone with him to read him the test. What he will need to do is independently sit at the computer and type up his written expression piece for the E.L.A. standard test.

>> Rochelle: Okay. One of the other things that I think we need to comment on, both in Peter's situation that we saw and also both at Audubon and Briarwood, is the role of leadership in saying, as Dave indicated earlier, "This is the right thing to do for these students." We certainly saw that with regard to the elevator and Peter wanting to see what was on the second floor. Tom kind of sets the tone, does he not, for how everybody else is going to --

>> Erin: Absolutely. Yeah. The kids are very excited. If you can imagine being a student in a school district for over three years and never seeing the upstairs, never understanding, you know, what goes on up there, who is up there, what do the rooms really look like? It was very exciting for Peter and the other children to be in the elevator with him and experience that this year.

>> Rochelle: It's also important for that socialization aspect of school of being involved in everything that goes on in the school.

>> Erin: Absolutely.

>> Rochelle: Great. Thanks very much.

Well, Niagara Falls teenager Michael Tyson was a popular athlete who enjoyed football, that is until two years ago when, walking with a friend in the park, Michael tripped, fell headfirst into a ditch and broke his neck. Michael was provided home instruction by the school district for a year but was very happy to return to class with his friends. It was to some special school that Michael returned, a brand-new facility where every inch is accessible to individuals with disabilities and every student has the support of some assistive technology.

>> Hi.

>> Hi.

>> Niagara Falls High School has approximately 2,440 youngsters. Of that, approximately 60 to 62% live at or below the poverty level. This building was dedicated September 1st, 2000. It's a technological state-of-the-art facility that is geared eventually to year-round education. Programmatically, we are a comprehensive high school offering the full Regents and BOCES' curriculums, and it's fully accessible to every square inch of the 400,200 square feet to a person who may have a disability.

There are five elevators in the building which traverse all floors. We have a lift ramp down into our orchestra pit. We have a lift ramp into our projection room, which is not -- much more than a projector but also with high-stakes sound equipment in it. The building lavatories are all fully accessible. All the doors are at accessible widths.

>> Michael has no gross motor skills at all in his legs. So he has an electric wheelchair. He also uses the elevator to get from class to class. He's mainstreamed into all regular core education classes. Michael has no fine motor skills. He can't hold a pen or turn the page of a book. So he has an IBM laptop computer. The mouse on the computer is too small for him to manipulate. He has what's called a track ball mouse. It's a large -- it's kind of just like an extra large mouse that he's able to manipulate. He also has software on his computer. It allows him to speak into a headset. Say, for example, he wanted to open up Excel, Microsoft Excel. He could just say, "Open up Excel." And instead of having to go through the various processes, he can just say that and it will open right up to that particular software that he needs to use.

>> Open documents. Click. Michael Tyson... "We gather around the family to open Christmas presents."

>> Computer: "The comparison, as Chaucer well knows, is ridiculous. In addition, he is..."

>> The computer reads back to me and helps me get through the work faster and stuff. We was working on a project to see how fish live and what kind of water they need to survive in, and we're going to show it to little kids in elementary school, how they survive and what they do and stuff to survive in the waters.

It was a better picture the way I had it last time.

>> When you did the first fish, you mean?

>> Yes.

>> I did research on the fish, where they live and some information on how they eat and...

>> The assistive technology component of his I.E.P. was completed for Michael at the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Western New York. They were called in to help develop technology that would minimize his disabilities and help him be successful in school. They're here to monitor the use of the equipment, to repair it, to update it. Yes, United Cerebral Palsy of Western New York takes an active role, not just a passive role, but an active role in updating the equipment.

(Technical difficulties with video signal)

>> ... allows him to be like other students.

>> I want to go to college, probably go to I.T.T. Tech. When I go there, I am going to still use the voice activation so I can tell the computer. It helps me. It helps me out to do things on the computer.

>> Computer voice: Eleven...

>> Rochelle: Here with us now, Tanya Parisi. You work with Mike, his special education teacher. What's your role in working with Michael directly?

>> Tanya: Well, Michael doesn't have any real academic needs. He wasn't in a special education program prior to his accident.

Really, my role at the beginning of the year was to make sure that all the regular education teachers were aware of his needs, make sure they felt comfortable, let them know if they had a problem, they could come to me and I could help them with it.

Basically, Michael is going to be graduating in June -- he's a senior -- with a local diploma. And we want to make sure that he has all the proper things in place after graduation, make sure that he has testing modifications for whatever school he chooses to go to, make sure that he's hooked up with a VESID counselor and that they can help him with any needs that he may have.

>> Rochelle: Okay. We're going to talk about that transition in a second, but what's interesting about Niagara Falls High School is that all the kids are using laptop computers and assistive technology in a way, that the entire school is wired for this. So if teachers are making modifications or changes or adjustments in lessons to accommodate technology, they're not just doing it for Michael, are they?

>> Tanya: It's wonderful. Our district provides 2,400 children with laptop computers that they get to not only use in school but take home with them as well. So Michael doesn't look different than the rest of the kids, except for the headset and the track ball. So there really are no major modifications that need to be made for him and it makes him feel very comfortable.

>> Rochelle: What kind of situations might Michael run into in a classroom that would require some different things? You were talking about some of the testing earlier that he takes or needing some quiet space. Talk about that a little bit.

>> Tanya: On Michael's I.E.P. there are several testing modifications. One of them is extended time so he's also pulled out of the classroom for tests. He may have to write an essay and he uses the headset to speak into and it will word process for him. Well, in the middle of a test you can't give your answer in front of the rest of the students, so we take him out and he does his test in a separate location.

>> Rochelle: But the bottom line, he's --

>> Tanya: -- like the rest of the kids.

>> Rochelle: -- like the rest of the kids. Okay. Support that you have for Michael's technology -- we talked with Parker earlier and Lorraine also, obviously, in Salem coming in to provide technical support should anything happen or the equipment is not working properly.

What about in a school like Niagara Falls where everybody has got a computer that might have some problems someplace?

>> Tanya: Our district was great about it. There were a lot of reservations by teachers about the use of all this new technology. Everyone was at a different level. Our school provided training over the summer for a week, which made us all feel very comfortable. We have ongoing training through the year. Also, in school, Monday through Friday, 8 to 4, there's a technical team. If you have any problems with your laptop, if you have any questions, you can drop it off, and usually it's fixed within a day or two. It's great.

>> Rochelle: Terrific. Now, let's get back to that transition as Michael moves from high school to college. What's available to him?

>> Tanya: Well, Michael right now is interested in I.T.T., a technical school. What my job will be is to hook him up with a VESID counselor. This counselor will then make sure that any of the testing modifications on the I.E.P. will be met. She'll also make sure that if he needs a job coach for a job after he's done with that, she'll take care of that for him. It's a really nice program.

>> Rochelle: So that whole idea of what Michael needs in a classroom is going to follow him not just from his preschool through school but through college as well.

>> Tanya: It's extremely important when he leaves high school to make sure that his I.E.P. has everything needed on it because basically that's going to be the legal document that makes sure that he has everything needed.

>> Rochelle: Parker, your office also provided some assistive support for Michael as well. Would you play a role then in helping him get through college?

>> Parker: Yes. As he gets picked up by VESID, he can be referred back to U.C.P. to do another technology evaluation. We can make recommendations again. I would imagine they're going to be the same recommendations for Mike, to have VESID purchase the equipment he needs to make it through college.

>> Rochelle: Terrific. So there's support all the way. Great. Thanks very much.

If you have some questions or are looking for some additional resources or support or information, we do have some information for where you can go for some additional support. Where to go for help, the New York State Guidelines for Assistive Technology. There's training also available,

ny-riatt@nasdse.

Distance education courses, you can use the model schools program. There's L.R.E. training from SETRC. National Center for Disability Services Research Training Institute, phone numbers available there. Office of Advocate for Persons with Disabilities, there's some numbers there. And then also Dave Grapka's office, the TRE Center, Technology, Resources and Education, and that's www.trecenter.org, 1-800-248-9873.

Time now for us to review some of the lessons we have learned during our discussion and our segments as we look at today's tool tips.

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>> Rochelle: To review those tool tips and to find additional sources of information and web sites on assistive technology, make sure you check your Facilitator's Guide and to visit the Broadcast Network web site. That's at www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/satellite.html. That's where you'll also find an on-line survey of our series, and we ask that you take a few minutes to complete it because your feedback about our programs helps us develop future topics.

If you would like additional guides or a free copy of this program, please contact Suzanne Carroll at Questar III BOCES in Albany, our Broadcast Network headquarters.

Suzanne can be reached at www.scarroll@questar.org. Her telephone number is 518-477-6749 and fax number is 518-477-4311.

Next up in our "Tools For Schools" series is "Science - The New Assessments." We'll talk with New York State Education Department Science Associate Diana Harding about the new assessments for eighth graders and the new tests in earth sciences and biology and the new core curriculum being developed for chemistry. As well, we'll visit classrooms in Niagara Falls and Sayville, New York, and an alternative high school science class in the Albany area BOCES. That program airs Wednesday, February 14th from 3 to 4 p.m. on a Public Broadcasting Station near you.

My thanks now to Dave Grapka, Parker O'Mara, Erin Cowles and Tanya Parisi, to our featured students and to their parents and to all the classrooms we visited for their willingness to let our cameras into their schools.

That's all for today. I'm Rochelle Cassella. Have a good day.

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