Virtual Magnifier and Lightspeed Assisted Listening: The Eyes and Ears of Assistive Technology

Yesterday Was "Eyes and Ears" Day:

I had a chance to visit an elementary classroom today and ask a fourth grade boy what he would like to try in a piece of amplification equipment in the classroom. He was excited to try a personal FM system by Lightspeed (an Oregon Company by the way) that has a little cube speaker that can sit on his desk. The teacher had been trying out a classroom system with a big speaker for the whole room. If it were me as a student, I would feel funny about the entire class listening to the teacher through a wireless microphone just for me. The student is excited to try this small custom piece of equipment just for him.

I was able to hook up a high school computer teacher with a cool FREE tool that is open source for the visually impaired. It is the "Virtual Magnifying Glass" which is an on-screen magnifier. It can be downloaded HERE. You can drag it around, stretch and change it's size and increase/decrease the power of magnification.

It is very handy for ANYONE to use when teaching a class or presenting in a large room. When your laptop is hooked to a data projector and it is shining on the screen, you can click on the magnifier icon and slide it up and magnify details of an image, data base, etc. so everyone can see in the back of the room. I love it.

All the best to you!

Free Guide for Assistive Technology is a Great Support from WATI

Considering AT is a Federal Mandate:

Did you know that assistive technology must be considered for every student on an IEP? This means that when teachers, specialists and family gather to discuss a student's IEP goals and how to meet them, assistive technology must be given time for discusion and collaboration. Oftentimes this gets overlooked because the members of the team are unfamiliar with assistive technology and don't know where to start.

Free Tools to Help:

The Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative (WATI) has a great guide to help in the discussion and consideration of AT for a student. The consideration guide gives you a checklist of low, mid and high tech options in AT under various curriculum areas and skills. It gives teachers and parents a place to start in research as well as information to make a beginning decision on what should happen next. Hopefully, by seeing ideas and tools off the checklist that could help support the IEP, the team would request further assistance from an assistive technology specialist.

You can download the WATI Assessment forms by going to their website linked above and on my Important Links page. Select the products link. On that page is a link to free materials. The document is "WATI Assessment forms -forms only". You can view them on a pdf file and print off what you want.

The WATI Consideration Guide:

Look for the Wati Consideration Guide and the accompanying 2 page checklist. There are also screening tools, data collection forms, AT ssessment trial sheets, etc. I will do another post on the law and requirements where I can give a little more detail. If you would like more information or have specific questions, feel free to contact me by comment or email.
WATI is a great resource!

All the best to you!

Lon

OTAP is Oregon's Best Resource for Disabled Children

Oregon Technology Access Project

I want to tell you about some friends and colleagues of mine at OTAP. OTAP stands for the Oregon Technology Access Program. The program is sponsored by the Oregon Department of Education and is housed at the Douglas ESD in Roseburg, Oregon. It is run by some very committed and dedicated folks who work daily to support the needs of children. OTAP was started as a grant-funded enterprise to provide training and equipment to families, teachers, specialists and the disabled children they serve from birth to 21 years of age throughout the state. Eighteen years later, it has proven it's worth by providing quality services for the disabled child and those who support them.

A Resource for Equipment Loans:

I work with school districts, helping them find what equipment will work best to support IEP goals for their disabled students. My loan library at the Umatilla Morrow ESD can only loan equipment to schools with the cooperation of the Case managers and clinicians.

OTAP's services are for anyone. If you are a parent, you can go online directly and review equipment under categories and check out a device to try before a purchase. It is shipped to you and you must pay for the return shipping. A checkout lasts for 4 to 6 weeks.

My advice to parents is that you do some research online under the disorder you are dealing with and find out what types of AT are being used to support it. After you have done some research, you will be able to browse the catalog with a little more knowledge. If not, the equipment data base can seem rather overwhelming. The OTAP staff can help with general advice and steer you towards agencies that can help you.

If you want more information on the equipment catalog and check out, contact Kim Philpott at 541-440-4759; email:kim.philpott@douglasesd.k12.or.us

The OTAP link is HERE and will also remain on my Links that I Support list permanently as a very important resource. Please use it and check them out. Look for some future posts that spotlight the staff and information they have that might be helpful.

All the best to you!