Assessing Student's Needs for Assistive Technology (ASNAT)

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Chapter 3 – Assistive Technology for Writing Worksheets can be made accessible with some simple techniques. First try enlarging the worksheet on a copy machine so that the child does not need to make as small or precise a mark as the other students. Taping the worksheet to the desk or placing it on a clipboard may also make it easier for the student to write on. Magnets can also be used by students to indicate choices on worksheets mounted beneath plastic on a cookie sheet. Things like masking tape, Velcro , Dycem ® , gripping stuff, or non slip rubber mats from Rubbermaid to hold things in place can go a long way to help make materials more accessible. ♦ Writing Guides A variety of plastic writing guides are available from independent living aids catalogs. Writing guides are pieces of plastic with cut out areas allowing for writing within cutout lines. They come in various sizes for writing checks, signatures, letters and envelopes. (Available from various vendors including Independent Living Aids, Inc. and Onion Mountain Technology, Inc.) ♦ Make Guides with Wikki Stix Wikki Stix (Wikki Stix) are colorful, flexible sticks about 8” long. They are tacky to touch and are bendable to mold, draw, trace and use to create 3D stand-up figures. They stick to any surface and peel off without a trace. You can place them on the bottom or top line as a guide. Children can form letters with Wikki Stix or use them as letter guides when writing. Wikki Stix are available from school supply catalogs. ♦ Use of Prewritten Words/Phrases It is extremely important to provide students with the opportunity to produce written language even though they may not have the motor skills to adequately do so in the traditional method using a pencil and paper. One way to do this is to provide words already written that can be placed in sentences and paragraphs. This can be done with low tech tools. One example is using adhesive backed magnetic labels or strips. Words can be printed on paper or card stock and stuck to magnetic material. The student can then arrange them on a metal surface (e.g. a cookie sheet with an edge). It requires only a swiping motion to move the words into the desired arrangement. Magnetic Poetry ® is a commercial product offering preprinted words in various sizes. This would require better motor skills, but still allows the student to produce written sentences without the struggle of handwriting. In addition, there are software programs that facilitate writing with words and phrases before the student is ready to spell individual words or to keyboard. IntelliKeys ® and Overlay Maker offer endless possibilities to create writing templates containing words and phrases. They allow the student to create written language by selecting and sequencing whole words. The I Can Write series which is available at the IntelliShare Activity Exchange site on the IntelliTools website, reinforces letters, basic vocabulary, and syntax. It can be customized with your own letters and words. This allows a student to retell a story, sequence events, create their own story, etc. Assessing Students’ Needs for Assistive Technology (2004) 80
Chapter 3 – Assistive Technology for Writing Two other programs, Writing with Symbols 2000 (Mayer-Johnson) and PixWriter (Slater Software), provide symbols paired with words so that the student who does not yet recognize the whole words can also practice syntax and grammar in creating sentences, paragraphs, and stories. Writing with Symbols 2000 uses the Picture Communication Symbols from Mayer- Johnson and PixWriter uses the PictureIt Symbols from Slater Software. Both PixWriter and Writing with Symbols 2000 include numerous sample templates/environments for developing written language skills. ♦ Alternative Keyboard Another means to provide access to a student who is experiencing difficulties with the motor aspects of writing is to use an alternative keyboard. A popular alternative keyboard used within schools is the IntelliKeys ® from IntelliTools, Inc. The IntelliKeys ® is a programmable alternative keyboard that plugs into any Macintosh or Windows computer. It enables students with physical, visual, or cognitive disabilities to easily type, enter numbers, navigate onscreen displays, and execute menu commands. The IntelliKeys ® keyboard comes with six standard overlays plus a setup overlay, that are ready to use with any word processing program or software that has keyboard input. These overlays include an alphabetical overlay which is very useful for early writers. The IntelliKeys ® keyboard can also be configured to almost any layout based on students need. Discover:Board ® an alternative keyboard from Madentec Limited comes with software for controlling the mouse and keyboard plus speech and customization software for customization for flexible computer access. The Discover:Board ® has large widely spaced keys appropriate for users with limited motor control or those who use a fist to type. Another popular alternative keyboard is the TASH USB Mini keyboard, a small size alternative keyboard that plugs directly into a computer with no special interface being needed. Membrane keys are less that one half inch square and are closely spaced for easy access. ♦ Onscreen Keyboard Onscreen keyboards provide the typical keyboard layout on the computer screen. Moving the mouse over the screen/onscreen keyboard completes input. Most onscreen keyboards allow customization for specific physical or learning needs. Some young children benefit from introduction of an onscreen keyboard when beginning to write. Use of the onscreen keyboard decreases the physical space between the keyboard and the monitor, thus eliminating some distracters. Onscreen keyboards are now available through the latest operating systems, Windows XP and Mac OSX. ♦ PDA’s Personal Digital Assistants Personal Digital Assistants offer a small, portable tool for written language. PDA’s allow input of text into various applications including memo pad, to do list, and word processing programs. Text can be inputted via a small onscreen keyboard/stylus or by writing on the PDA’s LCD screen. The latest in PDA operating system software allow the student to write anywhere on the screen of the PDA and the written words are translated into text. Some varieties of PDA’s have a small QWERTY keyboard on the front of the device to allow text input using the thumbs. Assessing Students’ Needs for Assistive Technology (2004) 81
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Chapter 9 - Documenting Assistive T
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Chapter 10 - Funding Assistive Tech
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Assistive Technology Vendor Table C
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Assistive Technology Vendor Table M
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Assistive Technology Vendor Table N
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Assistive Technology Vendor Table C
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Assistive Technology Vendor Table V
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Appendix Additional Vendors: Assess
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WATI Product Catalog WATI PRODUCT C
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WATI Product Catalog Assistive Tech
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WATI Product Catalog School Profile
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WATI Product Catalog Wisconsin Assi
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Assistive Technology Assessment For
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