Assistive technology helps all students

Assistive technology helps all students

By Lisa Gagnon

Blue Ridge–Assistive technology (AT) is not just for those students who require special education, Special Education Specialist Heather Finley said during her presentation to the school board at last week’s work session. Nor is it always as complicated as implementation of augmentive communication devices, speech recognition software and optical pointers, she added.

Finley was introduced by Mary Hyde, director of special education. Hyde pointed out that the graduation rate of students taking special education classes has increased from 46 percent during the 2007 school year to 64 percent this school year. She commended Finley, teachers in the core AT implementation team and other teachers who are using AT to help their students.

In the Fannin County school system, assistive technology is being used by English Language Learners (ELLs), children with physical and developmental disabilities, and students with no handicaps. And it can be as simple as a pencil grip that enables students to write better or a slant board that holds documents for easier reading.

Finley said the documented use of assistive technology in IEPs (Individualized Education Plans) has increased from 18 percent last school year to 43 percent this year. Students who have delayed skills or slight disabilities have IEPs. Others, including those with diabetes or allergies or slight physical or mental disabilities, have 504 plans. A 504 plan seeks to level the playing field so those with disabilities have the same opportunities as other students. An IEP plan is for those students who need significant assistance.

Hyde said that a third of the children in the Fannin County school system have some sort of plan, which may include gifted, 504, special education, ELL or RTI (Response to Intervention). RTI is used to detect learning disabilities and find effective ways to remediate any reduction in ability caused by them.

Blue Ridge Elementary has the highest percentage of students with disabilities using assistive technology, 70 percent. The middle school’s score is 50 percent, East Fannin is 36 percent, West Fannin is 32 percent and the high school is 28 percent.

Finley noted that West Fannin’s score is low, not because of failure to implement AT, but because it’s not very diverse. The high school, she said, needs to increase its score to 70 or 80 percent.

She added that use has probably increased more than the percentages show, because AT is not only being used for students with IEPs, who have delayed skills or disabilities, but also for other students. Students learning English and those who are struggling but not categorized as disabled have benefited from the use of these technologies.

There are five steps to successful assistive technology implementation, Finley pointed out. They are set the hook, create a core team, monitor the consideration of AT and documentation of AT use in IEPs, monitor how AT is implemented in the classroom and provide ongoing support.

“Not only do we see it and say it, we use it,” Finley noted about AT documentation.

Implementation was also aided by a Breaking Down Barriers to Assistive Technology Grant for the Premier Literacy program, she said. This permitted the school system to implement a parent component for parents of students in special education, as well as students who are struggling with passing criterion referenced competency tests (CRCTs).

The core team consists of Finley, as well as vice principals at the schools, who are generally in charge of RTI.

Hyde noted that the core team are not the only teachers working with assistive technology.

“We have quite a few teachers–regular and special education–who are using it,” she said. She explained that since the state’s focus has shifted from one-on-one intervention to classroom-based intervention, special education teachers and content teachers are working in tandem in classrooms with all students, not just those who need special help.

Special Education Specialist Heather Finley addressed the Board of Education regarding the use of assistive technology in the Fannin County school system.