The North Carolina Assistive Technology Program was very
interesting, the technology they had were useful for all ages and you could see
how a program like that would be beneficial to the individuals who know it is
there. I liked how they had everything from switch adapted toys, to
communication devices and even an adapted book collection for teachers to use. What
I liked the most about NC ATP os that they allow you to “check out” the device
you want to practice with and test before it is purchased by the individual or
by the school system.
I think
my favorite equipment that was shown to us were the switch adapted toys. This
was something that never struck me would be something you could adapt for
individuals with disabilities. The toys were so easy to adapt, it took a
battery interrupter and the cord to hook the switch into. Then depending on the
toy, the only thing the user has to do is push the switch to make the toy work.
Depending on the toy, you either have to hold the switch down or you push the
switch once in order to make the toy function. This is important because if
there is an individual who cannot access a toy because they do not have the
fine motor skills required to use some of the toys, they now have a way to
access them. NC State recently hosted a professional development on how to turn
toys into adapted switch toys, especially with it being so close to the holiday
season I think this is wonderful for parents who want to give their children
the same experience as other students. I was also fascinated by the types of
switches she showed us. I did not realize there were so many, I knew that ones
like “Big Red” were available but I loved the soft switch that required the
lightest touch to use. I liked this one because you could give it to an individual
who doesn’t have the same amount of force to push a button like “Big Red”. She
also showed us a switch that looked like a joist stick used in video games, I
would use this with a student who maybe cannot push down at all but can move
their arms side to side.
From switches,
we moved into communication devices. There was one device in particular I
really liked. This was the “Super Talker” which was really nice because it was
also a kind of “grow as you grow” device. I mean this because the device had a
storage spot on the back to store different number choice options. For example,
if the individual receives the device at a young age when they only need to say
one or two things there is an option for one or two choices. Then, as the
student grows and has more than a two-word vocabulary, the device allows for
you to give the student more choices. I believe you could have up to 8 options
on this particular device. I liked this because we want students to grow and
this device allows us to help them with that without having to replace the
device every few years. Another communication device we were shown was very
nice because at the top of the device was a row of 5 options for students to choose
that you would keep the same no matter how many layers are programmed on the
device. For example, on each layer my five options of, “please, thank you,
more, I need, and help” would remain the same while the other options in the
other rows would change. I like this a lot because you can tailor the layers to
exactly what you are working on, while keeping key vocabulary on the device and
not having to reprogram the device every time I change layers. She also showed
us a kind of PECS system but this was more controlled. I would use this for a
student who I eventually want on the PECS system but maybe need to start them
off on a very controlled system. This system gave you a flip book that would
give you a few options on tabs such as feelings or wants, and after you narrow
down to what tab you want, then on that tab there are different options under
the major category. I think this because it is consistent and when you need to
find a word you can easily get there where as in PECS sometimes I think that
words can get lost in the system. 