Individualizing AT

The readings and discussion about assistive technology in the classroom have resonated with me on a personal level. As I have said several times throughout the semester, I am a first year 6:1:1 teacher with two students who are nonverbal. One of these students used to communicate through the use of a DynaVox. Needless to say, his level of cognitive functioning is extremely high and he was able to navigate impressively through the DynaVox features. Before he became my student, however, his DynaVox broke and the only other piece of assistive technology we had in the classroom was a PECS book that we customized for him. This student does not emit aggressive behaviors; on the contrary, he is quite social and very appropriate with his social interactions albeit his nontraditional form of communication. However, in my classroom he became increasingly agitated as he had to adjust to a new form of communication that wasn't truly suited to meet his needs.

This is the most important part of assistive technology in the classroom: it has to be functional and it should enhance a student's learning experience rather than create frustration and agitation. For this reason, I downloaded a number of communication devices on my iPad and had this student use them in my classroom. Eventually, after weeks, he was able to receive his own iPad with the communication device he had been using most frequently in my classroom. Ever since then, he has been notably less agitated and anxious, and more happy because he is able to communicate not only his wants and needs, but also participate in a more fluid way in daily activities by commenting and answering and asking questions.

However, it is important to not confuse the term assistive technology with alternative and augmentative communication. I have used so much low-tech assistive technology in my classroom, which eases the stress and anxiety that so many students with autism face. Simply giving a student a marker rather than a pencil to write with is an accommodation that can relieve tension and enhance the student's learning experience.

The bottom line is that teachers should truly get to know their students, know what works for them and what their needs are, before shoving assistive technology just because the textbook says to do it. We should always be optimizing opportunities to individualize for our students!