5 Assistive Technology Models
Assistive Technology Models were designed as a resource to
support individuals who need technology to ensure the most appropriate tools
were being selected and utilized to improve their areas of need while
supporting their strengths. The AT
models all have a comprehensive, systematic process that ensures the best
outcome for the individual in need.
Matching
Person & Technology Model (MPT)
Selecting appropriate technology to meet the individual
needs of the person it is intended to support is a big decision. Many factors need to be taken into
consideration including:
·
individual preferences
·
users’ hopes of the technology
·
finances
·
family
·
environment in which the technology will be used
(school, home or vocational environments)
To assist individuals with this decision, the Matching
Person & Technology (MPT) model has implemented an intense consultation
process for all involved. It utilizes a
variety of surveys and questionnaires for home, school, work place and outside
agencies to help ensure the most appropriate match between person and
technology choice is made. Small samples
of these surveys and questionnaires can be found in the link below.
This is extremely important since
this match helps to ensure the technology selected will be successfully implemented and
effectively used by the individual for
which it is intended. Hence, careful
collaboration between all the parties involved is crucial.
In addition to the adult version of
Matching Person & Technology model, a Matching Assistive Technology to
Child (MATCH ) model was designed with the same hope and goal in mind….that
appropriate technology would be selected, successfully implemented and
effectively used by the child in their various environments. Similarly, the MATCH assessment process
involves a series of surveys and questionnaires to be completed by all team
members involved from home, school and outside agencies.
Lifespace Access Profile Model for Individuals with Severe
or Multiple Disabilities
Lifespace Access Profile Model was
designed to support individuals with severe or multiple disabilities to carefully select, successfully
implement and effectively utilize technology to improve their areas of weakness and support
their areas of strength.
Like other assistive technology
models, the LAP Model has an assessment component that evaluates an
individual’s abilities in 5 key areas:
·
physical
resources
·
cognitive
resources
·
emotional
resources
·
support
resources
·
environmental
analysis
Additional information about the LAP
model can be found at the link below.
Food for Thought
Nick Brown, a man with cerebral palsy
has a wonderful story of how technology has helped him fulfill his life in ways
he and his family did not think was possible.
Amy Morrell, a physio therapist
discusses the many things she considers before recommendations for a wheel
chair are made for a client she is serving.
“I look at
what best fits their needs.”
SETT Model
The SETT model
Another wonderful model designed to
assist with selecting, implementing and effectively utilizing assistive
technology for those in need is the SETT model.
The SETT model consists of 4 parts:
1.
Student
2.
Environments
3.
Tasks
4.
Tools
Each of these components is equally important when making
decisions about which technology will be best suited for the person in need in
the various environments in which the person will be using it. Like all the other models, the SETT framework
uses questions to help all the team members involved collect pertinent
information about the person in need.
This information helps to guide the decisions the team makes about the
person and the technology chosen to ensure success within the educational
setting.
More information about the SETT model can be found at the
link below.
ETP Education Tech Points Model
·
Education
Tech Points (ETP) is a tool to help school districts to determine and meet the
assistive technology needs of individual students and to evaluate and improve
their assistive technology services system wide.
·
It
consists of a comprehensive manual that includes information on team-building,
components of effective AT service delivery, and systems change.
·
The
specifics of this model center around six “Tech Points”. Each Tech Point
identifies the specific times within the planning and provision of special
education services that the need for AT should be considered.
·
The
ETP process has outcomes built in at each Tech Point. The ultimate outcome is
that the student receives the AT devices and services needed to access the
curriculum and meet IEP/IFSP goals and objectives.
Wisconsin
Assistive Technology Initiative
·
The purpose of the Wisconsin Assistive
Technology Initiative (WATI) is to provide a comprehensive and thorough
assistive technology assessment process.
·
The WATI targets school-age children
with disabilities and school districts. It provides both the process as well as
specific guides relevant to the 10 sections of the model. These include an
overview of the AT assessment and planning process, all the forms developed for
the WATI model. AT for writing and computer access. AT for communication addresses three major
groups of individuals: the alternative language group, the expressive language
group, and the supportive language group. AT for reading, studying, and
mathematics are grouped together for adaptations in academic areas.
·
It also provides information on AT for
recreation, leisure, and activities of daily living, including environmental
control, addresses AT for vision and hearing, AT for positioning and seating comprises, writing
AT in the IEP, and has information on AT
laws and funding, including funding sources, legal provisions and policies.
·
The
outcomes of the WATI assessment process focus on consideration of AT in the IEP
and that the student receives AT devices and services needed to access the
curriculum and meet IEP/IFSP goals and objectives.
For me, regardless of which model you researched all of them
have the person in need at the forefront of each and every decision. Each model has a team of professionals that
work collaboratively with the person in need and their families to ensure pertinent
information is collected and used to support their decision(s) about which
technology is best suited for the person in need and can be used effectively in
a variety of environments. In addition,
all these models require devoted team members to assist with the proper
training to safeguard the person it is intended to support against frustration
and ultimately, abandonment of the AT selected.
More food for thought!!
While I was researching the various AT models, I came across
the site below that I thought some might find interesting.
Quality Indicators for Assistive
Technology (QIAT)
Quality Indicators for Assistive
Technology is a wonderful site with extremely informative information about AT
guidelines and services in various areas that need to be considered before
selecting and implementing assistive technology. It has a list of resources that has been
researched and implemented successfully with individuals in need including “websites, documents on
websites, and commercially available materials that relate to each of the eight
QIAT areas which include:
1.
Guiding Document for Including Assistive Technology In the IEP
2.
Guiding Document for Implementation
3.
Guiding Document for Evaluation of Effectiveness
4.
Guiding Document for Transition
5.
Guiding Document for Professional Development
6.
Guiding Document for Consideration
7.
Guiding Document for Administrative Support
8.
Guiding Document for Assessment
Additional information about QIAT can
be viewed at the following is a link:
When you look through the resources,
keep an eye open for Barb’s UDL Placemat for the iPad. J
Thank you so much Sheri for being my
partner and researching these models with me.
I appreciate all your hard work.
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