Introduction to Assistive Technology for Young Learners: Video 2

Summary

This video script introduces the continuum and categories of assistive technology (AT) for young learners, emphasizing the importance of matching the right AT to a child's needs. It covers low-tech to high-tech devices, including visual and auditory aids, mobility and positioning tools, computer access, educational aids, communication devices, and sensory aids. The script also highlights the role of AT in daily living, education, and play, showcasing innovative solutions like modified motorized cars for children with disabilities.

Takeaways

• 📚 The script introduces the concept of a continuum for assistive technology (AT), ranging from no technology to high technology, emphasizing the importance of matching the right technology to the child's needs.
• 🔄 It clarifies that neither low-tech nor high-tech is inherently better; the suitability of the technology depends on the individual child's requirements.
• 🛠️ The script describes various categories of AT, including daily living aids, mobility and positioning devices, vision and hearing tools, computer access, educational support, communication aids, recreational tools, sensory aids, and environmental controls.
• 👶 For young children, AT can be adapted from simple, non-electronic devices to complex electronic components, with examples given for each level of technology.
• 🏠 AT for daily living includes self-care and routine support items like dressing aids, adapted feeding tools, and personal hygiene aids.
• 🚶 Mobility and positioning devices range from simple beanbag chairs to complex power wheelchairs, with a focus on improving independence and comfort.
• 👀 The vision and hearing category of AT includes tools like audio books, large print text, vibrating alerts, light boxes, magnifying bars, screen readers, and personal sound amplifiers.
• 💻 Computer access technology aids in overcoming barriers presented by disabilities, offering alternative input methods like joysticks, alternative keyboards, track balls, and touch screens.
• 📖 Educational AT helps children with reading and writing goals, with tools like digital books, talking calculators, adapted paper, and writing grips.
• 🗣️ Communication AT is crucial for children with speech difficulties, offering solutions from picture symbols to dynamic display devices that can be customized.
• 🎨 Recreational AT allows children to participate in play activities, using adapted toys, games, and swings to foster learning and socialization.
• 🔊 Sensory aids are essential for children who need additional sensory input or a calming effect, with tools like tactile toys, noise-canceling headphones, weighted vests, and calming choice boards.
• 🌐 Environmental controls enable children to interact with and control aspects of their surroundings, such as lights and music, promoting independence and engagement.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the 'Introduction to Assistive Technology for Young Learners' video series?

The purpose of the video series is to educate about the various types and categories of assistive technology (AT), how they can be matched to the needs of children, and how they can support young learners in different aspects of their lives.

What does the AT continuum represent?

The AT continuum represents a range of devices and systems, from no technology to high technology, with simple non-electronic devices at one end and complex electronic components at the other.

Why is it important to match the right technology with the needs of the child?

Matching the right technology with the needs of the child ensures that the AT is effective in supporting the child's learning, development, and participation in daily activities, rather than simply choosing based on the level of technology.

What are some examples of low-tech AT items?

Examples of low-tech AT items include pencil grips, toys with lights, vibrations, and textures, and visual supports such as morning schedules, social stories, and reward charts.

What is the role of high-tech AT in communication for children with limited speech?

High-tech AT in communication can provide dynamic display devices and other sophisticated tools that help children with limited or no speech to express themselves and communicate effectively with others.

How does AT for daily living support children with disabilities?

AT for daily living supports children with disabilities by providing items that assist in self-care and daily routines, such as adapted feeding tools, personal hygiene aids, and dressing aids.

What is the significance of mobility and positioning AT for individuals with physical disabilities?

Mobility and positioning AT is significant as it helps individuals with physical disabilities to move around, maintain proper posture, and participate in daily routines and activities, which can include anything from beanbag chairs to power wheelchairs.

How does the GoBabyGo project aim to improve mobility for young children with disabilities?

The GoBabyGo project modifies off-the-shelf ride-on cars to make them accessible and functional for young children with disabilities, thus providing them with the opportunity to explore and interact with their environment.

What is the importance of sensory aids in the category of AT?

Sensory aids are important in AT as they provide children with the necessary sensory input or a calming effect, helping them to focus and participate in pre-academic and social skills development.

How do environmental controls in AT enable children to interact with their surroundings?

Environmental controls in AT allow children to operate and control various home and school tools, such as lights, radios, or TVs, giving them a sense of independence and participation in their environment.

What role do adapted toys and games play in the recreational activities of children with disabilities?

Adapted toys and games play a crucial role in providing children with disabilities access to the same recreational activities as their peers, fostering socialization, learning, and enjoyment.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Introduction to Assistive Technology for Young Learners

This paragraph introduces the concept of assistive technology (AT) and its role in education for young learners. It explains the AT continuum, which ranges from no technology to high technology, emphasizing that the choice of technology depends on the child's needs rather than a preference for low or high-tech solutions. The paragraph also categorizes AT into simple adaptations, low-tech, medium-tech, and high-tech devices, each serving different functions and complexities. Examples of AT items such as pencil grips, visual supports, switches, and dynamic display communication devices are provided, illustrating how they can aid in various daily activities and educational goals.

05:02

🚀 Mobility and Positioning in Assistive Technology

This section delves into the mobility and positioning category of AT, highlighting its importance for individuals with physical disabilities. It discusses the variety of devices available, from simple beanbag chairs to complex power wheelchairs, each designed to improve mobility and support proper positioning during daily activities. The paragraph introduces gait trainers, walkers, positioning forms, and standers, explaining their specific purposes. It also mentions the work of Cole Galloway and the GoBabyGo project, which modifies motorized cars for young children with disabilities to enhance their mobility and social interaction.

10:04

🎵 The Impact of Assistive Technology on Children's Mobility and Happiness

This paragraph focuses on the personal impact of mobility devices on children, particularly through the story of Xander and the GoBabyGo project. It describes how the modified motorized cars provide children with disabilities not only increased mobility but also a sense of joy and independence. The narrative includes insights from Cole Galloway on the project's inception, the process of modifying cars, and the social and developmental benefits observed in children using these devices. The paragraph emphasizes the transformative effect of such technology on children's lives, as seen in Xander's story.

15:04

👀 Assistive Technology for Vision and Hearing

This section explores the category of AT devices designed for individuals with vision and hearing impairments. It mentions audio books, large print texts, vibrating alerts, light boxes, and magnifying tools as examples of how technology can assist in these areas. The paragraph explains the functionality of each device, such as how a light box can facilitate visual tasks and how screen readers can aid those with visual impairments in navigating computer screens. It also touches on personal sound amplifiers and vibrating alarm clocks as alternative alerting systems for those with hearing impairments.

20:06

🖥️ Computer Access and Educational Assistive Technology

The paragraph discusses the category of computer access AT, which includes a range of devices and software to help children use computers despite disabilities. It describes alternative keyboards, track balls, joysticks, touch screens, and switch systems that facilitate interaction with computer interfaces. Additionally, the paragraph covers educational AT, emphasizing its importance in early childhood development. Examples such as electronic digital books, talking calculators, adapted paper, and audio books illustrate how these tools can engage children in learning and play, building foundational skills for future success.

25:10

🗣️ Communication and Play with Assistive Technology

This section covers the role of AT in communication and play, two critical areas for children's development. It explains how AT can support children with speech and language challenges through picture symbols, single message devices, and more complex communication systems like the iPad with Proloquo2Go. The paragraph also highlights the importance of play in development and how adapted toys, art tools, bikes, swings, and games can enhance children's play experiences. The use of sensory aids to help children focus and regulate their sensory systems is also discussed, along with examples like tactile toys, noise-canceling headphones, and weighted vests.

🏠 Environmental Controls and the Conclusion of the Video Series

The final paragraph introduces environmental controls, a category of AT that allows users to interact with and control their surroundings, such as using a switch to control music or an app to manage home appliances. The paragraph concludes the video series by thanking the U.S. Department of Education for their grant and PACER Center for bringing the content to the audience. It invites viewers to watch the next video in the series for a hands-on exploration of AT.

Keywords

💡Assistive Technology (AT)

Assistive Technology (AT) refers to devices, equipment, software, and services that help individuals with disabilities perform tasks in their daily lives. In the video, AT is the central theme, with a focus on how it can be categorized and matched to the needs of young learners to enhance their learning and participation in various activities.

💡Continuum of AT

The continuum of AT is a spectrum that ranges from no technology to high technology, indicating the level of complexity and sophistication of the assistive devices. The video explains that the choice of AT is not about one being better than the other, but rather about finding the right fit for the child's needs, with examples of devices from simple pencil grips to complex computer systems.

💡Low-tech

Low-tech AT includes simple, non-electronic devices that are easy to use and typically less expensive. The video mentions low-tech items such as pencil grips and visual supports, which are used to aid in writing and learning comprehension, respectively.

💡High-tech

High-tech AT encompasses devices with complex electronic components and capabilities, such as computers and advanced communication devices. The video provides examples like dynamic display communication devices, illustrating how these can be used by children with special needs to enhance their communication abilities.

💡Aids of Daily Living

Aids of Daily Living are AT devices designed to support individuals in performing routine daily activities like eating, bathing, and dressing. The video shows examples such as a spoon with an adapted handle for easier gripping, highlighting how these aids can promote independence in self-care.

💡Mobility and Positioning

Mobility and Positioning AT includes devices that help individuals with physical disabilities move around and maintain proper positions for daily activities. The video discusses various devices from simple beanbag chairs to complex power wheelchairs, emphasizing their role in enhancing physical independence.

💡Vision and Hearing Aids

Vision and Hearing Aids are categories of AT that address tools for individuals with visual or hearing impairments, including blindness and deafness. The video mentions braille labeling and audio books as examples, showing how these aids can facilitate access to information and communication.

💡Computer Access

Computer Access AT provides tools that help overcome barriers to using computers or tablets for individuals with disabilities. The video describes devices like joystick mice and onscreen keyboards, explaining how they can enable users to interact with digital content effectively.

💡Educational AT

Educational AT is designed to help children with learning needs, such as reading and writing. The video introduces the Bookworm device by AbleNet, which allows children to record and access book pages independently, demonstrating how AT can support educational engagement.

💡Communication AT

Communication AT aids children in finding and using their voice, particularly for those with limited or no speech. The video showcases an eye gaze system as an example, explaining how it can transform the way children communicate by forming words through eye movements.

💡Recreation AT

Recreation AT includes devices and adaptations that allow children to participate in recreational activities, such as games and sports. The video describes adapted toys and swings, emphasizing the importance of play in child development and how AT can make recreational activities accessible to all children.

💡Sensory Aids

Sensory Aids are AT devices that provide needed sensory input or offer a calming effect in response to sensory overload. The video mentions the Disc'O'Sit as an example, explaining how its bumps can provide sensory input to help children focus during activities.

💡Environmental Controls

Environmental Controls are AT devices that allow users to interact with and control their environment, such as home appliances. The video shows the PowerLink as an example, illustrating how it can enable children to control electrical devices, thus promoting independence in their living spaces.

Highlights

Assistive Technology (AT) devices and systems are categorized on a continuum from no technology to high technology.

The importance of matching the right technology with the needs of the child, rather than prioritizing low or high-tech solutions.

Low-tech AT items, such as pencil grips and visual supports, are simple adaptations without working parts.

Visual supports include a variety of objects, pictures, and gestures to aid learning and understanding.

Medium technology items, like switches and communication devices, are more sophisticated and may require time to learn.

High-tech AT includes complex electronic devices like computers with dynamic display features.

AT is broadly categorized for easier discussion, with some cross-over between categories.

Aids of daily living support routines like eating and bathing, with examples such as a specially designed spoon.

Mobility and positioning devices assist those with physical disabilities in moving and participating in daily activities.

Vision and hearing AT tools cater to a range of disabilities, including blindness and deafness, with examples like braille labeling.

Computer access AT tools overcome barriers for those with disabilities to use computers or tablets, like joystick mice.

Educational AT helps children meet educational goals, such as the Bookworm device for independent reading access.

Communication AT is suitable for children with limited speech, using devices like eye gaze systems to form words.

Recreational AT includes adapted games and toys to enhance children's engagement in play activities.

Sensory aids provide necessary sensory input or calm effects for children, such as the Disc'O'Sit for focus and attention.

Environmental controls allow children to access and control home and school tools, like the PowerLink for electrical devices.

The GoBabyGo project modifies motorized cars for young children with disabilities to enhance their mobility and socialization.

Assistive technology for vision and hearing includes a wide range of devices from audio books to light boxes and magnifying tools.

Computer access technology includes various methods like alternative keyboards, track balls, joysticks, and touch screens.

Educational AT is vital for early childhood development, providing novel ways to access instructional materials.

Communication AT ranges from picture symbols to dynamic display devices, supporting speech and language skills.

Play is essential for development, and AT can improve a child's structured and free play abilities, building peer relationships.

Sensory aids are crucial for focus, providing extra input or calm strategies for children with sensory regulation needs.

Environmental controls empower users to impact their surroundings, like controlling lights and music with switches.

Transcripts

[ Music ]

Welcome to Video 2 of an Introduction to Assistive Technology for Young Learners.

In Video 1 we discussed what AT is.

Now, let's talk about the continuum and categories of AT.

When individuals talk about AT, devices and systems are put on a continuum ranging

from no technology to high technology.

On one end of the continuum, there are simple, non-electronic devices.

Looking higher up the continuum, things become more complicated, have more moving parts,

have batteries and wires, and generally can be more costly.

It is also important to remember that low-tech is not better than high-tech

and high-tech is not better than low-tech.

It is about matching the right technology with the needs of the child.

It is also likely that a child will benefit from an array of technology

across the continuum depending on what their needs are.

AT items without any technology components are very simple adaptations

that have no working parts.

They include things like pencil grips or visual supports.

Pencil grips come in an array of materials, shapes, and weights and are meant

to help the child improve their grasp of the writing tool such as a pencil or a crayon.

Visual supports are used to support learning and understanding.

They consist of objects, pictures, gestures, and more.

Some recognizable examples include a morning schedule, social stories,

reward charts, behavior charts, and much more.

Low-tech items are items that have simple parts and batteries.

Components are simple and easy to operate.

They include things like toys with lights, vibrations, and textures

and can be purchased at a toy store.

Medium technology items are becoming more sophisticated.

They have more moving parts and may take some time to learn and implement.

They include things like switches, used to activate a toy,

and communication devices programmed by an adult to provide a voice

to a child who has limited or no speech.

High-tech AT consists of devices that have complex electronic components and moving parts.

They include things like computers and high-tech communication devices

with a feature called dynamic display.

We also put AT into broad categories to make it easier to talk about.

The next two slides list all of the categories traditionally used

to talk about assistive technology.

In the upcoming slides, each category will be defined

and examples of items that fall into each category provided.

There is some cross-over between categories, but you will find that most

AT devices fit well within these areas.

The first area is aids of daily living, which provide support in daily routines and activities

such as eating, bathing, sleeping, and more.

Pictured here is a spoon designed with a handle that makes it easier to grip.

Mobility and positioning is a category that is designed to help people

with physical disabilities get around and be in the proper position to participate

in daily routines and activities.

Pictured here is a power mobility device.

The categories of vision and hearing addresses tools that help people with the range of vision

and hearing disabilities including blindness and deafness.

Pictured here is an example of braille labeling.

The category of computer access consists of tools that help someone overcome the barrier

that having a disability presents and provides access to a computer or tablet device.

Pictured here is a joystick mouse which allows the user to access the pointer on the computer,

move it across the screen, and make selections

as someone else might use a traditional computer mouse.

Assistive technology for education helps children

with educational goals such as reading and writing.

Pictured here is the Bookworm, a device by AbleNet designed

to help give a child independent access to reading, shared reading, and more.

Individual pages of the book can be recorded and then accessed by the child

with the push of a button or switch.

Assistive technology for communication helps children find and use their voice.

It is appropriate for children with little or no speech or unintelligible speech.

Pictured here is an eye gaze system where letters are used to form words.

Recreation is an important part of life so we have assistive technology

that helps us access recreation activities.

This includes games, toys, sports, and more.

Pictured here are small manipulatives tethered to a piece of felt.

Assistive technology for sensory aids provides children either with needed sensory input

or a calming effect when there has been too much sensory input.

Pictured here is a Disc'O'Sit.

The bumps on this round disk provide sensory input to a child who is sitting on a chair

or on the floor, which may help them focus and pay attention during a routine or activity.

Environmental controls help give children access to a wide variety of home and school tools

such as a blender, a radio, or a TV.

Pictured here is the PowerLink, which allows the user to control things that plug in.

First, let's talk more about assistive technology for daily living.

This category includes items that assist in self-care and daily living.

Items such as dressing aids, adapted feeding tools,

and AT for personal hygiene fall into this area.

Pictured here is a utensil cuff designed to be used by a child with limited functionality of the hands

to improve their ability to grasp and use forks and spoons.

It can be used with handles of many shapes and sizes.

Next, we have a Nosey Cup, which is standard type cup with a cutout for the nose

that allows drinking without bending the neck or tilting the head.

Some Nosey Cups also come with handles.

For our last example we have elastic shoe laces.

The elastic shoe laces allow a child to put on their shoe and get a snug fit

without having to be able to tie their shoes.

Mobility and positioning is a category that people are most familiar with today.

This category includes devices that vary a great deal in complexity.

There are very low-tech items like a beanbag chair and devices

as complex as a power wheelchair.

Wheelchairs come in many sizes and with a variety of technology capabilities.

Wheelchairs are designed to improve mobility.

Gait trainers are designed for people of all ages who have a physical disability.

It is a wheeled device that helps a person who is unable to walk independently to learn

or relearn to walk safely and efficiently as part of gait training.

A walker is also designed to help with independent mobility and provide support.

Positioning forms are designed to help provide support for babies and toddlers

who have low muscle tone and difficulty maintaining a position.

Standers provide partial weight bearing support to help shape critical motor skills

so a child can progress towards independent standing.

They also provide alternate body positions for children with physical disabilities.

For very young children there are few choices when it comes to mobility devices.

Cole Galloway, from the University of Delaware, and a team of people are trying to change this

by adapting readily available motorized cars designed for young children

and modifying them for children with disabilities.

Let's look at this video about the possibilities of powered mobility for young children.

Here!

Xander?

Here!

In the classroom, Xander's got a lot of really good friends.

In more open area situations, he can kind of get a little left behind.

I have lots of kids that aren't invited to birthday parties ever.

Friends are hard to make when you're not mobile.

[ Music ]

When he's on the bike he just often just gets this really big like happy grin on his face.

Wow.

I want you to feel like you have control over your own happiness.

And I know for young children, that's attached to your mobility.

Here we are.

We keep a variety of cars so that we can mix and match parts.

I'm Cole Galloway, the founder of GoBabyGo,

a project to increase exploration in kids with special needs.

We take off the shelf ride on cars and we modify them lightly to get them going.

The materials of interest are PVC, nuts and bolts, things you get at your hardware store.

I came to Delaware in 2000 and started a traditional research lab studying how kids learn

to move their bodies.

There are no commercially available power wheelchairs for children that are under 3.

So out of frustration myself and a high school research assistant a couple

of summers back went to ToysRUs.

We jacked up all the small cars, took them all off the shelves.

The manager comes running, "What are you doing?"

And we said, "We're having a lab meeting, of course."

We went and saw that for $100 for a ride on car and $100 worth of materials

from Home Depot we could get the same kind of mobility.

That was too good to be true.

Fast forward two or three years and now we're modifying ride on cars all over the country.

We're in front of 20 to 50 families and clinicians

at workshops teaching them how to modify cars.

We provide very basic YouTube videos that parents and clinicians can view.

They can build a car off of them, combine that with the manual that we send out,

have an electrical or mechanical engineer come by and certify it, you're ready to go.

You can see a very typical design platform --

I don't know why we felt the need to give it away except I think everybody would do that.

There's no reason to hold on to this and fight for a territory when there's literally hundreds

of thousands of kids all over the world today sitting still.

Now it becomes a chess match of how quickly we can get it out.

[ Music ]

We'll bring children in from the community into the early learning center gym.

Plop everybody down in a car, invite our toddler and preschool friends to just play,

the adults back off, and you get a whirlwind of socialization and mobility.

So Sarah doesn't have a reason to keep her head up,

but when she drives her ride on car, she has a reason.

That's the accelerator behind her head.

Sit up tall with your head.

There you go!

Xander has the big four-by-four.

By making it a simple switch that you can have it stand up to make it go,

it requires him to have to get stronger in his legs, stronger bones,

and that will get him ready to throw those crutches away.

That's exactly what we're after, a typically developing kid and a special guy bonding.

That's a big friend, little friend.

And Xander even mentioned, like, why is he following me around?

And it was like, "because you're a super hero."

When he uses the standup car not only can he keep up with the friends

but sometimes the friends have to keep up with him.

And so it kind of puts him more in a place of like being the leader

as opposed to just being the follower.

It's a motor cycle.

Just the love of chasing after a child yelling, "You better come back here right now, young man,

or you're going to get run over!"

There are a lot of kids out there that never get told no or come back here

cuz they they don't have anywhere to go.

And once you give them a chance to go, they'll drive to you a little bit

and they're going to drive away from you.

And so, when Xander runs away from home, then I know we're we're good.

[ Music ]

[ Silence ]

Assistive technology for vision and hearing is also a category

that people are familiar with today.

However, it is a much bigger category than many realize.

Audio books use technology to provide live or electronic narration of a book

and are in this category, as well as large print text and vibrating phone alerts.

A light box is designed to help teach basic visual skills as well

as more complex visual motor and visual perceptual skills.

The high contrast background created by the light box's illuminated surface makes a variety

of visual tasks easier to perform.

There are many devices that help magnify what someone is looking at.

Pictured here is a magnifying bar designed to help magnify words and lines

in printed material such as in a book or worksheet.

Screen readers, which are not pictured here, are computer software that use a computer voice

to read a variety of texts or help someone

with a visual impairment navigate the computer screen.

The personal sound amplifier helps someone with a hearing impairment hear important noise

such as the teacher talking while minimizing potentially distracting background noise.

The amplification of the teacher's voice is better than the amplification of the noise.

A vibrating alarm clock provides an alternate alerting system to someone

who cannot hear the clock's auditory alarm.

Computer access is a category of technology

that helps children use traditional technology like a computer.

There are a wide range of access methods including a smaller size mouse,

a joystick, or roller ball mouse.

There are also more complicated scanning and switch systems

that make computing accessible to a wide variety of users.

Alternative keyboards come in a variety of shapes, sizes,

and configurations including a plug and play keyboard that plugs in and works instantly,

a programmable keyboard, which gives more flexibility in creating layouts,

and an onscreen keyboard pictured here with a small, colorful, QWERTY layout.

Track balls and joysticks provide alternative ways of moving the mouse and interacting

by clicking, selecting, and moving things.

The touch screen allows users to interact with the content

on the computer by touching the screen.

The finger essentially becomes the mouse allowing you

to select things, move things, and much more.

When other options do not work, we might look at a switch.

Switches come in a wide range of sizes, touch sensitivity, and function.

Along with a switch, we need a switch interface,

which is a device that helps the computer understand what the switch is telling it to do.

The education category is particularly important for young children and assists them

in participating in classroom activities.

It allows them to access instructional and play materials in novel ways

and helps them build those priceless early skills that will be the base

for their future learning success.

Electronic digital books often combine elements of print

with audio making them very interactive and engaging.

A talking calculator provides audio support for numbers and calculations.

This one is also large for someone with vision or motor difficulty.

Adapted paper consists of tools such as raised line paper

or different weights or thicknesses of paper.

Raised line paper provides a visual and tactile boundary of where writing should occur.

Audio books are live narrated books or books read with a computer voice.

Adopted writing grips help the user interact with a writing tool to write, color, and draw.

Adapted scissors provide support when cutting is difficult with traditional scissors.

Communication is also a crucial category.

Children who are able to communicate effectively are able to have their needs met, express thoughts

and emotions, and build relationships with those around them.

Assistive technology for communication can be as simple as a picture symbol

and as complex as a dynamic display device.

As previously mentioned, there are no prerequisites for introducing a tool

to help increase speech and language skills.

The pictures selected here represent the continuum of communication.

Picture communication uses symbols or picture representations to communicate a single concept.

Here you see what might be called a picture exchange communication system or PECS book.

With a variety of symbols that the user searches through to communicate their intent.

The picture symbols include items commonly found

in a user's book including food, activities, or rewards.

Moving up the continuum we have a single message device.

This particular one is called a BIGmack.

Typically a single message is programmed on the device and placed near an activity

or the user to support communication.

A common first message might be, "I want more juice."

Next, we have a mid-tech device.

There are approximately 32 cells containing a variety of words.

A voice recording is made for each word or selection.

The user directly selects them with a finger.

If that is not possible, the user can activate a switch or get help from a communication partner,

which is often a parent, a sibling, or a teacher.

Highest on the continuum are sophisticated devices with many features.

Pictured here is an iPad with the communication app Proloquo2Go.

These more sophisticated, complex devices often come preloaded with a wide range of vocabulary

and function and can be customized by the parent or teacher for the individual user.

It is important to understand the language system of the many devices available

when choosing a device for a user.

Play is essential to early childhood development.

It is through play that children learn to interact with their physical and social worlds.

Assistive technology can improve a child's ability to learn through both structured play

and free play and helps build peer relationships.

Adapted art tools like these special paint brushes provide a different kind of grip

that makes it easier to use and manipulate to create art.

Adapted bikes give children the opportunity to pedal and participate

in an activity common to many children.

Adapted toys allow children to control something with a switch, with sound,

and engage in an activity that brings them learning and socialization opportunities.

It also brings them joy.

Adapted swings provide a safe, supportive environment to give children the opportunity

to engage in another common play activity.

Adapted games give players of all abilities access to the same games and play opportunities.

Many people are surprised by the category of sensory aids.

Yet, this category is truly as important as all of the others.

Children who are receiving too much or too little sensory input are not able to focus

on pre-academic or social skills.

Sensory AT helps children focus on these skills by giving them extra sensory input.

It can also be a way of providing a calming strategy

in respond to an overload of sensory input.

Tactile toys and fidgets provide little fingers and hands something to do.

They can help the user pay attention and fidget in an appropriate manner.

Noise canceling headphones help block out sound

when noise is too much sensory input for a child.

It helps children participate in activities

that they may not have been able to because of the noise.

Weighted vests provide sensory input at the vestibular system helping to calm

and regulate the sensory nervous system.

Calming choice boards help the child learn about and understand their bodies and how they operate

and how to make choices to regulate their sensory system.

Environmentally controls allow the user to participate in and impact their environment.

It can include using a remote control to turn a bedroom light on

and a switch to turn a television on and off.

Pictured here we have a switch and switch interface being used

to control music on an iPod or iPhone.

The device is being held by a suction cup table mount.

Next ,we have a device called the WeMo, which uses an app to interface with the device

and control things that you might plug into the device such as the lamp.

Thank you for watching Video 2 of the 4 part series,

an Introduction to Assistive Technology for Young Learners.

Now watch Video 3 where we'll be hands-on with assistive technology.

[music]

The contents of this video were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

[music]

Brought to you by PACER Center.