5 Great Summer AT/AAC Online Trainings!

Looking for some continuing education opportunities to learn more about assistive technology and AAC while you are wrapping up your "lazy" summer? :)  Check out some of these great online webinars to stay in the AT loop!

1.  ATIA Online Webinars

ATIA is offering some great topics over the next month, including "Challenges to Using Apps as Assistive Technology"

2.  PRC Online Professional Development Trainings

PRC always hosts some great AAC trainings to support not only their products, but the AAC evaluation and treatment process as a whole.  They have a few nice online trainings coming up, including one on successful AAC report writing.

3.  The AAC Institute

Offers a nice, comprehensive listing of CE opportunities in the areas of AT and AAC, including online/webinar trainings.  

4.  The Assistive Technology Training Online Program (ATTO)

Although not a live webinar or a course offering CE credits, this site has some amazing online resources to help new professionals in the field of AT get their bearings.  

5.  Closing the Gap

Although they have not posted any new, live webinars since May, you can access all of their archived webinars for some really great information.

I will update this as I come across new opportunities.

Have a training, online course, or webinar you'd like to share?

7 Great Resources for (Gently) Used Assistive Technology!

There is no question that the iPad has brought much more affordable learning and communication technology to children in need.  With this awesome gadget, we can now offer voice output communication for a mere fraction of the cost of dedicated AAC devices.  However, for some kids with special needs, dedicated AAC devices may be more appropriate for long term language growth and communication development.  This necessity comes with a hefty price tag as many dedicated AAC devices cost thousands of dollars and are not fully covered by private medical insurance.  For those children with medical coverage that reimburses for these systems, the assessment and application process can be effortful and time consuming for the parents and team supporting the child, at times resulting in denials from funding sources.  And lets not forget that just because the iPad and other tablets are much less expensive then these dedicated systems or a personal computer, doesn't mean that all families are able to meet the financial requirements that arise in setting up an iPad communication system.   A family can expect to spend $1000.00 or more when you consider the base price of the tablet, protective gear, audio gear, apps, access supports like switches and switch interfaces-the list could go on and on!  So what options are available for families who just can't meet the iPad price tag or for kids that truly need a dedicated system at a significantly lowered price?

Here are a few great resources to help you find used and donated (i.e., lowered cost and free) assertive technology (AT), including communication devices, mobility equipment, and mobile technology.  

1. Pacer Center: Champions for Children with Disabilities
2. Get AT Stuff 
3. AbleData Classifieds
4. Tech ACT Projects   (resources by State)
5. Pass It On Center  (resources by State)
6. Apple Store (Refurbished and Clearance Center)  Apple has a section of their online store that is dedicated to selling used/refurbished and clearance technology, including iPads
7. Used iPads on Amazon

Do you have a source for affordable AT that you'd like to share?  Do you have equipment that you'd like to donate to a child in need?  Contact SNEAK or post in the comments below.

If you want to continue the discussion on the technology divide, please comment below or join our chat at SNEAK Freestyle Forum.

Disclaimer:  I checked out the above resources to the best of my ability and each seems legitimate and responsible when it comes to assuring the quality of goods being sold as well as the honesty of those selling them.  Please be aware when purchasing equipment and other products for third party sellers that you are not familiar with as their is always risk involved.  I have never purchased from any of the above links and therefore cannot fully endorse the safety of shopping through these sources.  

Stay Tuned to SNEAK for ATIA 2012 Coverage!

 How amazing is technology?  As I write this, I am 35,000 feet in the air, wedged in the middle seat of a very full airplane, on my way to Orlando! And what waits for me there?  More amazing technology!  While I may not be a reporter, I'm going to take a stab at it this weekend to bring all of you on-the-spot coverage of the great resources at ATIA.  Most of you know about ATIA, some of you may not, but in short, it is an amazing conference that brings together great minds in education, innovation, therapy, advocacy, and so much more!  AT for mobility, low vision, special education, hearing impairment- you name it and it is at ATIA!  And to back up these amazing products, fresh and innovative perspectives from experts in the supporting fields that bring ability to children and adults with special needs.   Stay tuned through SNEAK email updates, my Twitter feed (@sneakotb), RSS feed, and Facebook so you won't miss a thing tomorrow through Sunday!! :) 

 

iOS vs. Android: Switch Accessibility Decisions, Decisions...

The iPad has certainly taken the market by storm, and many of us are left thinking "what other mobile tablets?".  Some of you might be rather surprised to learn that there are actually many other options for mobile tablets!  It can be overwhelming, however, trying to understand the differences between these technologies and how they might impact your purpose: helping your little one with special needs achieve success.  I wanted to start a dialogue on this topic because I think, as parents and professionals, it's important that you not let your overwhelm scare you into buying an iPad just because you can't make up your mind, or don't know where to start.  In a series of posts this week, I hope to help you all learn the pros and cons of each of these systems so that you can make purchasing choices with the future in mind.  For my first post, I thought I'd just clear up a bit of the lingo confusion!  How about some OS 101? :)

What is this OS business?

An operating system (abbreviated “OS”) is the software that supports a computer's basic functions, such as scheduling tasks, running applications, and controlling other tools like the keyboard, speakers, and mouse (called ”peripherals”).  For those of you who use personal computers(PC’s), Windows is your operating system.  If you are using Mac computers, your operating system is Mac OS X.  The operating systems for mobile devices, like the iPad and other tablets, is different from that running on a computer.  This is important to understand (at least at a basic level) when it comes to switch accessibility on mobile devices.  In order for switches to work on a mobile device, the OS has to “let them in” and help them communicate with the other software programs (the Apps) that the user wants to run. 

What is “iOS”?

iOS is Apple's mobile operating system.  This OS runs on all of Apple’s mobile devices: the iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhone.  You may see these devices referred to as “iOS devices” because they are using iOS to get things done.  The Apps that you use on your iOS devices were developed specifically for iOS.  When an App is developed for iOS, it is able to take advantage of different “services” offered by the operating system, like using the camera and recording voice.  iOS does not allow access to the “input” features of the operating system, therefore, programs cannot alter the directions to the device when it comes to accessing everything with a switch.  In order for you to access an iOS device with a switch, you need two things:  1) a switch interface that allows a switch to send signals to the device and 2)  an App written to receive those signals because iOS is not listening. J

What is Android?

Android (recently modified to Honeycomb) is a mobile operating system by Google that runs on all other mobile devices, excluding iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch).  These devices include tablets like the Kindle Fire, Samsung Galaxy Tab, HP Touch Pad and more.  The Android operating system is known as “open source”, meaning that developers can change the way the operating system functions.  This gives developers the opportunity to access “services” like the input method, not readily accessible in iOS.  Being able to access the input method of a device through the operating system, versus an App-by-App basis, means that you can control the entire device with a switch. 

But how? That leads me to the main feature of my next post! Stay tuned...:)

ATIA Conference, 2012: A Great Experience for Parents and Professionals!

The Assistive Technology Industry Association ("ATIA") is a not-for-profit membership organization of manufacturers, sellers and providers of technology-based assistive devices and/or services.  The Annual ATIA Conference is a HUGE source of information on assistive technology and disabilities for professionals and families!  This conference, held in Orlando this year (January26-28, 2012), offers a wide variety of lectures, hands-on demos, trainings and more on technology and resources related to all disabilities (e.g., communication, hearing, vision, mobility, etc...).  There are specific tracks for families and professionals and the exhibit hall is free of charge with an "exhibit hall only" registration.  Parents, this is a great place to connect with professionals (e.g., therapists, teachers, advocates), products, and services that can greatly improve the lives of your special kids!  Professionals, this is a great place to network with experts, learn about new research, therapeutic principles, products, and services, and get continuing education credits! Check out the ATIA conference site for more details.  Register soon so you don’t miss out on the early bird discounts!  ATIA also provides great resources year-round on their website, including free webinar trainings, a newsletter, and links to vendors/products!

Cool Speech Therapy Tool: Little Printer available in 2012!



Little Printer by Berg Cloud

 I know everyone wants to get info about Apps, but I just had to shift gears for a minute because I saw this and I really thought it was cool! Then, the more I thought about it, the more my mind raced with how I could use this really cool gadget to help kids with special needs!  Well, maybe indirectly, but humor me for a moment.

Little Printer is a pint sized, thermal printer that uses similar technology to a receipt printer you might see at a retail store. The Berg Cloud company have integrated this technology with formatting software so that you can print different news articles, blog posts, and more in a visually appealing, pint-sized printout!  This product isn’t available for initial use until 2012 (L) so full exploration of its application in educational and therapeutic settings isn’t quite possible at the moment. However, I had a few brainstorming ideas that I hope to see through when I get my Little Printer (hopefully in early 2012)!

I love using my iPad and other mobile technology in therapy sessions, classroom lessons, and training sessions with parents and colleagues.  BUT, sometimes I really need something in print! 

• Wouldn't it be amazing to be able to link a parent to an online resource for information on a clinical topic and then print out the website, article etc... right there in your session? 
• How about locating an evidenced based research article on a technique you are trying in your session for the first time and being able to print the abstract for your client's parent to review as you implement the technique in session?
• What about loading data and progress stats from your favorite Apps like ArticPix and being able to send a quick, printed progress note home to mom straight from your mobile device?
• And wouldn't it be cool to create little "mini handouts" at the end of your session where you can capture what you've discussed with mom and dad and provide bulleted tips in print for them to hang on the fridge? Or even integrate photos from your mobile device's photo library (of oral-motor exercise examples or products you'd like them to try etc...) to provide a visual to go along with your verbal home practice suggestions!

I can only hope that Little Printer is just the start of this cool technology and that more companies bring similar, cost effective and useful resources to the therapeutic arena.  I hope to be able to try out many of the ideas above when I get my hands on a Little Printer-I'll let you all know the CAN's and CANNOT's of this cool little gadget as soon as I try it!

Drop Box App-Who Needs a Flash Drive Anymore?

In a previous post on iCloud, I sadly mentioned how the fact that I can’t share my videos between my devices using iCloud is really cramping my style!  I also mentioned Drop Box and I thought I’d take a moment to elaborate for those who aren’t familiar with this incredibly useful tool.  Think of Drop Box as a flash drive (USB drive, USB key) of sorts.  By loading Drop Box onto your PC/MAC, creating a free account (that also allows you to use Drop Box as a guest on their web-based server when you are away from your computer), and then installing the free Drop Box App on your iDevice(s), you can have ALL of your files at your finger tips, ALL at one time, on ALL of your devices!  That includes documents, videos, pictures, Power Point or Keynote presentations and more!  It’s easy to set up and even easier to use! As you can tell, I can’t contain my excitement.:)  Check out the very cool intro video above.  You can also get more info on their website (including  the PC/MAC download).  And, of course, you can download the Drop Box App from the App Store. :) Here’s to getting organized!

14 Apps for AAC

No Limits to Learning shared a post today on AAC Apps that is particularly nice because it includes links to YouTube video demos on the Apps discussed.  This post was two parts, the links are below.

No Limits to Learning: 14 Apps for AAC, Part One:
No Limits to Learning: 14 Apps for AAC, Part Two

Although these App lists are very helpful in keeping up with the incredible amount of AAC Apps currently available for iDevices, parents and professionals are still left with the question of which one is best for their kids. This is further complicated by the fact that many of the AAC Apps currently available do not offer demo versions in the App Store, nor do the App developers offer sales representative services in which the Apps can be    demonstrated at an AAC evaluation. 

Feature matching is a strategy used by AAC professionals to assess currently available AAC technology with regard to various "features" (e.g., the symbols on the device, the manners in which a user can access or interact with the device, etc...) and then to match those features with the needs of the AAC user to assist in finding the best AAC system for that user.  As you can imagine, this can be a cross-referencing nightmare!  Luckily, in the field of AAC devices, many professionals and companies have attempted to simplify this task by compiling feature-match charts and creating software programs to help professionals and families narrow the search for the best system.  

AAC Tech Connect, a site with many AAC resources and tools to offer (for free and fee) comes a bit closer to categorizing popular AAC Apps by feature (e.g., “Apps with Pictures” and “Apps with Spelling”).  It appears that they plan to release a fee-for-service tool called “AAC Apps Assistant” at some point this month (although a release date was unclear on their website, as was whether this tool would be web-based or run directly on an iDevice).  The sample layout of the assistant shown on the website appears pretty promising.  I look forward to checking it out and being able to follow up on its relevance in later posts. :) 

POST UPDATE:  As of December13, 2011,The Apps Assistant is available (free trial for a limited time) at AAC Tech Connect!  (Click on "Preview" to set up login for free trial)

Does anyone have a feature match or other AAC App selection tool that they currently use?

Assistive Touch on iPad Assists Access to the Touch Screen!

iPhone Stuffs

In the new Apple IOS 5 update for iPad, iPhone, and iTouch, there are many new features, including Assistive Touch, a really innovative accessibility feature that allows physically impaired users to access the multiple finger "tap", "swipe" and "pinch" features (among others) of the touch screen in a more easily accessible way.  This feature doesn't totally solve the access issues of the touch screen for our physically limited little guys, but it is a great start!  Check out the video below for a quick demo of how it works.  To see some of the other adaptive features built into the new IOS 5, check out 20+ New Ways Students With Special Needs Can Use iOS 5 | Edudemic.  I hope that this new feature opens the flood gates at Apple for improve motor accessibility on iDevices.  Would screen sensitivity settings be fabulous? (Hint Hint, Apple!).

Tech for Triston Update!

We reached (and exceeded!) our fundraising goal for Triston yesterday! Thank you again to everyone who supported Triston and his family! VisitSNEAK outside the box: Tech for Triston Fundraiser for those who still wish to donate. The family and I will work closely together throughout this week to initiate the order for Triston's equipment. We hope to receive everything he needs to get started before the holidays!

SNEAK encourages others to start a Give Froward campaign to get much needed equipment to a special needs child in your community!

A Appy Holiday

from Moms with Apps

So you're a busy mom and you want to keep up to date on the latest educational apps for kids?  You might wonder, is there an App for that?  Well of course there is!  An App for finding Apps, how clever! :).  This week, Moms with Apps included an App called Apps for Moms in their App Review section.  This App is BY NO MEANS a comprehensive list of Apps that suit the categories presented; BUT, it's a cool way to get up to date information on SOME Apps, and even includes Apps on other "mom related" topics. 

Got another App finder App that you like to use?  Comment here to share it. :)

Online AT Conference-Techknowledgy 2011

Get informed about how to implement technology for your kids without changing out of your PJ's! :)  Check out this cool project shared on The Assistive Technology Blog where you can attend AT workshops online!  Techknowledgy 2011 has a nice selection of topics including "AT Solutions for the Early Childhood Population" and "AT Solutions for Communication and AAC" The conferences are quick and many include vieos!  Super cool, check it out and let me know what you think.