An assistive technology device is any “item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of a child with a disability. The term does not include a medical device that is surgically implanted, or the replacement of that device.” [20 USCS §1401(1)(2)34 C.F.R. 300.5].
An assistive technology service refers to any service that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device. This includes the following for a child with a disability:
The evaluation of the needs of such child, including a functional evaluation of the child in his or her customary environment;
Purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the acquisition of assistive technology devices by children with disabilities;
Coordinating and using other therapies, interventions, or services with assistive technology devices;
Training or technical assistance for a child with a disability, or, if appropriate, the child’s family; and
Training or technical assistance for professionals, employers, or other individuals who provide services to, employ, or are otherwise substantially involved in the major life functions of that child.
The Assistive Technology team is pleased to present a wide range of professional development opportunities, from 30 minute AT-JOTs to full-day seminars with nationally recognized AT professionals.
Sarah Ward (Processing Speed And Executive Function) April 7, 2023
Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP has over 25 years of experience in the treatment of executive dysfunction. Sarah is an internationally recognized expert on executive function and presents seminars on the programs and strategies she has developed with her co-director, Kristen Jacobsen. She has presented to over 1,600 public and private schools and organizations worldwide.
Training Description
Processing Speed and Executive Function
In this practical strategies seminar, you will learn dozens of techniques for supporting students in developing independent executive function skills and increasing processing speed. Executive function (EF) challenges, slow processing speed, and behavior deficits often go hand-in-hand. EF skills are the core cognitive skills involved in planning and self-directing toward the successful completion of academic and other goals. EF skills point our attention to where we need to go, keep the action plan in mind within working memory, block distractions, filter out extraneous information, and help us to resist temptations and to exhibit goal-driven self-control.
Processing speed difficulties can limit productivity and executive function skills to complete routines, follow instructions, finish homework, listen/read and take notes/summarize, integrate and encode information, write assignments that require complex thought, transition between tasks, acquire new material, and reason under time demands. Slow processing speed can bog students down in the details, and they cannot distinguish relevant from minor details and see the big picture. Learn practical ways to help students to develop independent EF skills and to improve their processing speed to increase the automaticity with which they can follow routines and directions, complete tasks, and manage complex assignments.
Registration for this event must be completed in the Arizona Professional Learning and Development (APLD) registration system. You must be logged in to your ADE Connect account to complete the registration. If you do not have an ADE Connect account, you will need to create one before you register for the course.
For questions regarding this training, please email our AT inbox.
Carlo Vialu and Peggy Morris (Creating Goals That Are Easy To Monitor And A Stress-Free Companion Monitoring Tool) April 28, 2023
Carlo served as Director of Physical Therapy for the NYC Department of Education, where he oversaw a program with over 700 PTs working in more than 1,500 schools. He is project manager of research on normative data for five mobility tests for school-aged children and co-founder of SeekFreaks.
Peggy Morris, OTD, OTR/L, BCP
About Peggy Morris
Peggy is an OT with 30+ years of pediatric experience in early intervention, private practice, and out-patient therapy, but most of her experience and passion is in school-based practice. She coordinates the post-professional MS and OTD programs and school-based certificate program at Tufts University. She is Board Certified in Pediatrics through the AOTA and a regular SeekFreaks contributor.
Workshop Description:
Are you ready for an easy way to write goals and monitor progress? Peggy and Carlo will walk you through setting goals that are easy to monitor and creating a monitoring tool that can help you decide whether your student is on track, if it is time to change the intervention, or if it is time to work on more challenging goals.
Stress-free monitoring begins with a well-written goal. While making a goal SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Bound) is a great start, how many times have we written a SMART goal that contained too many conditions to be easy to measure? So, in the morning, you will learn the three common problems with SMART goals and the four strategies to make your SMART goal easy to monitor. You will practice utilizing Apply EBP’s simple worksheet for goal-creation with the guidance of your instructors. You will then go through the three steps for the creation of an accompanying data-collection system. You will gain four tips for making this system user-friendly for different members of the team and helpful in making informed decisions. You will learn and practice how to use this data-collection system in making objective decisions about whether your student is on track or if it is time to change the intervention or goal.
Finally, you will learn two additional strategies to further elevate your goals: the Goal Attainment Scale (GAS) for more complex cases and the five steps for creating collaborative interprofessional goals.
Bring sample goals that you need to improve and case vignettes that you find challenging. There will be multiple opportunities to practice goal creation, monitoring, and decision-making as well as interactive Q&A discussions with the instructors. Leave the day with concrete strategies and the confidence to create goals and monitor them meaningfully!
Because this training has been rescheduled from an earlier date, please register using this link only:
For questions regarding this training, please email our [email protected]
Sara L. Smith (Expanding Expression Training: A Multi-Sensory Approach For Improved Writing, Oral Expression, And Comprehension Across The Curriculum) May 3, 2023
The FY24 Statement of Assurances application is open for submission. All PEAs must submit the IDEA Statement of Assurances (SOA) through the ESS Portal of ADEConnect. This is required before any FY24 activities in the Exceptional Student Services portal are allowable. The portal will block any PEA that has not completed the SOA after the deadline.
The Exceptional Student Services Data Management team will host the next Special Education Data Updates live webinar on Wednesday, June 21,from 2pm – 3pm. This session will cover a variety of data topics that will include (subject to change):