AT Training Resources for Young Children - Let's Participate!

By: Carrie Portrie, M.Ed, EC-SEAT Project Coordinator

Let's Participate! was a

"model demonstration project designed to assist IDEA Part C and Part B preschool programs in implementing and sustaining promising practices in the effective use of assistive technology (AT) by infants, toddlers, and preschool children with disabilities and, as a result, improve their functional outcomes." 

Although the grant seems to have ended in 2016. There is a host of wonderful resources to become aware, learn more, and train others about using assistive technology (AT) with young children.

If you navigate under "Build Your AT Program" and click "Child Specific AT Plans" you will find resources including (but not limited to):

• A SETT Framework (Student, Environments, Tasks, and Tools) for Early Childhood (Birth to 5 years). The framework is often used by families, caregivers, and professionals to focus on identifying concerns and determining solutions so an individual can participate in routines and activities in school, at home, and in their community. 
• Simple rubrics for:
• Participation Planning
• AT Planning Cycle
• AT Planner
• Matrix of EI Home Routines
• Matrix of Preschool Routines
• Links to expand your AT knowledge by following the "Training" link at the top of the page and/or exploring "Grow your knowledge," for instance one link says "finding the right assistive technology." 

Some of the links on this site say under construction, and it is hard to say whether there will be any updates, but the resources that are available are accessible, simple, thoughtful, and very useful. I imagine they would be useful for early intervention teams, families, and early childhood educators/special educators who seeking AT for a young child. I recommend spending some time exploring the links and seeing how they trainings, rubrics, or handouts may support your work and the lives of young children who are eager to participate with family, peers, and their communities from a young age.