Early Childhood Special Education and Assistive Technology Blog

By: Maria Mazzola, EC-SEAT Scholar Experience: During my field experiences exploring Assistive Technology, I visited local stores to find devices that can help individuals with disabilities with daily tasks at home. I decided to explore Home Depot and Best Buy. Information about each device is pictured and described below. 1. The first device I explored was the Motion Activated Light Bulb (FEIT Electric Intellibulb). I found this device at Home Depot in the “lights” section. This device costs $8.99 (60 W). This device is used to light up an area in your house or anywhere that can support electricity. It lights up instantly when activated by motion (such as walking by or just waving your hand. This device can accommodate those who cannot physically turn on a light by themselves. The light turns on when it detects motion (up to 19ft away) and turns off automatically when there is no motion in the room of the light for 10 minutes. This device is great because it is hands-free and doe...

By: Carrie Portrie, M.Ed, EC-SEAT Project Coordinator Assistive Technology  - Design, Collaboration, and Making On Saturday, September 29th, I attended the Assistive Technology Makers Fair  at the Grappone Center in Concord, NH with five EC-SEAT project scholars. The event was coordinated by Dr. Therese Willkomm and Stacy Driscoll of  ATinNH.org at the University of New Hampshire's Institute on Disability in collaboration with a planning committee of national stakeholders . I attended sessions that emphasized design and the importance of collaborative inquiry and work across areas of expertise. It made me think about project learning and how students of all ages and professionals can help design, find, and make assistive technology solutions for people of all ages who have disabilities.  Families, professionals, and communities can help people with disability have greater accessibility in their daily lives by embracing the ideas behind design and maki...

By:  Assistive Technology in New Hampshire (ATinNH) "The AT Makers for All Conference & Expo will help grow the collaboration of AT makers and users and explore solutions to everyday problems that are fast, affordable, customized and satisfying!" Image from "AT Makers for All" Website Save the Date and learn more about this conference on September 29th, 2018  Visit the landing page, which will become a website with information for participants, sponsors, and presenters, etc: https://iod.unh.edu/atmakers  Follow the event on facebook : https://www.facebook.com/ATMakersNH/ .  Learn more about other Maker's Fairs. The Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) held one earlier this year. The event's facebook page has more information: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ATMakers/ Also, explore ATinNH webinars coming up soon: March 7th - Introduction to the Principles of Digital Accessibility March 14th - Accessible Document Cr...

By: Laura Kazmierczak, EC-SEAT Scholar This summer I had the opportunity to join and assist Dr. Therese Willkomm, PhD, ATP,Clinical Associate Professor at University of New Hampshire and Stacy Driscoll,Assistive Technology Specialist at University of New Hampshire and private consultant, the topic presenters and coordinators, with Camp CreATe.   “What is Camp CreATe, " you ask?   I’ll be happy to tell you!   Camp CreATe is a week long conference presented by ATinNH offered to individuals of multiple human services professional backgrounds.   Everyone from educators to family members, therapists, vocational rehabilitation counselors, service providers, and individuals with exceptionalities are welcomed to gather for an intensive hands on experience exploring and making AT.   The best part of this week is, what you make, you get to take!   This year’s Camp CreATe included five sessions, one for each day.   Day One focused on Creating...

By: Laura Kazmierczak , EC-SEAT Scholar This past spring, I had the opportunity to do an independent study with Therese Willkomm . Part of my time was to document and record many assistive technology (AT) solutions using everyday materials both recycled and bought in stores (e.g., hardware stores, office supply stores, drug stores).  One of the projects we worked on together was creating tactile overlays for tablets, a fairly simple solution for teachers or caring adults working with children who have low vision or are blind. A tactile overlay is a sensory aid which guides a child's fingers using textured points of reference. We created an instructional video to show one way example of creating this solution using donated overhead film and the Garage Band app . Below you can view the video .  Using overhead film to create tactile graphic overlays

With the primaries wrapped up in New Hampshire, Therese Willkomm (one of NH's resident Assistive Technology experts and EC-SEAT project AT guru) has found a use for all those signs you find along the road and in people's yards. Click this link to find out what she is up to thanks to SFGATE! Also these websites provide ideas and resources for using recycled items in the classroom and some useful Assistive Technology solutions. ATinNH - Resources Tot's n Tech - Ideas to Share Irresistible Ideas Blog