Early Childhood Special Education and Assistive Technology Blog

By Holly Bogdarus, EC-SEAT Scholar When trying to find an assistive technology (AT) device or solution to meet an individual's needs, there are many considerations that must be made. While there are multiple models that help to instruct areas of importance, consumer abandonment is an often overlooked aspect of the decision process. In trying to evaluate a device, Batavia and Hammer (1990) identified the 17 factors that influence the way an individual consumer evaluates a device. These factors are: Affordability: the extent to which the purchase, maintenance, and/or repair of the device causes financial difficulty or hardship to the consumer Compatibility: the extent to which the device will interface with other devices currently and in the future Consumer Repairability : the extent to which the average consumer (or his/her personal assistant) can repair the device if broken, including whether special repair equipment is needed Dependability: the extent to which the dev...

By: Sue Stubbs, EC-SEAT Scholar There have been many new moments for me this year. I am not tech-savvy and often find myself asking young children for assistance. The past year and a half I have had many new experiences with technology especially with the Assistive technology courses at the University of New Hampshire. Although I will not admit to being confident in my technical abilities, I have learned a few things and am gaining confidence as the year progresses. The following are some quick reviews of apps that I briefly explored to help those individuals with varying needs. Vision Impaired App Voice Dream Reader An app that helps with low vision is Voice Dream Reader. This app runs on iOS devices and Android devices including Amazon Fire. The Voice Dream Reader costs $9.99. You need a subscription to Bookshare to download books and magazines from Bookshare directly through Voice Dream Reader. There is a free version app called Voice Dream Reader Lite which one can download...

By: Katelyn Baron , EC-SEAT Scholar The following case study was done with a child who was receiving services through early intervention and was soon transitioning to their local public preschool. Since the child has a difficult time with all types of transition, the family and I thought that an application for the child to use to get ready before school would be beneficial for the upcoming change. The iPad has been a motivator for the child and therefore the family wanted to use it along with an application to promote independence. Family and Child-Centered Concerns: Recently diagnosed with Autism Delayed communication, fine motor, and cognitive skills Routines challenging and have not been in place for a long period of time Family just moved to a new house Transitions hard in all aspects- daily activities/tasks, playing with toys, leaving the house, etc. Objective: The f amily wants a routine in place for getting ready in the morning before heading off to school.  ...

By: Alicia Giannelli , EC-SEAT Scholar App Name: Tap-n-See Now How much it costs: $2.99 This app is made for children with cortical visual impairment (CVI). It is focused towards young children, infant and toddler age. The app has many positives aspects for these children like having only one image against a solid background. As the image dances on the screen and then touched by the child there is a rewarding sound that plays. There are many customizations within the app in order for the child to thrive and succeed while using the app. The background color, animal, animal color, animal speed, animal size and the sound of the reward can all be changed in the settings.  Since this app is for such young children there can be a few drawbacks. These children are so young; it can be difficult for the adults to know what is seen and how well for the child. This will require an adult to use the app with the child in order to pay extra attention and adjust the...

By: Alicia Giannelli , EC-SEAT Scholar App Name: MySmart Hands- ASL Dictionary Cost: My Smart Hands offers a few different apps with different costs: ASL Dictionary Lite Version (free/ beginner level), ASL Dictionary Baby Signing ($.99, beginner level), ASL Baby Signing Dictionary (free/intermediate level), Baby Signing - ASL intermediate ($.99) Positives- I downloaded the two free versions to see the difference in the beginner and intermediate levels. These apps have many great features. The apps have many signs with pictures, video and audio that help teach the user the sign. There are also different categories that can be chosen to focus on with multiple signs for each category. Users are able to save favorites and can complete quizzes to test a person memory of the signs they have learned. The quizzes can be adjusted based on number of answers and number of questions ask as well as what type of signs are being quizzed. One of my favorite features is that a person...