Homestudy Day 3 - OT's with Apps & Technology Blog

For today's homestudy assignment, I decided to check out the blog OT's with Apps & Technology. As I scanned through the blog, one post really caught my attention. It was a post about OrCam Read which is a handheld scanning and reading device for people with mild low vision, reading fatigue, reading difficulties such as dyslexia, or for anyone who consumes large amounts of text. 

The design of this device is outstanding.  The OrCam Read is 5” in length by 1” height and ½” width. It is small enough to carry on a lanyard or put in your pocket. The device uses a laser light beam to scan the text. The accuracy of scanning from text to read is very high with about a 99% accuracy rate. Trials were done using various types of print and fonts. Another awesome feature of this device is its ability to connect via bluetooth to speakers or headphones. 

This is an amazing device! How awesome would this be for students who have vision difficulties or LD? Their access to materials would be greatly increased. I think of some of my previous students who were assigned iPads or tablets for reading and they did not always like using the device because they felt different than other students. If they had access to this technology, they would still get to interact with paper book. However, at about $2500 USD I think that it is not likely we will see this technology available within the public school system. 

For more info on OrCam Read check out the following website: https://www.orcam.com/en/read/ 

Click on the picture to view a review of OrCam. 

Session 3 - October 17, 2020 - Glenda Watson Hyatt, Presentations, AAC's Whole Focus is Communication

  

During today's class we watched the TED Talk,  Listen, Acknowledge, Include by Glenda Watson Hyatt, we completed some additional research about Glenda Watson Hyatt and answered some Menti questions about her presentation and life work, presented our first project which was to develop an AAC board using the program Cough Drop and discussed the importance that an AAC device's whole focus should be communication. The following are some of my take-ways from today's class. 

Society's Perception of Communication Disabilities

Society's perception that someone's inability to speak is linked to their ability to understand and that their rights as an individual are often overlooked. During Glenda Watson-Hyatt's Ted Talk, she gave an example of how her guidance counsellor asked her if she would rather walk or talk. She said that his question pitted the two diagnoses against each other, her inability to walk and her inability to speak. She stated that the two disabilities are not treated equally and that society's focus has tended to be on the inability to walk rather than speak. She noted that she found the inability to speak far more disabling. If someone is unable to talk, people often make the assumption that they cognitively can not understand what is being said by a speaker or that they can not hear. Glenda has experienced people talking louder, slower, ignoring her or using her husband as a means to communicate. Something I found very distressing was an incident she discussed in her article, Patient Communication: What If You Had a Speech Disability? She explains a situation where she is in the hospital and her husband is told he has to wait in the waiting room for her because there wasn't enough room for both wheelchairs. Due to the amount of pain she was in, she needed her husband for communication purposes. She states that: 

"In that moment I knew my patient rights were being denied. Patients who are deaf wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) be denied access to an interpreter. Non-English speaking patients requiring a translator would also not be denied one. Yet, I, with a significant speech impairment, was denied my means of communication. Darrell handed me my iPad before leaving, but I wasn’t sure I could coherently type, I was in so much pain." (Hyatt, G., 2014)

Glenda and her husband, Darryl. 

Communication Disability Legislation in Canada

Glenda stated that there are about half a million Canadians living with significant communication difficulties but this statistic may not be accurate due to the fact that communication disabilities were not included as recently as 2017 on the Statistics Canada Survey on Disabilities. I found this shocking. Thankfully, in 2018 Canada's Federal Accessibility Act was amended to include communication disabilities. Click on the Communications Disabilities Access Canada (CDAC) photo below for more information. 

During her Ted Talk, Glenda stated that we should always ask the question when planning anything: How will people with communication disabilities be included? I know that from my own experience in the classroom, this is something I need to work on. It is the basis of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). I try my best to ensure that all my students have various ways of acquiring information and representing what they know. Some examples of this are providing students with iPads or tablets to represent their knowledge through Book Creator, using voice to text or predicted text, using Notes in Apple so students and or teachers can scan paper copies of handouts, and providing closed captioning options on videos. I know that there are many other options available and I hope to improve my ability to make my classroom accessible for all. 

Three Simple Strategies for Communicating With Someone Who Has A Communication Disability

It is very important to be patient when communicating with someone who is using AAC to speak. Glenda stated that she often notices a difference in how people communicate with her as compared to her husband, Darryl. He has the ability to speak, and people often look to him to communicate rather than be patient and speak directly to her. Glenda offered us three simple strategies to use when communicating with someone who has a communication disability. The first one is to be patient, the second is to speak directly with the person, and the third is to verify you heard the message correctly. This all ties into being a decent, respectful and polite human being. I can not imagine how incredibly frustrating it would be to not be heard and/or ignored and dismissed. 

Lessons Learned From Our Presentation: The Main Goal of ACC is Communication 

Today, I learned that when using an AAC device there needs to be a lot of modelling but that the conversation cannot be one-sided. The goal is to engage the student in communication. As a communication partner, it is important to not dominate the conversation and to ask questions to foster a two-way conversation. I also learned that when being a communication partner with an AAC user, it is okay that my speech is slowed down. I need to be patient with myself and the user. It takes the time to learn the new language. 

Click on the picture below to learn some ways you can be a respectful communication partner.

References

Hyatt, G. (2014). Patient Communication: What If You Had a Speech Disability?. User Experience Magazine, 14(3). Retrieved from https://uxpamagazine.org/patient-communication/

Listen, Acknowledge, Include. (2020, April 8). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN_3ZUmhYHw 

Session 2 - October 3, 2020, Augmentative and Alternative Communication

 During Session 2 on October 2, 2020, my three big takeaways were the following: 

1. Effective Communication 

2. Aided Language Input

3. Location of Core Words

Effective Communication

Through today’s session, we were made aware of how important effective communication is when trying to communicate with someone who requires Assistive Technology. We learned during session one and session two that effective communication requires a communication partner, a common language and joint attention.  During our session, we role-played a few scenarios where we had to try to communicate with a non-verbal person without the use of an AAC board. In one scenario, we had to communicate with an AAC board but it had limited language and therefore we were unable to communicate our message effectively. Luckily, during these scenarios, we had a communication partner and joint attention, but we were lacking a common language to communicate. Some of us were able to get some of the messages across by doing charades, but it was not an effective means of communication. Especially, if an individual who is in trouble is trying to communicate. These activities stressed the importance of being an effective communication partner and the necessity of a common language. 

Currently, in my role as a Learning Support Teacher and Classroom teacher, I am working with a student who is using Proloquo2Go. It is my first experience with this program and I am learning to be an effective communication partner by learning to model, wait, prompt and respond when using the device. The student is new to this program too, along with her Teaching Assistants. As a team, we are collaborating and working together to learn this new common language. As well, the student’s classmates have been introduced to the AAC device and we have a poster in the room with the core words. The article below gives six ways to build your communication partner skills. The six ways are:

1.  Learn how to model

2. Make comments rather than questions

3. Pausing and waiting

4. How to provide prompts

5. Consistent responding 

6. Accept all forms of communication 

https://www.assistiveware.com/learn-aac/build-communication-partner-skills

Aided Language Input

After watching the video One Kids Place Aided Language, my big takeaway was how long it would take an AAC user to learn a language if they were not using it the recommended 20 times per hour. If they do not use it this much, it would take an AAC device user 84 years to learn a language. That really resonated with me and really showed me the importance of how often a device must be used.  After watching this video, I realized that I need to work on pausing and lots of repetition when working with my student who uses Proloquo2Go. As well, I learned that modelling is very important and paying attention to the body language of the student. For example, if the student is smiling and laughing, you could say and model “I think you’re happy”. 

In my student’s classroom, we have added a low tech communication system, a large poster of the core words. We introduced the AAC device to all the students in her class and have explained that this is her way of communicating. We have encouraged them to participate in modelling language using her AAC device and with the large poster. I found this animated video explaining Aided Language Stimulation that I plan to show to my class this upcoming week. 

Click on the picture to watch the video.

 

Location of Core Words 

We learned during this session that it is very important to keep the location of the core words the same on every board. The core words make up the majority of everything we say. The location of these core words is critical for the AAC user. That way, when the student learns the location of the button, they do not have to go searching for it in a different location in another board or folder. It is similar to learning the QWERTY keyboard. It becomes muscle memory. Although the location of icons is unique to the product, those core words must stay in the same location. According to Marden (2015), “Studies across different languages and age groups have found that around 50 words account for 40-50% of our daily communication. 100 words account for 60%, and 200-400 words make up 80% of the words we use every day. Core words are usually verbs, adjectives, and pronouns, and less likely to be nouns.” It is very important to teach those core words to AAC device users so they can increase their communication output. Currently, we are working on a Core Word of the Week (CWW) with my student. Last week, her CWW word was I. This article describes four strategies to teach core words: Choosing core words: Communication Functions, Choosing core words: Activity-based, Choosing core words: Core Word of the Week and Descriptive Teaching Model.

Click on the picture to access the article. 

My Three Main Takeaways from Martin Pistorius TEDxKC Talk: How My Mind Came Back to Life - And No One Knew

 

Wow! This TED Talk from Martin Pistorius really put things in perspective for me. I am in awe of his perseverance and positive outlook considering all he went through. Martin was a neurotypical boy until the age of 12 when he suffered from locked-in syndrome, a neurological disorder that left him unable to move or communicate. His doctors figured that his mental capacity was that of a 3-month-old. For 13 years, he went without a voice. It was not until an aromatherapist noticed that he was able to understand and she suggested that they take him to the Centre For Augmentative And Alternative Communication at the University of Pretoria.  

My three main takeaways from this Ted Talk are:

1. Communication is a powerful tool

2. Not being heard is incredibly frustrating, isolating and lonely 

3. Do not understand one's abilities

Communication Is a Powerful Tool 

Martin stated "Whether we speak the words with our own voices, type them with our eyes, or communicate them non-verbally to someone who speaks them for us, words are our most powerful tools" (TEDxKC, August 2015, 12:45). This statement resonated with me deeply. I have never had difficulty communicating and stating what I need, want, or have had difficulty conversing with another person. I can not imagine what it must have been like to have thoughts in your head and want to communicate them someway with someone. I think it was amazing that his aromatherapist was intuitive enough to recognize his non-verbal communication as his way of communicating and understanding. It makes me think of how I need to be more mindful of those non-verbal communication cues I see (or perhaps I am not seeing, and need to pay more attention too) from my students. There are many ways we can communicate, and it is not strictly through speech. 

Not Being Heard is Frustrating, Isolating and Lonely

If individuals who have communication barriers are given an AAC device, it is amazing to see them interact with those around them. Martin states that "Communication is what makes us human, enabling us to connect on the deepest level with those around us" ( TEDxKC, August 2015, 11:54).  I take it for granted that I can speak and communicate my needs. I can not imagine how incredibly isolating it was for Martin when he was unable to communicate with his caregivers and family. At one point during his TED Talk, he mentions how he just wanted to give up, but while sitting in the car waiting for his dad a random stranger smiled at him and it changed his outlook. He felt he had no control over his life, felt alone and hopeless, but this one kind act changed his outlook. I find that incredibly inspiring. 

Do Not Underestimate One's Abilities 

My third takeaway from Martin Pistorius' TED Talk is not to underestimate one's abilities. Martin was unable to ask for help or hold a conversation even though he understood everything that was going on around him. He found ways that he was able to communicate non-verbally with people around him,  which finally enabled someone to see past the disability and see that he did understand. This reminded me of the Chris Klein TED Talk we watched during Session One. Chris said that we should see past the disability and see the ability. 

Session 1 - September 19, 2020

 Hello All, 

Today was an excellent session! I am feeling enthusiastic about how I will feel better equipped to support my students upon completing this course. I have realized that I have lots to learn in regards to Assistive Technology and that there are many options out there for the varying needs of our students. My three main takeaways from today's session are; the number of accessibility settings available through iPads and iPhones, the amazing technology available such as eye gaze technology, and how AT can help a student to show what they know and increase their independence.

1. I was unaware of all the available settings that are easily accessible for us to use for free through Apple products such as our iPhones and iPads. I wrongly assumed the options provided in the accessibility settings would be applications that I would be required to purchase through the App Store. One that really stuck out for me was the hearing devices setting and the ability to pair an iPhone with a hearing aid. I did not realize that these accessibility options are available as Tier 1 options before referring a student to AT. I think this will be great information that I can share with my colleagues. To date, my only experiences with accessibility settings have been guided access, voice to text, and Siri. I look forward to exploring these options further. I would be interested to know if android products have the same amount of options as Apple products. 

2. I was blown away by eye gaze technology. Before today's class, I was unaware that this technology was available for non-verbal students and I did not realize that it is a type of AAC device. Eye gaze technology is an amazing tool available for students who are non-verbal and are unable to type. After class, I took a look online and found the website below with many different eye gaze devices for iPads, laptops and PCs. 

https://www.tobiidynavox.com/products/devices/

3. I am looking forward to becoming more comfortable with using AT in the Learning Centre and my classroom to help students increase their independence. Currently, I have a student who is going to start using Prolouquo2Go to help increase her communication and independence. I am really excited to become familiar with this technology and other forms of AT to help make curriculum accessible for all of my students.