Chew The P.H.A.T. Procedures and How-To’s in Assistive Technology Christopher Bugaj, MA CCC-SLP Sally Norton-Darr, MS CCC-SLP Loudoun County Public Schools February

A Description of Loudoun County Once upon a time in a county far, far away… – Loudoun County Public Schools Currently 75 schools (51 ES, 13 MS, 1 Intermediate, 10 HS) Current student population: 57,317+ Current teacher population: Student and teacher population has increased by approximately 10% each year for at least the last 9-10 years. Special education population is typically 10% of the student population. The county is geographically and demographically diverse (spanning 517 sq. miles). Generally, the western portion of the county is more rural while the eastern portion of the county is more suburban.

History of AT in LCPS – Pre AT team was on a volunteer basis to meet the need mandated by IDEA that AT is considered for each Individual Education Program Mostly Occupational Therapists and Speech-Language Pathologists Individuals donated time to participate in trainings and would unofficially consult when educators had questions about AT Team members made recommendations to county administrators regarding purchase information for specific devices and software County computers were both Mac and PC

History of AT in LCPS – Special Education hired one full-time Assistive Technology person (SLP) Volunteers still participated in trainings and met with the full-time individual No official procedures were implemented Request for evaluation forms and county-wide staff development workshops were developed Individual staff and student trainings on devices/software were offered on a case-by-case basis Equipment selection and ordering was handled by the full-time AT individual

History of AT in LCPS – Special Education hired a 5 person team – 2 Full-time members (both with special education backgrounds) 1 of these members was deemed “Team Leader” and met with a special education supervisor to give team updates – 3 Part-time members (1 - SLP, 2- OTs) The team was asked to develop consistent policies and procedures for county-wide implementation. The only directive given by Special Education administration was that an evaluation process needed to be linked to a student’s Individualized Education Program.

History of AT in LCPS – 2002 continued- Other initial objectives determined by the team included: – Identifying a Service Delivery Model – Establishing a Staff Development Model – Coordinating services with Instructional Technology – Developing an inventory tracking system – Developing a caseload/student tracking system – Promoting assistive technology services – Procuring additional equipment as needed for students and classrooms – Further defining the role of assistive technology services in LCPS (our district)

Team Progression – Full-Time team members (2 – Special Education, 1-SLP) – 1 full-time team member is “team leader” 3 Part-Time team members (1-SLP, 2-OTs) – Full-Time team members (1- Special Education, 2-SLPs, 2-OTs) – 1 full-time team member is “team leader” – (Three Years) – Switched to a school-based workload model (05-06) 1 Full-time Coordinator (12 months) 7 Full-Time team members (2-Special Education, 2-SLPs, 2-OTs, 1-TRT),1 Support Staff – Full-time Coordinator (12 months) 9 Full-Time team members including 1 Support Staff

Individualized Evaluation IEP Team meets and requests Individual AT Evaluation – “An AT evaluation is requested by the IEP 1x in the customary educational environment to be completed within 65 days.” Case manager fills out Request for AT Evaluation form linking request to specific IEP goals – NOT A FISHING EXPEDITION AT Trainers (Primary & Back-up) conduct the evaluation including an observation(s), student interview (if appropriate), case manager interview, and related services interview – IT’S ALL ABOUT TEAMING

Individualized Evaluation (Cont.) AT Trainer generates a report containing observations, recommendations, and other resources. AT Trainer discusses recommendations with case manager – DO NOT ATTEND IEP MEETING! IEP reconvenes to discuss implementation of recommendations AT Trainer provides training and expects follow-up contact from the case manager – CASE MANAGER COLLECTS DATA ON GOALS The process is dynamic – IT NEVER ENDS but it does get slower

Classroom Evaluation – QUICK AND EASY Special Education teachers request an observation General Education teachers who have a class with 2 or more students in special education request an observation Recommendations are generated that would benefit most (or all) students in the classroom Report generated is in form – INFORMAL & FRIENDLY Many students become familiar with strategies with or without the teacher support. – STUDENTS JUST USE THE STUFF Strategies and devices are used in a classroom as a whole – PRE-EMPTS POTENTIAL FUTURE INDIVIDUAL EVALS

Pre-IEP Meeting Discussions After doing many individual evaluations, over 90% of our recommendations were for items/strategies that were already available in the school Examples of strategies: Promotion of service delivery model changed from “Do an Individual AT Evaluation” to “Just call us! Don’t write anything in the IEP until you call us!” This resulted in – Less paperwork for teachers – Less paperwork for AT Trainers – Students getting to use strategies much faster Record Sound Feature in Microsoft Office Graphic Organizing Templates Pacing Boards for Communication Communication Notebooks High Contrast Feature of Windows Visual Schedules Text-To-Speech Social Situation Stories

“Traditional” Staff Development AT Overviews – Offered by each AT Trainer at every school – Discuss how service delivery model works Workshops – Approximately 1 after-school workshop a week – Initially, all workshops at AT Lab. To increase attendance, workshops moved to schools (cut down on drive time) – Provide individual school workshops by request – Teachers are paid to attend (not much, but they are paid) – ALL workshops center around tools currently available in the school (No “Co:Writer” workshops because “Co:Writer” is not universally installed throughout the county) – Fun and informal (snacks provided too) – Count toward re-certification points

“Alternative” Staff Development AT Website – (No more newsletter) – – Goal: To be convenient and helpful (not too much stuff!) Handpicked Resources FAQs Training Videos AT-A-Day Calendar – One strategy a day, rip-off calendar – Distributed to all special education staff (800) – Coordinating with IT and others AT Tonight DVDs – 2 DVDs containing 5 short videos each – Teachers check out the DVD, watch the videos, answer questions and return to get 1 hour of staff development credit

Other Team Initiatives -Student Clubs -Pilot Programs -Blackboard Facilitation -Participation on County-Wide Technology Committees -Software Integration (Read&Write Gold, Boardmaker) -Assistive Technology Awareness -School Career Day -Parent Resource Workshops -Administrative Workshops -Technology Conference Participation and Presentations -Regional and State Consortium Involvement -AT Lab

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Contact Us Christopher Bugaj – Sally Norton-Darr – AT Office: Thank you for joining us!