Assistive Technology in Education/Life Skills

Introduction
Assistive technology is defined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004) as “any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of a child with a disability” (IDEA 2004, 2004). The term “functional capabilities” could mean a full realm of skills and competencies to perform successfully in the educational classroom. However, this wikibook will pertain to the functional skills or life skills children with disabilities need to develop in order to transition successfully into independent living after school graduation by “transfering skills to new environments” (Rocchio, 1995, p. 1). Functional skills are built on real-life living and learning. Contributing to the world these students live in while taking care of themselves are what many people with severe disabilities and their families hope for to ensure the most complete and gratifying quality of life for the individual (Langone, Clees, Rieber, Matzko, 2003).



A skill or activity is defined to be functional after considering the following questions:

  How frequently is the activity performed? Will the activity increase the independence of the student? Is the activity performed in a variety of natural settings? Is the vocational task one which someone would pay the student to do? Will the performance of the activity reflect the student as competent? Is the skill likely to be naturally reinforced? If the child can't do it will someone have to do it for him/her?  (Brown, Falvey, Vincent, Kaye, Johnson, Ferrara-Parish, & Gruenewald, 1980)

Disabled people have a greater chance to live independently, obtain and maintain a job, and enjoy many societal benefits in today’s society more than ever before (Scherer, 2002). Assistive and adaptive technology has helped that vision and reality. As one example, there is software technology on the market that can assist students with severe disabilities to accomplish independence through repetitive practice, simple interface design, and appropriate life skills content. This wikibook will suggest what types of content-specific assistive technology software could be used to teach functional skills to a life skills classroom of students. For this wikibook, life skills students will be defined as middle school and high school children who have severe disabilities, usually cognitive in nature, and whose cognitive needs extend outside the normal academic content to subject matter and concepts that will help them thrive in society. As IDEA 2004 states, this is a legal obligation for our school districts to deliver to students of special life skills needs (IDEA 2004, 2004). To ensure an inclusive educational environment and opportunities for all students, administrators, teachers, staff, parents, and students should be aware of what is available in software to help life skills students learn. The development of functional skills moves the disabled students towards successful community participation. Functional skill development also builds an individual’s dignity and reputation (Rocchio, 1995).

Functional Skills Topics
Functional skills such as communication, vocation, personal grooming, laundry, dining, meal preparation, housekeeping, leisure activities, anger management, social etiquette, money management, and responsible citizenship are abilities and everyday routines that every human being should be able to take care of and exercise for their own livelihood and health, as well as his or her purpose and place in society (Dell, Newton, & Petroff, 2007). These functional skills can be categorized into four instructional domains: Self-Management/Home Living, Vocational, Recreation/Leisure and Community Functioning. Inside of these domains, tasks done on a daily basis can be labeled according to the following areas: social, communication, academics and motor (Functional Skills Action Committee, 1992). In the most perfect assistive technology situation for a classroom of life skills students, the most obvious goal is to match each student with the most beneficial assistive technology to meet “receptiveness, competency, and understanding” of the individual student (Rocchio, 1995, p. 3). This would support a person-centered approach (Rocchio, 1995). However, all students need to be able to function in the home, workplace, and society according to what is expected for individual, physical, social, and financial matters. With functional skill competence, individuals with severe disabilities increase their employability opportunities, since their productivity and independence increases. Additionally, the prospect for rich social relationships through learning functional skills that develop social skills, social relationships, social behaviors, and emotional regulation is optimized when individuals are functionally independent and can take care of themselves and their basic needs (Martin, 2006).

Integration into society becomes a reality rather than an impossibility when people have the ability to live their lives independently and be self-sufficient with proper adaptations and assistance devices that consider their limitations (Functional Skills, 1992). Improving the environment, whether it be home, school, or the workplace, is always a step towards providing the disabled person with a more realistic situation to live and thrive. To accomplish this, using functional skills software training, instruction, and education to help the student gain and develop awareness, understanding, and ability to improve his functional level will equip him with aids for everyday living and everyday work (Beck, 2008).

Teaching functional skills to disabled students is extremely useful in enhancing an individual’s ability to perform her or his job independently (Schneider, 1999). One example is the way telecommunications has created opportunities for people with severe disabilities to work from home in a productive, responsible, and doable manner. Considering all of these future benefits, developing the necessary proficiencies to live, survive, and prosper with their disability is what school districts must deliver to life skills students.

Specifications of Functional Skill Software
Practice brings experience which changes to knowledge for severely disabled individuals (Schneider, 1999). Educators should have realistic learning outcomes for individual life skills students in the classroom (Scherer, 2002). However, the choice of software made by administrators and educators should also take into consideration software attributes that would provide the most appropriate learning environment for life skills students. The content should be low-level, emphasizing developing skills that may be commonplace for students without disabilities. A simple interface with easy navigation and an elementary design will ensure students not to become frustrated with the digital learning environment (Dell, Newton, & Petroff, 2007). Interactivity is a must to offer appropriate positive feedback and direction (Langone, Clees, Rieber, Matzko, 2003). The software should offer positive repetitive opportunities to practice and develop experience in a risk-free environment (Brown, Falvey, Vincent, Kaye, Johnson, Ferrara-Parish, & Gruenewald, 1980). Additionally, there should be the capability to customize the interface according to auditory, visual, pace, level of difficulty, and vocabulary to take into consideration each student’s physical abilities, emotional strengths, and cognitive awareness (Dell, Newton, & Petroff, 2007).

Furthermore, the incorporation of multimedia prolongs attention, which enhances the practice experience and promotes awareness and competence (Langone, Clees, Rieber, Matzko, 2003). This type of training is more effective and efficient with the use of simulated instructional activities (Brown, Falvey, Vincent, Kaye, Johnson, Ferrara-Parish, & Gruenewald, 1980). Also, the allowance for partial participation in order to progress through the software is also very important to build confidence and full participation levels (Rocchio, 1995). This would ensure a positive learning experience for the student which is important in the success of acquiring functional skills. Shared activity training supports social development and is beneficial to the student (Rocchio, 1995). “The more students can do for themselves, the more opportunities there are for natural abilities and preferences to emerge that enable us to use a person-centered plan for individual program planning” (Rocchio, 1995, p.4).

Software Offering Functional Skill Content


There are many different software choices in the market today to offer functional skills content to disabled students. Here are ten software examples that would be beneficial teaching functional skills to life skills students. The instructional domain(s) it satisfies is noted after the description of the application and in the table below.

Instructional Domains <ol> <li>Self-Management/Home Living</li> <li>Vocational</li> <li>Recreation/Leisure</li> <li>Community Functioning</li> </ol>

Functional Skills Software Examples

<ul> <li>Banking Math Software Flex – This software teaches students how to complete banking transactions and record disbursements in a check register. [Self-Management/Home Living]

Link: http://www.pcicatalog.com/store/item.aspx?TypeId=21&ItemId=47854&</li>

<li>Survival Signs software – Teaches students to identify interior and exterior signs, including universal symbol signs that they could find at school and in the community. It includes auditory prompts which will aid students who have visual impairments or reading difficulties. [Recreation/Leisure & Community Functioning]

Link: http://www.pcieducation.com/store/item.aspx?SKU=PCI902</li>

<li>Cause & Effect Sight & Sounds software – This software pairs musical themes and graphic activities to teach cause and effect. This software offers three different settings for switch modes. [Self-Management/Home Living]</li>

Link: http://www.pcieducation.com/store/item.aspx?itemid=47415

<li>From the Classroom to the Workplace software – This software introduces students to workplace vocabulary to help both middle school and high school students transition to the workplace. [Community Functioning]

Link: http://www.pcieducation.com/store/item.aspx?categoryid=2&typeid=21&departmentid=56&ItemId=47360&</li>

<li>Functional Skills System on the iPod Touch software– This set of videos teaches a large variety of functional skills for students to learn to behave independently at home, in social setting, at school, in the workplace, or in the community. This program covers functional life skills (clothing, community, dress, entertainment, emergency signs and words), functional social skills (communication skills, everyday social skills, and manners), functional work skills, and functional literacy system. There are two series: a how–to series and a words and symbols series – to teach functional literacy and skills. It also includes pre- and post-assessments. [Self-Management/Home Living, Vocational, Recreation/Leisure and Community Functioning]

Link: http://www.conovercompany.com/training/media/fss/fss9/fss9.html

Link: http://www.pcieducation.com/store/item.aspx?DepartmentId=43&CategoryId=40&TypeId=21&ItemId=46612&

Link: http://www.pcieducation.com/store/item.aspx?DepartmentId=43&CategoryId=40&TypeId=21&ItemId=46634& </li> <li>Job Survival software series – Students learn how to maintain a job with instruction on appearance on the job, employer expectations, job attendance, literacy skills on the job, and workplace attitudes and behaviors. [Community Functioning]

Link: http://www.pcieducation.com/store/item.aspx?DepartmentId=43&CategoryId=40&TypeId=21&ItemId=42502&#bottomTabs </li> <li>In Sequence: Daily Living Skills – This application prompts students to place graphics in a chronological sequence to map out different daily tasks. Some of the tasks include: eating a hamburger, baking cookies, stapling papers, throwing out the garbage, and buying candy from a vending machine. [Self-Management/Home Living & Recreation/Leisure]

Link: http://www.cactuskids.com/products.php?title=26 </li> <li>Out in the Community – This software uses graphics and symbols to teach students through activities about people, places, and actions they will find in their community. [Recreation/Leisure & Community Functioning]

Link: http://www.edbydesign.com/ebdsw/oitc.html </li> <li>My Time – This application helps students learn to plan, organize, and schedule their time with activities that will help them thrive in their environment. [Self-Management/Home Living, Vocational, Recreation/Leisure and Community Functioning]

Link: http://www.edbydesign.com/ebdsw/mt.html </li> <li>My House, My Town, and My School: The Language Activities of Daily Living Series– students learn about the objects, activities, and vocabulary one meets in daily practices. [Self-Management/Home Living, Vocational, Recreation/Leisure and Community Functioning]

Link: http://www.laureatelearning.com/products/descriptions/ladldesc.html</li> </ul>

Conclusion
Developing functional skills in severely disabled students in a life skills class should improve an individual’s ability to learn, live, interact, and work with peers. With the use of appropriate software that matches students’ abilities, these students can greatly benefit from the ease, interactivity, multimedia, simulation, feedback, and customization of these applications (Brown, Falvey, Vincent, Kaye, Johnson, Ferrara-Parish, & Gruenewald, 1980). Students using assistive technology to practice and build experience in functional skills should achieve greater independence which will enhance the quality of their lives (Schneider, 1999). When students' quality of life is enhanced, everything else in their lives improves: school performance, social relationships, family and home life, and self-confidence all benefit from helping students find interdependence in living their lives and contributing at home, work, and school.

Videos


Social Skills Program - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4L5LS37950&feature=related

Let's Cook! Life Skills/ Kids with Autism INTRO - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3YK1ceSrmY

Let's Cook? Life Skills/Kids with Autism - Waffles - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbjNggDQ7QU&feature=channel_page

Let's Cook! Life Skills for Kids on the Autism Spectrum - http://www.mywire.com/pubs/Lets-Cook - Premium Access - membership required

Life Skills Sequences: Making Orange Juice - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYo-1NCNFc0&feature=related

Life Skills for Children - The Life Skills Program - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P75cfmuNYOg&feature=related

Teach2Talk - Social Skills! Volume 1 - Sharing - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSyzsHx73uU&feature=related

Teach2Talk - WH Questions Volumne 1 - Where? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ky6Z4OUrpw&feature=related

Life Skills Series: Episode IV - How to Order from a Menu http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXT5OPjhYAA

How to Keep your Teeth & Gums Healthy : Choosing a Toothbrush: Dental Care & Oral Hygiene - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2wiX1icKVI&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Resources


|Neuropsychological Evaluation in Rehabilitation Planning and Evaluation of Functional Skills by Thomas L. Bennett

| Life Skills e-Books - commplete with standard-based Functional Skills curriculum, case study, & articles

| Life Skills bibliographies - Cooking, Housekeeping, Shopping, Money Skills, Travel, & Telephone Skills