One of the challenges in determining AT solutions for Amos is the lack of resources, both human and material, in the poor, rural district where he attends school. Before Amos entered kindergarten in the fall, a team of educators met with Amos's parents to begin putting together an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). In attendance at the meeting were the kindergarten teacher, special education teacher, the school principal, the speech-language pathologist, and the school psychologist. The occupational therapist was unavailable for meeting. There are two grade schools and a middle school in the district; the three schools share the services of the OT, speech-language pathologist and school psychologist (who is responsible for testing).

Amos is perhaps the most severely autistic student ever to attend his school. The speech-language pathologist, a recent hire, has considerable experience with children with autism because of previous work experience in a larger district. The rest of the team, however, has relatively little experience with a student as disabled as Amos. The team agreed it would be a challenge to determine the best ways to address his needs.

Another challenge is the fact that each child is unique. Although there are some common AT solutions demonstrated to be effective with children with autism, there are no guarantees with respect to the way children will respond. For Amos, kindergarten is his first school experience. If he had attended preschool, the AT team could talk with his teachers and find out which AT solutions were effective. Without this prior experience, kindergarten will be a year of learning for Amos as well as his educators.

Because Amos is nonverbal, it is not always easy to determine his needs. AT solutions must first be directed towards Amos's safety and well-being. After that,...

For example, Amos's parents reported that, when frustrated, Amos will sometimes hit his head with his fist. The special education teacher suggested that Amos be given a stress ball to squeeze instead. At first there was discussion that he be given a pillow to hit, but since Amos sometimes hits others as well as himself, it was decided that a better alternative would be the stress ball so he learns to channel his anger other than through his fists.
Amos becomes extremely agitated with loud noise. Even boisterous play in the classroom can sometimes be upsetting, as are fire drills and assemblies. The team arrived at several solutions for the problem. One is equipping the classroom with a set of headphones, which they teacher or Amos himself can put on when the noise is too much. The principal agreed to notify Amos's teachers before any fire drills, so that the headphones could be placed before the alarm actually sounded. Finally, a plan was made with a paraprofessional to take Amos to a quiet location during assembly times.

These are the most immediate needs seen by the AT team. As Amos progresses through kindergarten and the rest of his public education, team members will have the challenge of continually seeking solutions to meet the needs of Amos at any particular time. Because of his developmental age and lack of verbal ability, it is difficult to measure just how much Amos knows and how capable he will be in academics. His needs will evolve and AT solutions will have to evolve with him. The biggest challenge is not knowing for certain what will work until the solution is tried.

Reference

Beard, L.A., Carpenter, L.B., & Johnston, L. (2011). Assistive technology: Access for all students. 2e Kindle edition. Columbus, Ohio: Merrill.