Madera County Superintendent of Schools

Assistive technology (AT) in the classroom helps to ensure students with disabilities have the same opportunity for education as students who do not have disabilities. AT helps schools and teachers deliver on the promise of educational equity. Exploring how students with learning disabilities and other impairments use assistive technology in virtual and physical classrooms illuminates its vital role. AT can help improve a child's participation, well-being, confidence and self-esteem by improving a child's functioning and opportunities for play and social interaction, and give children a level of autonomy and self-determination to direct their own care and ambitions.

 

The Diagnostic Center, Central California will be hosting a series of learning opportunities which focus on assistive technology to support individuals in the areas of organization, engagement, learning, reading, writing, mathematics, and communication each month for the 2024-2025 school year.

 

 

Date	Topic & Registration
September 24, 2024	AT to Support Organization and Learning
October 22, 2024	AT to Support Augmentative and Alternative Communication/Communicative Competence
November 19, 2024	AT to Support Reading Disorders/Dyslexia
January 21, 2025	AT to Support Writing/Dysgraphia
February 18, 2025	AT to Support Literacy for Complex Communication
March 18, 2025	AT to Support Math/Dyscalculia
April 22, 2025	AT to Support Autism Spectrum Disorders
May 20, 2025	AT to Support Transition

The 2-425 school year will present some interesting challenges for data professionals. We are making further adjustments to smooth out some rough edges from the 23-24 SPED File Redesign. Our reporting periods and approval timelines are also changing. Fall 1 has an earlier than usual deadline in December and the EOY Amendment window keeps marching closer to a July finalization date. In response, this year we are focusing on learning about everything that has changed, but we are also looking for opportunities to become even more proactive in our quest for good, quality data. This year's training series will go through our reporting periods and continue to learn about our reporting processes, always working to do more earlier, and finish our reporting season with a smile and reassured that we are reporting accurate data. We will also begin to dig into your systems to get to the root of data issues. This season is going to be FUN!!

The term Assistive Technology (AT) refers to the services and devices that enable people with disabilities to help achieve independence and enhance their quality of life. For people with dyslexia, assistive technology provides tools that ease the demands of reading and writing and allow them to learn and function independently. Assistive technology helps students with dyslexia save time and overcome challenges, such as messy notetaking, slow reading speed, and poor handwriting allowing them to demonstrate their abilities in ways that were once unimaginable. As a result of using assistive technology, a student may actually develop a love of reading while building their vocabulary, decoding skills, fluency, comprehension, and confidence. Assistive technology is not a substitute for good teaching or remediation. It simply gives a student access to the curriculum while the student continues to build skills through quality instruction. According to the California Dyslexia Guidelines, "it is never too early to introduce assistive technology to a student. If the student is struggling despite the use of interventions and strategies, assistive technology may help them experience more success. It can help a student to develop independence, bolster self-esteem, and reduce time and stress spent on schoolwork."

 

Participants will be able to

Students diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder process visual information easier than auditory information. Research has shown that use of Assistive Technology (AT) can support individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Assistive Technology is defined as: "Any item, piece of equipment, or product system acquired commercially off-the-shelf, modified, or customized that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities." When addressing AT needs, the assessment process includes a feature match to student needs. Assistive Technology enables students with autism spectrum disorders to process information through their stronger learning modality. This training will discuss a variety of Assistive Technology tools that can support individuals with an autism spectrum disorder.

 

Participants will be able to: