AT Service Delivery
Establishing Effective AT Policies in Schools
Having well written policies and procedures surrounding assistive technology services within the school division will ensure that assistive technology efforts will be ongoing and sustainable. All AT services developed and delivered should be legally correct according to federal and state laws and aligned to school division policies. AT policies and procedures should be broad and cover all aspects of AT including AT consideration and assessment, documentation in the IEP, appropriate implementation of AT devices and services, training, and coordination of funding and maintenance of AT materials and inventories. Here are a few sample policies and procedures from across the nation.
- Assistive Technology: A framework for consideration and Assessment (2008).
- A Framework for Conducting Assistive Technology Consideration, Screening and Assessment, Louisiana Department of Education.
- Assistive Technology Model Operating Guidelines for School Districts and IEP Teams, Oregon Technology Access Program.
Assistive Technology Team Resources
Many school divisions across the nation have found the use of AT teams (with strong administrative support) to be an effective resource for designing policies and procedures around AT service delivery, purchasing and maintaining an inventory of AT equipment, providing AT assessments and supporting IEP teams in the use of AT materials. In addition, these teams may be responsible for training school personnel, including IEP teams, in the appropriate selection and use of AT devices and services. The benefits of educational "team decision-making" include the sharing of knowledge from students, family members and an interdisciplinary group of professionals, thereby resulting in a comprehensive set of AT policies with invested stakeholders.
Some ideas and resources for helping to develop effective assistive technology services within the educational environment are included in this area.
Developing a Plan for AT
Establishing and operationalizing effective AT policies requires that AT guidelines be embedded into existing school policies and procedures. This is not a quick activity, but rather a lengthy process leading toward systems change. To document a systematic process for AT development and ensure success, an assistive technology team might consider developing and maintaining an action plan. This plan should include steps for establishing and maintaining an AT team and capacity-building activities that will grow and change, but sustain over time. A sample long-range action plan can be modified to meet the needs of each school division and is intended to cover a period of 3-5 years.
Developing an Assistive Technology Team
Many resources are available to support assistive technology teams. These documents might be used as models for creating policies and procedures for an individual school division.
- Education Tech Points Manual - A great tool to use during the development of assistive technology teams and services.
- Assistive Technology Competencies - Use this resource to help determine the roles and responsibilities of AT team members.
- Administrators Guide to Effective Technology Leadership - This document supports the premise that administrative leaders are powerful change agents and describes the role of school administrators in AT.
- Roles and Responsibilities of AT Team Members - These sample roles and responsibilities were developed by team members on AT teams in Virginia.
The T/TAC at VCU publishes a newsletter three times a year, Innovations and Perspectives. At least one of the articles in each publication provides information about assistive technology.
Aligning AT Services
As AT processes are developed and refined, it is important to make sure they are aligned with existing program policies and follow current information on effective practices in AT. Many of the resources below were developed by committed consumers, families, service providers and other leaders of AT within their own programs.
Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology (QIAT) Services - QIAT’s mission is to guide the development and delivery of quality assistive technology services by providing users with Quality Indicators, Matrices, and QIAT in Action documents, and many additional resources.
- Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology Services
- QIAT Self Evaluation Matrices
- Administrator Guide to Effective Technology Leadership
- QIAT Fact Sheets
Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative has developed a school profile to assist school divisions with targeting areas of improvement for AT services. Teams might use this as a self-assessment in the initial stages of development, as well as a “temperature check” at a later date to determine if the team has made progress.
Based on the school profile the team might want to plan for meaningful professional development. A needs assessment survey is often recommended to determine the interests and preferences of participants. This survey is one example that might be used to determine the assistive technology training needs of a group.
Educational Technology Plan for Virginia 2003-2009
VDOE's Educational Technology Plan for Virginia 2003-2009
Baltimore County Public Schools was kind enough to share the tools that they use to help justify the need for funding assistive technology services. These are examples of some forms used to document personnel time spent on AT services.
- Use this Excel spreadsheet to document the amount of AT support provided over the course of a week.
- Use this workload form to document an individual’s time spent on AT support services provided to students and IEP teams per day, over the course of a week.
- Use this short workload survey form to get a quick snapshot of and individuals feedback regarding weekly time spent providing AT services and support and factors that may have contributed and changes that could be made.
Models of AT Service Delivery
- ATIA, in partnership with the Special Education Assistive Technology (SEAT) Center at Illinois State University, produces an on-line journal, Assistive Technology Outcomes and Benefits (ATOB), to promote the outcomes and benefits of assistive technology for persons with disabilities across the lifespan.
- Parette, P. & Dikter, D. (2007, Fall). Outcomes and Benefits in Assistive Technology Service Delivery [pdf]. Assistive Technology Outcomes and Benefits Journal.
- “Look Fors” when Visiting other AT Teams [pdf] (Mentor Teams) - New teams may find it helpful to visit established AT teams in school divisions with similar demographics. These questions may help guide discussions during these visits.
Models of AT Support - Sample flow charts for AT services using a team approach.
