The document provides an overview of the Illinois Assistive Technology Guidance Manual. It was developed through focus groups, a literature review, and reviewing other state guidance documents. The purpose is to provide guidance to school systems on effective assistive technology use for students with disabilities. It covers understanding assistive technology and the law, the assistive technology process including consideration, provision, implementation and monitoring, and building an infrastructure to support assistive technology services.

1. The Illinois Assistive
Technology Guidance
Manual
Brian W. Wojcik, Ed.D., ATP
Special Education Assistive Technology (SEAT ) Center
Illinois State University

2. Overview
• Welcome
• Purpose of the Manual
• Overview of the Manual
• Foundations of AT
• Definition
• AT and the Law
• AT and Other Initiatives
• AT Cycle
• Building an Infrastructure
to Support AT Services

3. Welcome
• Post It Notes

4. IL AT Guidance Manual
• Background on the Manual
• Grant awarded to Infinitec who extended a
subcontract to the Special Education Assistive
Technology (SEAT) Center at Illinois State University
• Manual was developed through
• A series of focus groups with school administrators, school-
based AT service providers, special education teachers, school
technology staff, policy makers, and preservice teacher
education faculty
• An exhaustive literature review
• A review of other state guidance documents

5. IL AT Guidance Manual
• Purpose
• The purpose of this manual is to provide
guidance to school systems regarding the
processes associated with effective AT use by
students with disabilities. The manual is
intended to inform the practices of schools
systems to promote successful outcomes
related to AT use by students with disabilities
and to serve as a point of reference for school
administrators, teachers, related service
personnel, students, and parents of students
with disabilities.

6. Organization of the Manual
• Understanding AT
• Understanding AT and the Law
• Understanding the Relationship of
AT to Other Initiatives
• Understanding the AT Process
• Understanding AT Consideration
• Understanding the Provision of
AT
• Understanding AT
Implementation
• Understanding Performance
Monitoring of AT Use
• Creating an Infrastructure the
Supports AT Services

7. FOUNDATIONS OF AT

8. Assistive Technology
Assistive technology device means 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 the functional capabilities of a child with
a disability.… (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1401(1))

9. Assistive Technology
Assistive technology device means 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 the functional capabilities of a child with
a disability.… (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1401(1))

10. Assistive Technology
Assistive technology device means 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 the functional capabilities of a child with
a disability.… (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1401(1))

11. Assistive Technology
Assistive technology device means 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 the functional capabilities of a child
with a disability.… (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1401(1))

12. Assistive Technology
Assistive technology device means 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 the functional capabilities of a child
with a disability.… (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1401(1))

13. When does technology
become AT?
• With regard to students receiving services under IDEA, there is
a two prong test:
When an IEP
When the
Team decides
technology is
that the
used as a
technology is
compensatory
needed by the
intervention.
student.

14. Differences Between AT and
Other Technologies
Assistive Technology
vs
Instructional Technology
Educationally Necessary
vs
Medically Necessary

15. AT Continuum
LOW TECH HIGH
TECH
• Availability
• Complexity

16. AT Services
• Assistive technology service means any service that directly assists a
child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, and use of an assistive
technology device. The term includes—
• (a) The evaluation of the needs of a child with a disability, including a
functional evaluation of the child in the child’s customary environment;
• (b) Purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the acquisition of
assistive technology devices by children with disabilities;
• (c) Selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, adapting, applying, retaining,
repairing, or replacing assistive technology devices;
• (d) Coordinating and using other therapies, interventions, or services with
assistive technology devices, such as those associated with existing
education and rehabilitation plans and programs;
• (e) Training or technical assistance for a child with a disability or, if
appropriate, that child’s family; and
• (f) Training or technical assistance for professionals (including individuals
providing education or rehabilitation services), employers, or other
individuals who provide services to, employ, or are otherwise substantially
involved in the major life functions of that child. (Authority: 20 U.S.C.
1401(2))

17. AT AND THE LAW

18. AT and IDEA
• § 300.105 Assistive Technology
• (a)Each public agency must ensure that assistive technology
devices or assistive technology services or both, as those terms
are defined in §§ 300.5 and 300.6, respectively, are made
available to a child with a disability if required as a part of the
child’s—
• (1) Special education under § 300.36;
• (2) Related services under § 300.34; or
• (3) Supplementary aids and services under §§ 300.38 and 300.114(a)
(2)(ii).

19. Key Concepts

20. AT AND OTHER INITIATIVES

21. How Does AT Relate?
Universal Design for Learning
Assistive Technology
(UDL)
• Proactively addresses • Reactively addresses
learner variability learner variability .
through • Overcomes Barriers
• Material Development
• Curriculum Planning
• Instructional Planning
• Assessment
• Reduces Barriers

22. How Does AT Relate?
Common Core State Standards Assistive Technology
• Provides guidance about • Provides access to the
content students are content and experiences
expected to learn and provided allowing the
skills students are student to participate
expected to develop and perform at the
expected performance
level through
compensation

23. How Does AT Relate?
Accessible Instructional
Assistive Technology
Materials
• Mandates that school • Provides access to the
systems ensure that AIM when appropriate
textbooks and related • Used in conjunction with
printed materials are AIM
provided in specialized
formats to students with
print disabilities in a
timely manner

24. How Does AT Relate?
Response to Intervention (RtI) Assistive Technology
• General Education • Students receiving
Initiative services within an RtI
framework may use AT
• Evidence Based
tools at any tier
Interventions
• If, however, the use of
• Intensity of Interventions AT tools significantly
alters the way an
intervention is
implemented, the
effectiveness and fidelity
of the intervention may
be also altered.

25. BREAK

26. UNDERSTANDING THE AT PROCESS

27. AT Process

28. GROUP WORK

29. AT CONSIDERATION

30. What is AT Consideration in a
nutshell?

31. What factors may disrupt AT
Consideration and what
should a team do to address
the factors?

32. Is an AT specialist involved in
AT Consideration?

33. What are the potential
outcomes of AT
Consideration?

34. What is the relationship
between AT Consideration
and AT Evaluation?

35. How is AT documented in a
student’s IEP?

36. What are examples of AT-
related goals that may be
included in a student’s IEP?

37. Do schools have to respond
to parental requests for AT
Evaluations?

38. If an independent AT
Evaluation is conducted,
what should the team do with
the results of the evaluation?

39. PROVISION OF AT AND AT SERVICES

40. How does FAPE influence the
provision of AT?

41. Does a school need to
maintain technology bought
by a family?

42. Does AT have to be assigned
to a particular student? Why
or why not?

43. What happens to AT when a
school leaves a
school/district?

44. AT IMPLEMENTATION

45. What is AT implementation
in a nutshell?

46. Who must be trained to use
AT? Who provides te
training?

47. What are some examples of
good contingency planning?

48. Can AT always be used on
Statewide Assessments?
Explain.

49. PERFORMANCE MONITORING OF AT
USE

50. What is Peformance
Monitoring of AT Use in
nutshell?

51. What are examples of
variables that could be
measured under the Time
Series Concurrent and
Differential Approach to AT
Use monitoring?

52. Can AT always be used on
Statewide Assessments?
Explain.

53. As AT is used and monitored,
what are the potential
outcomes of monitoring
process?

54. BUILDING AN INFRASTRUCTURE TO
SUPPORT AT SERVICES

55. Understanding Complex
Change

56. Professional Development
• Content Focused – Focused on developing
competencies
• Active Learning – Observation, Collaboration,
Reflection
• Coherence – Related to recommended practices,
policies, and beliefs
• Duration – Ongoing
• Collective Participating – Engagement of whole
team in PD

57. A Possible PD Model

59. Building a Technological
Infrastructure
• Technology Acquisition and Procurement
• Accessing and Leveraging State and Regional
Resources
• Working with Vendors
• Bulk Purchasing
• Building a Local AT Library
• Working Collaboratively with Technology
Administrators and Support Staff
• Evaluating Quality of AT Services

60. Your Questions