Example 3: Student with Development Delay at cause and effect level

Student

Suzy, aged six.

Diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy with global developmental delay.

Requires full adult assistance for all personal care tasks.

Explores objects by putting them in her mouth and cannot physically use a pencil to make marks on paper.

Suzy is completely reliant on an adult to set up all learning activities for her.

If she engages initially, she typically only maintains interest in the activity for one or two minutes at the most. It's difficult to re-engage Suzy in an activity as she drops her head and refuses to look.

Environment

Suzy attends her local primary school full time.

She's in a new entrant mainstream classroom with 15 students and one teacher.  The number of students will likely increase over the term/year.

Suzy receives ORS funding – verified Very High Needs.

She is allocated 20 hours/week teacher aide and .2 Specialist Teacher time.

In the class, there are three desktop computers and five iPads. These are used on a rotational basis for independent maths and literacy activities.

Task

Primary learning goals that assistive technology may support.

  • Suzy will work independently for at least five minutes or work with less support on learning tasks that would otherwise require full one-to-one support.
  • Suzy will increase understanding of cause and effect and choosing skills with the eventual aim of using these skills to communicate with others.

Suzy will develop early reading skills including page turning and reading behaviours.

Tools

Hardware needs to:

  • be portable (to work in variety of spaces)
  • be robust enough for new entrant class
  • have direct touch access

Other possible features:

  • Camera for capturing real objects and people.

Software needs:

  • early learning software
  • cause and effect activities.

Other possible software features:

  • variety of visual and auditory stimulation
  • high interest activities
  • changeable to include images of real objects.

Assistive technology to trial

  • iPad with early learning apps.

Notes

After a 4 week trial, there was enough evidence of success to complete the assistive technology application.

Progress after six months

  • Suzy can independently read a talking book and turn pages by tapping the screen on the iPad. She touches the screen repeatedly for new sounds and visual effects on each page.
  • Using a high interest cause and effect app, Suzy touched the screen independently six times and laughed and jumped at the responses. She looked at the iPad as she touched the screen. She was engaged in the activities for 5–10 minutes.
  • She independently made choices. When presented with choices on the iPad, Suzy reached to tap on the one she wanted to hear again five times out of seven.

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