Home
Homepage

Assistive Technology Works!

Knowing where to begin and how to proceed can be daunting, however. We're here to help. The Family Center on Technology and Disability provides a wide range of resources on assistive and instructional technologies, from introductory fact sheets through CEU's for practitioners and educators. Try setting aside 30 minutes a day to review an FCTD resource. Before you know it, you'll know a lot more about both established and emerging technologies that can improve the lives of the children and youth with whom you work and live. Of course, we're here for your just-in-time information needs as well. We hope you'll visit our site often!

News & Notes

Virtual Home Visits & Early Intervention Delivering early intervention services to families in remote rural areas has long been a challenge to service providers. Technology has, for the past twenty years, held the promise of helping to reach those families. This month we’re pleased to bring you the insights of Sue Thain Olsen and Amy Henningsen of the Utah State University’s Center for Persons with Disabilities (CPD).Their center received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Steppingstones of Technology Innovation for Children with Disabilities program. Under the grant, they and their colleagues have been researching the benefits and challenges of providing virtual home visits as part of the early intervention services for which they are responsible. http://www.fctd.info/resources/newsletters/index.php.

Assistive Technology (AT) Resources

Explore our AT Resources database for information on assistive and instructional technology. This week our featured resource from the American Health Lawyers Association offers readers information on a variety of important topics for people with disabilities. The booklet provides an overview of IDEA and includes sections on both Part B and Part C, plus information on housing and testing. Sections are also devoted to SSI, SSDI, Medicare, and Medicaid,health/ life insurance, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), emergency preparedness healthcare planning and family law. Considerations for People with Disabilities and thier Families

FCTD on Ning!

FCTD has set up its own site on the social network, Ning, as a place for parents, special educators, and AT professionals to share information. You can post questions, share events, and communicate with other assistive/instructional technology professionals and families. FCTD staff also posts relevant resources on AT and special education. We would love to hear feedback from you on the best ways to use this social networking tool. To learn more, please visit http://fctdnet.ning.com/.

FCTD Online Discussions

Our most recent online discussion - Improving Teaching and Learning through Technology - led by national experts Lisa Thumann and Karen Janowski, is now available in our discussion archive. Lisa and Karen and several "expert participants" shared dozens of useful resources and website links. We invite you to read the transcript of that discussion and of our many other information-rich forums on such topics as: AAC and vocabulary building, assistive technology outcomes, AT funding, universal design, AT and occupational therapy, and emergent literacy.

FCTD Collaborates with SEAT Center to Understand Family Technology Use Patterns

The FCTD has collaborated with the Special Education Assistive Technology (SEAT) Center at Illinois State University to create an online survey to identify family preferences and needs for computer-based technologies. We are asking all interested family members with young children ages 0-8, to participate in the survey at: https://forms.coe.ilstu.edu/sed/TakeSurvey.aspx?PageNumber=1&SurveyID=86L1872

Professionals who work with family members are encouraged to share the survey link with interested family members with whom they work. The findings will be presented on the FCTD Web site late in January. Thanks!

The Family Center on Technology and Disability