TED- SIngle Story

The video we watched today in class has a lot to do with the content of the course. Many people have a single story about those with disabilities and believe that they can not do the things they can. Their single stories limit these individuals’ abilities in their minds and they do not give those with disabilities the opportunity to do more. By only having a single story they are limiting their knowledge to what is most familiar and in many cases may have difficulty expanding their thoughts.
This course changed my single story on those who use communication board by experiencing the use of one myself. The experience allowed my to open my understanding of those who must use them and I no longer have a limited view on their abilities. Just because they can not express their feelings, it does not mean that they do not have great feelings and thoughts inside their heads.
The issue of a single story does not just affect those with disabilities but many groups who are “other.” Jessica’s parents have a single story of families who are supportive of their gay, and lesbian children, just as I had one on Southern Baptist. As I get to know them and them my family we are all realizing that everyone is more normal than we thought. No one is really all that out there and everyone is just existing in their own comfort zones and slowly venturing out of them. Experiences with others and exposure to new things is the best way to tear down the single story and create a more complex one.

Section VII Assistive Technology and The IEP

I found this sections very helpful, as I do not know a whole lot about the IEP writing process. I have read many IEPs for students in my classes and during my student teaching experience I sat in on and IEP meeting; I have never been a main participant in creating an IEP before. The list of considerations to make when creating and IEP allowed me that opportunity to truly see what goes into the process. I also liked that each consideration was broken down and explained; they could easily be transferred to older students' IEPs.

The case studies in this section also did a great job at illustrating the types of behaviors that a student might display that would require an IEP to change. The behaviors of Mark in the first case study were very similar to those of students that I have worked with. During a summer in college I worked with the population that this article discusses. Many of the students were between the ages of 2-4 and were diagnosed as Autistic. The experiences I had with them and the case study were very similar and this benefited me when the case study discussed how assistive technology could be used to create solutions that would allow Mark to productively participate in class. I also felt bad for Mark as the current classroom situation was not allowing him to communicate and the teachers in the room were not meeting his needs. The description of how the teachers really had no idea what he was saying and just skipped over him or pretended to know what he was saying was heart breaking. Without IEP it is impossible to best serve students. The process of groups of teachers dedicating time to discuss a students needs is important. Mark in case study one may have had an IEP but if AT was not truly considered for him than his teachers and the schools to the best of their abilities were not serving him.

Section I

The overview of Assistive Technology in this section is very similar to those of other articles or papers that we have read in both this class and in Assistive technology. This article did however put some of the items it discussed in a slightly different language than others. When it discussed the different levels of AT it was the first time that I had seen low tech devices also be called light technology devices. The term light is extremely appropriate as not all low-tech devices require the use of low technology to create them. The prefect example is the one used in the article of the wheel chair that is created with composted waste.

This article also nicely breaks down the SETT format when assessing the needs of students and utilizing their solutions. It was a very comprehensive explanation of how student’s needs are assessed and how solutions are found. By looking at the student, environment, tasks and tool the SETT approach looks at difficulties a student is having from many different angles. A comprehensive assessment of a students needs is the only way to truly find them solutions that can be long lasting.


The one thing that I did not like about this section, or I guess the article as a whole, is that it only covers Early Childhood education. I feel that often in this course the issues that students face, as they grow older and enter secondary school are often not fully discussed. I find this difficult as I am certified currently for grade 7-12.

Write: Outload and Co:Write

Both Co: Writer and Write: Outloud could help the same type of students. Really the software would be great for all students when they are younger and those who struggle with writing when they are older. The software’s ability to help students’ improve their writing can also be appreciated by all students but I do not believe that those that are proficient writers should use it when they are older as it may be unnecessarily leaned on.
The students who can most benefit from Co:Writer would be any students who have difficulty spelling or with limited mobility. For those who have trouble spelling, it can help them discern between similar sounding/spelled words. For those with mobility movement issues it can help limit the amount of typing that they need to do.
Write: Outloud can help students who have difficulty with proof-reading as they can hear from someone else what their writing sounds like. Often when students read their writing back to themselves they hear it as they intended to write it, not as it actual sounds. This software can also help those who are not motivated to do their best work because the do not like to proof read. It will encourage students to look over their work by again being able to hear it as they go through it.

Prisoners of Silence

The actions taken by those in the disability community that are shown in "Prisoners of Silence" are understandable and heartbreaking all in one. They were all searching for hope and they believe that they had found it. The disability community bought into facilitated communication whole heartily because they wanted to give those with Autism a voice. Their desire to be able to communicate with this population won out over their reasoning. They could not see that the responses to answers and questions that those with Autism were giving did not make sense. They could not see that it didn’t make sense that all of a sudden they could do complex math or understand Shakespeare. They were blinded by hope.
It is easy for those watching the video to see how the augmentative communication did not work and to think how silly those who believed in it were. Those who bought into the technology are not to be faulted though. They so deeply wanted a solution to the communication problems of those they cared about that this gave them hope and they ran with it. I feel particularly bad for the parents who were told by specialists and schools that it really was their children communicating with them. It gave the parents hope that they could finally find out what their children were thinking and then it was taken away from them. Many believed that their hopes and dreams were finally answered and who would want to believe in something if it was going to do that for you.

Hearing and Visual Impairments

In class we have discussed sensory impairments before and the vision simulations seemed very similar to those we have done in the past. I did find the hearing simulations extremely interesting as I feel we have not discussed those nearly as much as the vision ones. I also have personal experience with someone with a hearing impairment, as my father is legally deaf due to fighting in Vietnam and an accident at work. The simulations gave me an appreciation to what he hears when he is in certain situations. He has always complained about background noises before but until I listened to the simulations of the party I could not imagine what he meant. I can now see how background noise could drown out any conversations that are happening and how it could make a person want to avoid noisy situations. I also now realize why he misses so many things during group conversations because everything must sound so muffled. I have always though that just talking louder to those with hearing impairments would allow them to hear you but if they can only hear muffles, I imagine that they will just hear louder muffles.

The simulations also made me realize how much a little extra noise in a classroom may affect students with hearing impairments. So many students shift in their seats, tap their pens and fiddle with whatever is in front of them that they are constantly making noise. This excess noise could be very detrimental to a student with hearing impairments and could ensure that they miss what is really going on in the classroom.

The refreshable braille reader could be very helpful to those with vision and hearing impairments. Originally when I looked at it I didn’t think it was necessary. I didn’t understand why students couldn’t just have the screen read to them. Now I realize that it is another tool to help them and if a student is both visual and hearing impaired that they would not be able to hear the screen reader. This machine would ensure that students would still be able to access information on the computer

Gifted and Talented Students

In elementary school I remember three students getting pulled out of class once a week to go to the enriched program. To me, at the time they were the ones who were the advanced readers, straight A students and the goody two shoes. These early memories have definitely shaped my opinions on students who are gifted and talented. As I have grown as an educator I knew these perceptions were wrong but this week’s reading have truly changed my thoughts on these students.
The main reason for a change in my perceptions was the list of myths about gifted and talented students. I had never really thought about how gifted and talented students may suffer in school. The reading I completed from PruFrock Press “Surviving or Thriving?” showed how some gifted students can survive in the regular classroom and some can not. This reading also solidified my beliefs on why gifted and talented students fall under IDEA. IDEA is meant to assist students and give them the best environment to perform in. A “normal” classroom is not always the best environment for these students to learn in, as many of them are not receiving the support they need. These students are being mislabeled as ADD, ADHD, ED and other labels because they are misunderstood. These students need to be challenged and the best way to do this is to allow them to receive services under IDEA. Without the support of IDEA it may be easy for schools to not provide these students with services but IDEA forces them to do so.

Week 4

This past weekend I took a trip up to Burlington, Canada to IKEA to get a dresser. While I was there I noticed something that was missing in terms of adaptions for those with disabilities. While we were loading the car we were forced to carry the cart, with the dresser, off the curb, as there was no ramp. At first it seemed odd to me that there was no ramp at a location where people were moving boxes and lifting heavy things. After a discussion about this, while lifting the boxes, I decided to Google if Canada had a disabilities act. Canada currently does not have a law that is similar to the American's with Disabilities Act (1990.) Apparently there is one in the works but it has been in the works since 2005 and has not been put into law yet. I am shocked by this discovery and their lack of Disabilities Act. According to the website Canadians With Disabilities Act it does not seem to be a high priority to legislator in Canada.

This experience has made me realize how important Universal Design is to everyone. By making places accessible to anyone it makes it easier for everyone. Hand rails, curb cutouts, ramps, elevators etc. make it easier for everyone to move around buildings and are often taken for granted by many. It wasn't until there wasn't a curb cutout that I thought about how nice it is to have them. The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) is a great piece of legislation that is making the lives of those with and without disabilities easier and it is a shame that not all countries have similar regulations.

Week 3 Video Modeling

Using video modeling to display proper behaviors for students with disabilities is a way to teach them proper behaviors in a controlled process. In both the articles read for this week they discussed different techniques of video modeling, point of view modeling and socially expressive modeling, which have been used with children who are autistic. With point of view modeling, the modeling was shown to students from their point of view and the way that they would see a situation. This modeling did not seem to be very effective given the study that we read. The students did not respond to the prompts that they were given during simulations and their actions seemed to be motivated by the food they were given rather than what they saw in the video. To me it didn’t seem as if the point of view model was the most effective way to get results from the students. Charlop, & Dennis et al (2010) study on socially expressive modeling seemed to work better with the students than the point of view. The students had better results in performing the modeled behavior when they could see exactly what was expected of them. I also think that it was key that they observed the students interactions with peers, as this will be their main form of interaction in school.

However, neither of these articles have completely convinced me that video modeling is the best way to get students to perform a desired task. I definitely would like to see more studies like these to further explore if video modeling is effective. I would especially be interested in a study on point of view modeling that did not involve the incentive of food, for the students, as this seemed to have tainted the students behaviors.

Week 2

Applications of Research in Music Education

This article discusses the different obstacles that music teachers face when dealing with students with learning disabilities (LD). It focuses on their exclusion from IEP meetings and their unfamiliarity with assistive technology (AT). The authors conducted a survey of 1,416 music teachers in the Midwest and asked them to self-report on their comfort with implementing AT and their involvement in IEP meetings. The study found that many teachers where not informed when IEP meetings took place and almost 70% indicated that they had very little to no knowledge of AT and how to use it in their classroom.

The thing that struck me about this article it that I have never really thought about the need for AT in non-core classes. If you had asked me before reading this article if I though there could be AT solutions for a student that were specific to a music class I may have said no but no now I know better. I obviously know that AT can help students both in and out of the classroom but this article forced me to realize that it is just as important that students have it in non-core classes. I’m sure that if I had sat down and thought about it I could have come to the conclusion that it is just as difficult, if not more difficult for non core teachers to get the AT that is needed for students in the courses but I don’t think I ever would have thought of it without reading this article. The one thing that made me nod my head while reading this article was the part about music teachers being shut out of IEP meetings. I feel that in most schools the announcements about when IEP meetings will take place is always last minute and that all teachers are not always represented at them. As someone who has done two long-term sub positions I have always felt somewhat disconnected from the IEP process and how to best help my students. I can only imagine the frustrations that a music teacher would face being a full time faculty member.

This article was very important for me to read as it provided me with yet another way of thinking about AT. As I stated earlier it forced me to see the issue of incorporating AT from a non-core class perspective. It also has helped me see the importance of including all of a student’s teachers in IEP meetings. Moving forward in class I am hoping that I can look at AT and the topics discussed with a wider lens than I have previously done and try to think about all different subject areas not just my own.

Class on Monday 1-10

"Welcome to Holland" does a great job and portraying what parents of children with disabilities must be going through when they first find out. The imagery of planning for a trip and finding out that you have ended up somewhere different is one that people can relate with. Many people know the feeling of anticipation and then being let down. It also does a great job at explaining how parents are constantly reminded of the fact that their children are different, as other parents discuss their children. My cousin, Allie, who has disabilities was born just one day before another cousin of ours who does not have any disabilities; in fact she excels at almost everything. When listening to “Welcome to Holland” I could only imagine my aunt’s voice as she is constantly seeing what stages in life Allie should be going through as the other cousin goes through them. It must be difficult to be reminded of this often and still be able to appreciate all of the gains that Allie has made. The line in the poem: “But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland,” is one that I can see in my Aunt and many people who have children with special needs because while the pain is always around you can’t spend your life fixating on it.