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.