Assistive Technology Consideration Process

Individualized education program (IEP) teams are required to consider assistive technology (AT) as a part of a student’s annual IEP meeting. Technology should fit the student instead of fitting the student to the technology. During the AT consideration process, the team determines a student’s need for AT. The AT consideration process results in one of three outcomes: (1) the student does not need AT, (2) AT is needed and specific details regarding how, when, and where the devices and services will be provided have been documented or, (3) AT is needed, but further assessment is necessary. If further assessment is needed, this is when the AT assessment process begins. For those who are D/HH, it is vital that the medical information and educational information are shared before beginning the AT assessment process. As shared earlier in this guide, your permission is required for sharing information about your child across these professionals.

Resources to support the AT consideration process include:

• OCALI’s Assistive Technology Internet Modules (ATIM) Module: AT Consideration in the IEP Process
• OCALI’s AT Resource Guide: AT Consideration in the IEP You may want to share these resources with your child’s team in order to find assistive technology which will match your child’s needs.

Assistive Technology Assessment Process and Resources for Students who are D/HH

If the team decides an AT assessment is needed, they should determine the student’s needs, environments, and the tasks the student needs to accomplish. Once this has been determined, a feature-matching process can begin to connect the needs of the student to specific features of AT devices. The team can then progress with hands-on trials of specific devices and data collection to identify the most appropriate selection. Once AT devices are obtained, specific team member responsibilities are outlined to support initial training and ongoing use of the AT device.

Resources to Support the AT Assessment Process include:

• OCALI’s ATIM Module: AT Assessment Process in the School Environment
• OCALI’s ATIM Module: An Overview of Using the WATI AT Assessment Process
• OCALI’s AT Resource Guide: The AT Assessment Process in the School Environment
• OCALI’s Student Inventory for Technology Support (SIFTS). SIFTS is an online feature-matching tool that can be used to support the AT assessment process. SIFTS asks questions about the student’s needs and abilities and matches those to features of AT tools. The resulting list of feature considerations consists of text descriptions, pictures and sometimes videos to help explain the AT features.
• OCALI’s AT Lending Library: The AT Lending Library at OCALI offers a wide variety of tools for students who are deaf/hard of hearing. The devices are available for free, hands-on trials to support the AT assessment process. To learn more about assistive technology, the following resources are provided:
• The Assistive Technology and Accessible Educational Materials (AT&AEM) Center at OCALI offers AT and accessible educational materials to individuals as well as highly specialized technical support and professional development.
• AT Resource Guide: The AT Resource Guide on the assistive technology (AT) decision¬-making process was created to assist Ohio school districts in understanding their obligation to provide needed AT devices and services to students with disabilities.

Assistive Technology Internet Modules (ATIM): The ATIM modules are provided in an online learning environment and offer 50 different topics related to assistive technology:

ATIM Module Hearing – WATI -Parts 1 and 2
These modules provide information about AT for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Topics include the AT assessment process, specific AT assessment tools and common features of AT that may benefit students who are deaf or hard or hearing. Websites for searching apps based on features identified through the AT assessment process are available through OCALI’s AT&AEM Center.