D. Experience-Based Knowledge

Earlier you considered two important sources of evidence: the best available research, and policies about assistive technology interventions. Experience-based knowledge is another source of evidence to help guide your decision-making. Experience-based knowledge is the “know-how” that comes from solving problems, overcoming barriers, and making decisions in everyday life.

CONNECT identified parents and practitioners from around the country who have experience-based knowledge on the topic of assistive technology interventions and invited them to share their perspectives. These spokespersons are:

Patsy Pierce

Dr. Pierce has worked as a speech-language pathologist for over 20 years specializing in children with severe, complex communication needs. She has also been the Associate Director for Early Childhood Research and Practice in the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies at UNC-CH and a professor in the Division of Speech and Hearing Services and School of Education at UNC-CH. Listen as Dr. Pierce explains three important things to consider when working with children with disabilities who use assistive technology.
Robin Wisner
Robin Wisner is the mother of four boys, ages 18, 15, and 13 (twins). Her thirteen year old twins have identical physical disabilities and communicate using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Because of her children’s disabilities, Robin has educated herself about ways to help her sons learn language on their communication devices and shares what she has learned through conferences, workshops, and other activities. Listen as Robin discusses some key things teachers should keep in mind when working with children who use assistive technology devices.<
Sheila Bridges-Bond
Dr. Sheila Bridges-Bond, a professor in the Department of Communication Disorders (DCD) at North Carolina Central University, discusses things you should consider when working with children from diverse backgrounds. She is an expert on augmentative/alternative communication service delivery to culturally/linguistically diverse families. Dr. Bridges-Bond is also the founder/director of the Assistive Technology for Infants and Preschoolers Project, (ATIPP) an inclusive therapeutic preschool that implements assistive technology (AT) supporting communication, literacy and learning.

Now listen to audio clips from phone interviews with these spokespersons and identify important considerations relating to effective assistive technology interventions.

Audio 5.1: Patsy Pierce

Dr. Pierce has worked as a speech-language pathologist for over 20 years specializing in children with severe, complex communication needs. She has also been the Associate Director for Early Childhood Research and Practice in the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies at UNC-CH and a professor in the Division of Speech and Hearing Services and School of Education at UNC-CH. Listen as Dr. Pierce explains three important things to consider when working with children with disabilities who use assistive technology.

view transcript

Dr. Patsy Pierce:

There are three really important factors to consider and to remember when working with children with disabilities and considering the use of assistive technology. First and foremost, thinking of a child as a child, and thinking about what that child would enjoy doing and participating in. And secondly, you also need to consider the families priorities and how they would like the child to be able to interact more within their family’s life ways, and what they would really like the child to do and to learn. And then finally, you think of assistive technology as the tool that’s going to help to accomplish those two goals of helping the child to enjoy life more, and participate and learn. And then also to help the child interact with their family and help meet the family’s goals and priorities. So I think those are the three main things- what the child likes to do, what the family is hoping their child can do, and then the assistive technology is the tool to help accomplish those two goals.

Audio 5.2: Robin Wisner

Robin Wisner is the mother of four boys, ages 18, 15, and 13 (twins). Her thirteen year old twins have identical physical disabilities and communicate using – Lloyd, Fuller, & Arvidson (1997) “>Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Because of her children’s disabilities, Robin has educated herself about ways to help her sons learn language on their communication devices and shares what she has learned through conferences, workshops, and other activities. Listen as Robin discusses some key things teachers should keep in mind when working with children who use assistive technology devices.

view transcript

Robin Wisner:

When my kids were younger, and they were in the preschool setting using assistive technology, it was hard for the teaching staff to be comfortable with the assistive technology. And I think they felt like they were supposed to know everything and be the expert. And they knew that they weren’t real comfortable with what the boys needed but had trouble asking and getting help and talking to the assistive technology specialist or whoever they need to, to find out how can I do this better. I think the biggest thing I would say to teachers is don’t be afraid to try things and don’t be afraid to ask questions. And being a parent kind of feels like a card, a free pass, to ask dumb questions and sometimes I wish we could give our teachers one of these as well. That each child may be using a different kind of technology, it may be something you’ve never seen before that works for a kid in your class and I wonder sometimes if we should actually hand out cards saying this is your free pass to ask a dumb question, to ask the questions and to say I really don’t understand, I really don’t know how to do this, I need help. And its ok to ask for help.

Audio 5.3: Sheila Bridges-Bond

Dr. Sheila Bridges-Bond, a professor in the Department of Communication Disorders (DCD) at North Carolina Central University, discusses things you should consider when working with children from diverse backgrounds. She is an expert on augmentative/alternative communication service delivery to culturally/linguistically diverse families. Dr. Bridges-Bond is also the founder/director of the Assistive Technology for Infants and Preschoolers Project, (ATIPP) an inclusive therapeutic preschool that implements assistive technology (AT) supporting communication, literacy and learning.

view transcript

Dr. Sheila Bridges-Bond:

I tend to talk about assistive technology from three aspects, what I refer to as ADLs. The A refers to accessibility, the D to diversity, and the L to looking at language and literacy. So when I look at an application of assistive technology, particularly its application for individuals from linguistically diverse backgrounds, I like to refer to the ADLs. One critical aspect of that model is that the D stands for diversity and to recognize that all children come with a language and that that language is acquired and communicated in a cultural context. And often children who come from different language backgrounds of course bring their culture with them. So I think it’s critical for educators, for teachers, not to overlook the cultural background of children because language is a vehicle in which culture grows. And vice versa, there’s kind of that symbiotic relationship. So always to remember whether that child is non-verbal or not, they still exist within a language or linguistic community. That’s the verse that reflects their cultural community and the culture of their family, and the language that they’re hearing. So technology is critical in that with today’s technology we can create communication devices that can be multi-lingual and so they can communicate with pictures, can communicate with words from a first language or a home language, and can also communicate in a language that might be in their learning environment or their developmental environment.