Actually, I'm Joyce, Bruce's wife! Our email comes up with his name. Good luck
to you. I call all of my experiences with Anthony adventures! He has taken us to
places we never thought we would visit and has definitely enriched our lives.

Eve wrote:

> Bruce,
> Thank you so very much for your letter.  It is so important that I hear the
> parent's perspective.  Fortunately for me, I have a very open line of
> communication with the father of this student, and hope to have the same
> with his mother as the year progresses.  I think the need to balance
> independence and frustration is the key...I am working on assessing my
> student's ability level so that I can challenge him, yet not leave him
> feeling frustrated or inept.  He is expected to participate fully in all
> lessons in my classroom, and with the assistance of his aide and his
> in-class support teacher, seems to be learning.
> Also, the links you sent me are wonderful!!
> Thanks for taking the time to "teach the teacher"!
>
> Eve
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Bruce notte <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Monday, October 02, 2000 2:09 PM
> Subject: Re: hello
>
> > Eve,
> >
> > We are in New Jersey too. I live in Tinton Falls and overall my district
> has
> > been very supportive of Anthony's needs. They are truly committed to
> including
> > him in almost everything. We don't always agree on every issue but they
> are
> > trying very hard and they really care about him. He is thriving in a
> regular
> > fifth grade class with a one on one aide. He has spastic quadriplegic cp
> and
> > uses a power chair for mobility. He's bright, verbal and a typical 10 year
> boy
> > in many ways.
> >
> > As far a the expectations of the student,  I would expect the child to do
> > whatever the rest of the class is doing. Since the child is in sixth
> grade, I
> > would let the child tell you when he or she is being pushed too much or be
> > observant of signs of frustration. So often children with disabilities are
> not
> > expected to do much. I would also communicate with the parents on their
> > expectations of the child.
> >
> > I'm glad to hear you have the Intellikeys keyboard. Anthony has been using
> it
> > for years. It's pretty amazing. There are many features that are available
> with
> > the keyboard such as adjusting the required lift off time (amount of time
> to
> > take your fingers off the keyboard) you can turn the repeat off (that's
> useful
> > when a child leaves their fingers on the keyboard for a few seconds after
> > typing) and there are various overlays. There is one that can be used
> instead of
> > a mouse. It's the one with large arrows on it. Anthony prefers to use a
> > microspeed trackball instead of the overlay but it can function as a mouse
> to
> > allow you to move the pointer on the screen.
> >
> > There is also a numbers overlay to be used with math programs. We are
> waiting on
> > the new release of Math Pad plus which is supposed to include fractions
> and
> > decimals. It is scheduled for release in November of this year.
> >
> > There are keyguards available for the keyboard too. That is an acrylic
> overlay
> > that has holes in it to isolates your fingers as you are touching the
> keys. This
> > is good when you are reaching for one key but accidentally hit the one
> next to
> > it. Anthony used it when he was younger and it was very helpful but now he
> is
> > faster on the keyboard without it.
> >
> > Anthony just got Co Writer this year and has limited experience with it. I
> saw a
> > demonstration of it and I was very impressed. For Anthony, we have it set
> at the
> > intermediate level. That programs predicts words based on frequency of
> use, how
> > recently it was used and grammar. You have the ability to add words to the
> > dictionaries. This might be useful for units you may be covering in the
> future
> > that may have words that would not be a part of the standard dictionaries.
> I
> > have high hopes that this program will encourage Anthony with his writing.
> > Typing is tedious for him because his upper body is involved and he tires
> > easily. We still uses dictation when ever needed - he dictates to his aide
> or to
> > me when doing homework. I'd rather see him more independent on the
> computer, but
> > when he gets frustrated or tired, we switch to dictation. You need to
> balance
> > the need for independence and frustration. To me, what's important is
> capturing
> > his thoughts online rather than always focusing on the physical act of
> typing. I
> > know he will never be able to make a living as a typist so I keep that in
> the
> > back of my mind.
> >
> > Also within Co Writer, try experimenting with color combinations for the
> fonts
> > and backgrounds. I believe the book suggests certain colors for certain
> > disabilities. We let Anthony choose his colors. He picked black fonts on a
> green
> > background.
> >
> > My dreams are that voice recognition software will be easier for him to
> use by
> > the time he reaches high school. We've looked at a few programs, but they
> are
> > very cumbersome to use. You need to train the software to learn your
> speech and
> > then correct (edit) all the mistakes it makes as it types what it thinks
> you
> > said on the screen. To use this software, you need to have good editing
> skills.
> > Since Anthony is only 10 years old, he doesn't have the greatest editing
> skills
> > so we are not using this type of software yet.
> >
> > For assistive technology resources in NJ check out the following:
> >
> > www.CaineAssociates.com
> > www.Techconnection.org
> > Lakeview School in Edison.
> >
> > We've used all three and have been please with all of them. Good luck to
> you and
> > your students. Hoep this was helpful.
> >
> > Eve wrote:
> >
> > > Joyce,
> > > Thank you so much for your reply.  I teach 6th grade in New Jersey, and
> > > there is an abundance of support form the district and the parents in
> > > setting up this program. What state are you in?
> > >  We will be using Write:Outloud, and Co Writer, along with IntelliKeys.
> > > Several of the teachers who will be working with my student were in a
> > > training session, and will continue to be trained with the technology
> > > throughout the year.  I have an open line of communication with the
> parents,
> > > and they are extremely supportive of our program.   Some of my question
> is
> > > related to my expectations of this student, because it seems the more I
> > > convey that I expect, the more he pushes himself.  However, I want to be
> > > realistic while setting high expectations.  I also do not his aide to do
> his
> > > work, and "enable" him.
> > > Thanks for any suggestions!
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: Bruce notte <[log in to unmask]>
> > > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > > Sent: Friday, September 29, 2000 8:45 PM
> > > Subject: Re: hello
> > >
> > > > I would love to help you. My son has been using assistive technology
> since
> > > he
> > > > was 18 months old and he is now 10 1/2 and in a regular 5th grade
> class.
> > > Can
> > > > you please tell me what grade you are teaching because the technology
> > > changes
> > > > as children grow. Also knowing what state you are in would be helpful
> in
> > > > referring you to local resources.
> > > >
> > > > You also might want to check with the parents. They could have a
> wealth of
> > > > knowledge. I had to introduce my son's district to to the concept of
> > > > assistive technology. Of course that was 7 years ago and there was
> > > > significant resistance from our district at that time.
> > > >
> > > > Joyce, mother of Anthony
> > > >
> > > > Eve wrote:
> > > >
> > > > >     Hello all!
> > > > > I have just joined this list, as I am a mainstream classroom teacher
> =
> > > > > with two children with Cerebral Palsy in my classroom this year.  I
> am =
> > > > > presently being trained in some assistive technology, and would
> welcome
> > > =
> > > > > any suggestions!