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!