Mackenzie R.

Jeffery
ISE 340: Assistive Technologies
Fall 2018
Assistive Technology Plan

Student Background:

John Paul is a first-grade student who enjoys working hard and wants to please his teachers. He

is a student diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in a first-grade general education classroom.

John Paul struggles to be attentive and complete writing at grade level. He is developmentally

typical in his gross motor skills. He has a fine motor delay which causes him to struggle with

handwriting. His cognitive functioning shows signs of delay due to his attention deficit. His

social/emotional development is typical, and he is very empathetic to peers and his family

members. John Paul’s language skills are delayed due to his Fetal Alcohol Diagnosis. John Paul

is independent when using the restroom and completing other self-help skills, but he shows some

signs in fine motor delay and cannot independently zip his coat.

Describe strengths and weaknesses/challenges in the five domains of whole child:

• Cognitive: John Paul lacks foundational reading skills necessary for first grade.

He also struggles to stay on task due to his low attention span and ability to be

attentive to his work.

• Social/Emotional: John Paul is socially active and emotionally responsive to his

peers. He is very helpful and responsive to his parents, particularly in relation to

his younger sibling.

• Physical (Gross/Fine Motor): John Paul struggles with fine motor skills, which

impact his ability to write at a first-grade level. John Paul does not struggle with

gross motor skills, he is developing typically with his gross motor skills.
 • Language (Expressive/Receptive): John Paul is verbally expressive with his needs

and emotions but lacks the ability to express himself in written language due to

his attention span difficulties and fine motor delay. John Paul struggles to be

receptive to verbal or written language. He lacks the ability to be receptive to

verbal language because he has an attention deficit, and he struggles to be

receptive to written language due to his cognitive delay associated with his

diagnosis.

• Adaptive (Self-Help): John Paul is able to independently use the restroom, wash

his hands, open get snack containers to eat, get a drink from his water bottle, set

up his lunch, and put his coat on. John Paul struggles to zip and unzip his coat but

is able to zip his pants after using the restroom independently. John Paul’s

struggle to zip his coat is due to his fine motor delay.

Areas of strength and need:

Strengths:

• John Paul is verbally expressive and enjoys working hard for his teacher; he aims

to please and thrives when he is given positive feedback.

Need:

• John Paul struggles with fine motor skills such as writing, and an attention deficit

that causes him to be inattentive to receptive language. John Paul also struggles to

read due to a cognitive delay associated with his Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

diagnosis.

Based on what you state above- summarize Areas of Need:

 John Paul needs to be able to write his name and complete first grade writing

assignments. He also needs to be able to focus on his teacher’s instructions rather than get

distracted by his peers.

Family input: The family is supportive of using whatever AT necessary to help John Paul

succeed at school but believes that it is the school’s job to help him – therefore he will not use

AT at home for homework.

Rationale statement for AT:. John Paul’s ability to expressively communicate allows his

teachers to understand his frustration with his writing skills on a personal level. John Paul needs

AT to help him communicate in writing so that his verbal expression is not negatively impacted

by his fine motor delay. John Paul also is a hard worker who wants to please his teacher, and his

fine motor delay as well as his attention deficit negatively impact his ability to succeed. This is a

negative impact on his social emotional skills as well as his adaptive skills. He could benefit

from a pencil grip and raised line paper for his fine motor delay. He also could possibly benefit

from a microphone on his teacher to help him focus during class instruction.

Current AT tool: John Paul does not currently have assistive technologies in place. A Universal

Design for Learning barrier to the current use of AT is that it is not being used and John Paul

does not have the ability to participate equally in the classroom.

Goal and Process:

John Paul will be able to write first grade level writing assignments and listen to directions from

a teacher in 4/5 trials over a one-month period.

At tool: John Paul can be evaluated by his IEP team for AT qualifications and progress will be

monitored by his Intervention Specialist as well as his General Education Teacher. John Paul’s
family provides input on his progress when necessary but agree that John Paul should be

evaluated and given a trial period for any AT that would help him succeed.

An AT tool for John Paul’s handwriting skills is low-AT pencil grips. These pencil grips can be

implemented at school and are easily transported home for homework use. These grips also

would not require parental assistance, as they do not feel required to implement AT at home.

https://www.especialneeds.com/shop/daily-living-aids/handwriting/grips-holders.html

AT strategies:
Strategy 1) Pencil grips and raised line paper:
Edyburn, D. L. (2017). Assistive Technology and Students with Mild Disabilities. Focus on
Exceptional Children, 32(9). doi:10.17161/fec.v32i9.6776
Strategy 2) Microphone use to amplify teaching instruction to improve attention skills and on-
task behavior:
Cornwell S, & Evans CJ. (2001). The effects of sound-field amplification on attending
behaviours. Journal of Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology, 25(3), 135–144. Retrieved
from http://wa.opal-
libraries.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=1069
23467&site=eds-live
Letter to parents ( 1-2 paragraphs)
Dear Parents of John Paul,
My name is Mackenzie Jeffery, and I am John Paul’s tutor and intervention provider during
school hours. I would like to present ideas for Assistive Technology (AT) tools to assist John
Paul in his handwriting and attention skills. John Paul works very hard and is proud of his
accomplishments in school; however, he struggles to complete writing assignments in school due
to his delay in fine motor skills. John Paul also wants to be successful in school but lacks the
ability to listen and stay on-task during at moments throughout the school day. To assist him in
his handwriting, I would like to suggest the idea of pencil grips and raised line paper. To assist
him during the school day so that he is able to listen and follow directions, I suggest the use of
microphone in the classroom. In the process of evaluation for AT and implementation in the
school and at home, I encourage members of John Paul’s family to provide suggestions and
feedback whenever possible. I plan to meet with your family and John Paul’s IEP team to discuss
all possible options to provide him with the best support in school and at home. If you have any
questions please reach me at mjeffery1@walsh.edu
Sincerely.
Ms. Mackenzie R. Jeffery
Walsh University Division of Education