Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities

This article provides a rationale for educators to use multimedia computer technologies to create individualized computer-based instructional materials for students with autism. Software design guidelines based on empirical research are presented along with a detailed description of two multimedia authoring systems for educators.

Speech recognition technology has been used extensively to enhance the performance of persons without disabilities. In general, speech input has proven helpful whenever optimal task performance requires the intensive coordination of the user's hands and eyes. For many people with disabilities, alternate access to computers through speech recognition technology holds the promise of lessening their dependence on others and promoting the development of their adaptive abilities. In this article, the importance of alternate access for persons with disabilities and the ways in which speech recognition technology has been used to accomplish this goal are discussed. Illustrative studies of the use of speech recognition by persons with disabilities are reviewed, and implications for the effective application of this technology are described.

This article discusses a home-centered approach to the use of assistive technology. A home-centered approach essentially addresses two questions: (a) How can assistive technology interventions for children with disabilities be implemented successfully in the home environment? and (b) How can the family system be considered in the use of assistive technology in the home environment? This article helps answer these questions by reviewing the literature in two encompassing areas: children's home environments and self-determination, and family systems and assistive technology. The first area examines the home as the primary learning environment for children and how the home environment can contribute to the development of skills. The second area discusses how family culture, resources, interactions, and goals for the future must be considered if assistive technology is to be susccessful in the home environment. The article provides a discussion of suggestions for working with families in the process of identifying and providing assistive technologies for young children in the home environment.

Play forms an important foundation for the development of skills in all children. Unfortunately, for infants and children with disabilities, real play may be absent or diminished, replaced by therapies and/or special instruction. Infants and young children with disabilities experience barriers to play that are created by the nature of their disability. Parents of these children may feel they do not have time to play, given the demands of intervention and education. Alternatively, they may not know how to facilitate play with a child with a disability. Assistive technology has the potential to open up play options to children with disabilities and their parents, if our “definition” of assistive technology is broadened. This article examiness “low-tech” assistive technology options addressing positioning, communication, learning, mobility, and self-care barriers. A discussion of the combination of low-tech assistive technology with high-tech assistive technology is presented with a case example. Finally, policy issues that interfere with the ability to include low- and high-tech assistive technology in early intervention are addressed, and recommendations for overcoming these barriers are considered.

The article summarizes a set of findings related to themes that Macomb Project staff have repeatedly observed in more than 15 years of research and model demonstration computer application services to young children with disabilities, their families, and service delivery staff. The themes are related to conditions necessary to ensure successful technology outcomes for children, including staff training, administrative support, technology assessments, appropriate early childhood curricula, family invovlement, and transition. Positive outcomes for children are discussed, including social interaction, communication, retention of skills related to technology use, technology tools, and inclusion.

Teachers of young children with disabilities are being exposed to computer technologies more and more frequently, yet many basic questions about their effectiveness remain unanswered. A recent study examined software features that are typically used in commercially available programs. Using a series of alternating treatment design experiments, individual features were compared for their effect on engagement, affect, and choice. Data from 48 experiments suggest that children prefer programs with higher interaction requirements, and those that use animation, sound, and voice features.