Assistive technology benefits

For those that provide services to individuals with Down syndrome, there are increasing

computer options. There is always a need to evolve the teaching strategies so there is a lot to

consider. Computers and communication aids are tools that can be used to meet these needs.

Down syndrome individuals work to get effective communication skills and thereby meeting

their basic needs in developing self dependency, having a social life and having an education.

Education technology tools can help those with Down syndrome achieve and perform

communication behaviors’ that are challenging to them.

Some of the skills achievable with the use of assistive technology (AT) tools are:

- Gaining social relationships with others

- Grasping sentences that are longer

- Use combinations of words to create longer sentences

- Being able to express themselves with alternative words and sentences

- Using symbols (i.e., words) to express themselves

- Elaborating on thinking skills in relation to communication

A main aim for those with Down syndrome is for them to be able to express themselves and

chat about their interests and any experiences that were either in the past, future or how they

presently feeling by using symbols (i.e., words) that others may understand. Assistive devices

can assist children with Down syndrome to express themselves better.

The role of computers and communication aids

Communication aids and assistive technology devices can assist in 2 primary ways.

Technology in education that involves activities with instructions where the technology helps

the child better express themselves. As educational technology, the AT tools are not meant as

a replacement for teaching but rather an extra aid. These may be part of a more

comprehensive teaching pack that includes role-playing, discussion groups, and hands on

learning experience. As assistive technology, communication aids help extend and enhance

the skills that a person may already have. It may be a temporary or lifelong communication

device. An example is that older children with Down syndrome with more limited speech can

use a speech output technology to converse on the telephone where the computer assists the

person to talk.

Features of computers for educating children with Down syndrome

There has been identification by educators that motivation of the use of technology in

education as positive contributions to learning. The animations, pictures and sound features

help stimulate a child’s interest in discovering and exploring. Other characteristics that support

with language or learning problems are:

- The knowledge that the person can have an effect on their surrounding which in turn

helps with self confidence.

- The computer repeats positive feedback on actions

- The computer is forgiving and never impatient

- The children can go at their own pace

Intervention teams should investigate options when considering computers for teaching

communication. There is a focus on pronunciation, volume and speed of talking. Here

language skills involve learning to use words to articulate ideas. The software used is often of

high interest, with sounds and music that stimulate. The software can even permit the user to

choose and create their own new story through pre programmed stories. There may be plenty

of variations on words to request items, pose questions and comments. The effectiveness

however lies mostly with the person providing education. Software programs can have specific

features that can promote communication skills, namely:

- Highlighting and bringing attention to a important message on the screen

- Animation

- Specific pictures that help achieve the task

- Presenting one idea per display

- Immediate feedback

For those with cognitive impairment, speech output is another useful feature. These are

normally pre programmed messages that instruct them in a clear and concise manner. Speech

output assist in describing and labeling actions and objects on the screen, this information

helps the child’s earlier understanding of words and what they mean making technology in

the classroom a useful tool.

Features of communication aids

Communication aids or augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems include

methods that are unaided (examples are pantomime, gestures, American Sign Languages) as

well as aided methods of communication. Low-technology communication aids are books,

communication boards and wallets. The individual with Down syndrome expresses themselves

by indicating on the screen. The person receiving the communication should be near during

the conversation. High-technology aids have typically speech and voice output and are

normally portable and can be attachable to a person’s wheelchair. The child chooses symbols

and the symbols are output in speech. Symbols are on both high and low technology aids to

represent ideas and thoughts that a person wants to convey. The primary focus of using

speech remains paramount for children with Down syndrome.

“Reports from parents and instructors show the positive effect of the use of communication

aids on a Down syndrome child’s ability to recognize a word by sight and to understand the

relationship between the letters and its sounds. “

Here is a summary of the assistive technology devices symbol features that support language

learning:

Symbols are visual: The symbols are simple to understand and concrete. They consist of real

objects, photographs and line drawings. Visual learning is thought to be better then verbal

learning for children with Down syndrome it is thought by researches. Given that middle ear

infections and hearing loss are frequent with children with Down syndrome, the extra visual

information seems more relevant. The educators can supplement their speech by referring to

the symbols.

Symbols are permanent: The characteristic of the symbols being constant giving the child

more time to think about the associated meanings with the symbol and when wanting to

express an idea, they do not need to try remember which symbol to reference, they only have

to quickly recognize it. The recognition requires less thinking and memory skills then does

recalling. Here expressing ideas became less taxing than expressing using other forms of

communication like speech or the sounds associated with a particular word.

Symbols that are easy to recognize: The symbols used look like objects, actions and people

they represent. Its close physical resemblance (iconicity), aims at reducing the time the child

needs to learn the symbol and start using them. Because the symbols are iconic the people

interacting with the user can quickly understand or guess the meaning further facilitating the

communication. This all aims to move communication to a less restrictive and natural means.

Low-technology systems can help with face to face communication and the high-technology

for speech output in group chat activities for example.

Limited motor skills required for communication: Both low and high technology aids require

the child to use a desired a symbol for communication. For the majority of Down syndrome

children this means pointing to a symbol. Depending on the child’s need, the symbols size can

be adjusted. No significant use of motor coordination or strength is required.

Easy to construct cheap disability aids: Newer technology is making it easier for

communication board displays to be constructed. Once the displays are created, they can be

saved to disk. In the event of something happening to the communication aid, the

communication board can now easily be retrieved and printed, this making it easier for

teachers to incorporate this into their teaching programs. In this manner cheap disability aids

are a form of technology in the classroom that is quickly gaining popularity as technology in

education is becoming more accessible.

The support of early reading skills: There is normally a word above the symbol with a clear

pronunciation of the word which in turn can aid in reading skills.

How AT assists communication

There are several aspects that Down syndrome children struggle to master in regards to

speech, learning words and understanding words. Each child can be assessed by an

intervention team and primary areas of communication development can be targeted. Here

are a few typical difficulty areas for Down syndrome children and how assistive technology

along with appropriate teaching, can be used.

The support of thinking skills through educational technology

Due to cognitive impairment children with Down syndrome have difficulties with

understanding basic ideas in regards to language learning like sequencing skills, classifications,

categorization skills and cause-and-effect relationships. Without knowledge of cause-and-

effect relationships, the individual will have difficulty in understanding how the use of words

can help them get what they need. Through play and activities an intervention team will

stimulate a child’s understanding of cause-and-effect. There is also software that action results

in outcomes. Educational technology and adaptive input devices are often needed for children

with thinking or motor impairments. With the right input device the child can better focus on

learning. Here are a few typical examples of adaptive inputs for individuals that have cognitive

impairments:

Touch Window. A window that is placed on the computers monitor that on touching it, it

activates the computer.

Touch pad. This is a large area where there may be pictures and the user can activate the

computer by touch.

Alternative keyboard. These are keyboards of different sizes that can be adjusted by changing

the keys and the labels on the keys.

Single switches. By touching it, it activates software.

The cause –and –effect action is well demonstrated here with the touch screens.

Prompt-free instruction strategies are found to be a helpful approach where there are no

verbal, prompts or cues, where the child’s actions, whether purposely or accidentally will

highlight the idea of being taught via the use of this educational technology. An example of

using this strategy to demonstrate cause-and effect is when a large touch window is placed

near to the child’s hand. Due to its proximity to the hand, it will likely be touched and the

picture on the screen will change. After a while the team may set it up so that a more

purposeful and intentional action is required. Here in this example the input method can be

changed from the touch screen to a key on the keyboard. The child’s aim is now to activate the

key hence showing this action will affect the picture being shown. Throughout this experience

the instructors refrain from giving away any verbal prompts at all with the desired aim for the

child to be directing their own learning and functioning independently.

Learning to use symbols

The use of spoken words by Down syndrome children is slow normally, and teams will notice

that the child may have acquired fewer words then other children. Here aided and unaided

methods of AAC are options for developing the child’s communication. The use of visuals

significantly reduces the challenges to memory and the motor system that are important

aspects lacking in a child with Down syndrome. There are several training approaches that are

helpful in introducing children to symbols. A child may for example observe others using the

symbols for communicating within activities. Here imitation is a good strategy as children

normally imitate other children. While speaking the instructor points to the related object. It is

at times suggested to use short, grammatically complete sentences while instructing. Speaking

slowly and avoiding direct questions and the use of activities that are familiar and playful are

encouraged for those children that are cognitively young. Here children lacking in hearing loss,

attention problems or slower thinking skills, will benefit the most. At times various choices can

be offered, for example where a child is asked if they want A or to do B where the questioned

is structured in a manner designed to have a specific answer. The aim of the structured

strategy is to get the child to use one of their symbols. This technique is called environment

engineering.

“The kind of assistive technology or communication aid is determined based on factors like a

need for a voice, number of required messages and portability.”

Alternative Methods to Express Ideas when speech is difficult

Children with Down syndrome may at time when their speech is not comprehensive, use

alternative methods. Here both low and high-technology can be beneficial. The investigation

team while investigating assistive technology must assess the child’s ability to express and

communicate in real life settings like in a classroom and see how educational technology can

assist. The surrounding family can indicate what words and phrases the person is having

difficulty with. In some situations the difficulty may not be so obvious and more direct

observation is needed in different situations. Here the observer notes the type of thing

wanting to be expressed, what is trying to be said, and the success of what is trying to be

achieved. Later on the investigating team will help the Down syndrome child with what

symbols would have best been appropriate. The kind of assistive technology or

communication aid is determined based on factors like a need for a voice, number of required

messages and portability.

Written by AssistiveMart