Using Technology to Support Social Competence

Social competence includes a complex set of skills that impacts quality of life across all environments: home, school, employment, and the community. Elements that impact social competence, such as theory of mind, weak central coherence, regulation and relationship building, must be taught to individuals with disabilities, including those with autism spectrum disorder. Evidence-based interventions that incorporate low, medium and high technology have the potential to support skill development in social competence in a meaningful manner. This chapter reviews the concept known as social competence and offers a variety of practices to support its development.

Dissemination of Assistive Technology Devices for Children with Disabilities through Realabilities

Over the last decade, vast research has been conducted on assistive technology devices and the potential implementation of these devices in the daily lives of individuals with disabilities. Many devices are new to the public and may require further development, but it is important to disseminate information about these useful technologies, which often afford users more independence with their activities of daily living. Unfortunately individuals with disabilities often encounter stigma; research suggests that assistive technology devices may at times contribute to this ostracism. This chapter reviews a variety of technologies that have been used to improve the quality of life of individuals with varying disabilities. These devices are presented in the context of introducing a new children's television show, Realabilities, a pro-social and stop-bullying children's television program that seeks to enhance the social interaction and initiation of typical children towards children with disabilities. Directions for future research and implementation of these devices are also discussed.

Improving Students' Academic Learning by Helping Them Access Text

Conventional methods of addressing the needs of students with print disabilities include text-to-speech services. One major drawback of text-to-speech technologies is that computerized speech simply articulates the same words in a text whereas human voice can convey emotions such as excitement, sadness, fear, or joy. Audiobooks have human narration, but are designed for entertainment and not for teaching word identification, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension to students. This chapter focuses on the 3-year pilot of CRISKids; all CRIS recordings feature human narration. The pilot demonstrated that students who feel competent in their reading and class work tend to be more engaged in classroom routines, spend more time on task and demonstrate greater comprehension of written materials. When more demonstrate these behaviors and skills, teachers are better able to provide meaningful instruction, since less time is spent on issues of classroom management and redirection. Thus, CRISKids impacts not only the students with print disabilities, but all of the students in the classroom.

The Use of Mobile Technologies for Students At-Risk or Identified with Behavioral Disorders within School-Based Contexts

Students at-risk or identified with behavioral disorders often present complex challenges to educators. The purpose of this chapter is to: (a) highlight the benefits and challenges of using mobile technologies within school-based contexts; (b) provide a brief overview of the contemporary research regarding the use of mobile devices for improving the outcomes of students with behavioral disorders within schools; and (c) offer essential techniques, methods, and ideas for improving instruction and management for students with behavioral difficulties via mobile technologies. Taken together, the intent is to call attention to the evidence that supports the use of mobile technologies for students who are at-risk or identified with behavioral disorders in schools, raise awareness of those strategies that appear to be the most effective for such students and assist service providers in providing accountable education.

Telehealth Technology and Pediatric Feeding Disorders

Ongoing advances in technology have provided a platform to extend the accessibility of services for children with developmental disabilities across locations, languages and the socioeconomic continuum. Teletherapy, the use of video-conferencing technology to deliver therapy services, is changing the face of healthcare by providing face-to-face interactions among specialists, parents and children. The current literature has demonstrated success in utilizing teletherapy as a modality for speech-language intervention and for social-behavioral management, while research on feeding therapy remains scarce. The current chapter discusses the prevalence of feeding disorders among infants, toddlers and children with developmental disorders. Using evidence from the current literature, a rationale for the utilization of teletherapy as a means of feeding therapy is presented.

Avatars, Humanoids, and the Changing Landscape of Assessment and Intervention for Individuals with Disabilities across the Lifespan

In recent years, there has been a burgeoning field of research on the applications of virtual reality and robots for children, adolescents, and adults with a wide range of developmental disabilities. The influx of multidisciplinary collaborations among developmental psychologists and computer scientists, as well as the increasing accessibility of interactive technologies, has created a need to equip potential users with the information they need to make informed decisions about using virtual reality and robots. This chapter aims to 1) provide parents, professionals, and individuals with developmental disabilities with an overview of the literature on virtual reality and robot interventions in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood; and to 2) address overarching questions pertaining to utilizing virtual reality and robots. This chapter will shed light on the far-reaching potential for interactive technologies to transform therapeutic, educational, and assessment contexts, while also highlighting limitations and suggesting directions for future research.

Using iPads and Mobile Technology for Children with Developmental Disabilities

With increasing access to iPads and mobile technology in both home and school settings, evidence regarding how best to use this technology to enhance language and literacy learning is lacking, particularly for children with developmental disabilities. As a comprehensive review, this chapter discusses the use of iPads and mobile technology in the language and literacy development of this population. It concludes that while iPads and mobile technology provide opportunities for language and literacy development, the inherent challenges and limitations of this technology warrant attention from parents, educators and speech-language pathologists. iPads and mobile technology may be a valuable accelerator for the language and literacy development of children with developmental disabilities if used properly; however, improper or careless usage can become a distraction that further delays the communication development of this population.

Implementing iPad and Mobile Technologies for Students with Intellectual Disabilities

This book chapter describes implementation implications of using the iPad and other mobile technologies with students (birth to adult) with intellectual disabilities. iPad and other mobile technologies offer many built-in features which facilitate their use for students with disabilities, particularly students with Intellectual Disabilities (ID). This chapter details ways that mobile technology can be used to make school and other environments (e.g., home, social) more accessible to students with ID. The theoretical framework underpinning this chapter is Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and it is applied to research-based practices for students with ID. This forms a solid base from which to examine: (a) available mobile applications (apps), (b) how apps can be used to support students with ID in accessing the curriculum, and (c) how teachers can use a framework to review and choose apps for their students.

Assistive Technologies at the Edge of Language and Speech Science for Children with Communication Disorders

About two million individuals in the United States use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices with text-to-speech (TTS) synthesis to speak on their behalf. In this chapter, two specific systems are introduced and evaluated as potentially significant emerging tools for children with communication disorders. The VocalIDTM project was developed to provide unique voices for children who otherwise speak through standard adult voices. Free SpeechTM is an image-based system designed to address grammatical concepts perceived as abstract by children with language disorders. This chapter also reviews the latest developments in electropalatography (EPG): biofeedback technology, which enables the visualization of tongue to palate contact during speech production. SmartPalateTM has developed cutting-edge hardware and software technology to make EPG more intuitive and more accessible in the therapy room and at home.

Microswitch-Based Programs (MBP) to Promote Communication, Occupation, and Leisure Skills for Children with Multiple Disabilities

This chapter provides a literature overview concerning microswitch-based programs (MBP) to promote communication, occupation and leisure skills for children with multiple disabilities. The first aim of the chapter is to present an overview of the empirical studies about the use of MBP, published in the last decade (i.e. period from 2004 to 2014) to emphasize the most recent strategies for children with developmental disabilities, providing a general picture of the different options available. The second goal is to underline strengths and weaknesses of the various studies included in the overview. Finally, the third purpose is to outline issues and questions to be addressed in the future and discuss their implications for research and practice.