Do It Yourself Directions

School districts and educational agencies are feeling the economic crisis in painful ways.  Doing your own adaption can save valuable resources for other things.  Often times self-adapted items work as well or better than commercial items.

Additionally making adaptions to items can be a create way to build community during a professional development day.  Gather items you may need for adaptions and store in a central location, then you can grab it and get together with colleagues for an afternoon of purposeful fun.

Adaption Toolbox Items

• craft, hot and crazy glue (plus glue gun)
• various kinds of tape
• sticky tack
• scissors
• soldering iron, solder
• notching file
• clamps
• tacks
• brads
• dollar store items (things from the toy, craft, kitchen goods and hardware aisles)
• "junk drawer" items
• allen wrenchs
• screw drivers and screws in all sizes
• hammer and nails in all sizes
• assorted nuts and bolts
• cable ties
• velcro
• goo gone (or similar)
• disinfectingwipes/alcohol based sanitizer
• x-acto knife or similar
• sandpaper
• staples and stapler/staple gun
• foam core board
• contact paper
• epoxy
• switch componets, wire, speakers, assorted electronics
• PVC Pipe
• Triwall Cardboard
• Loc-Line
• first aid kit
  

Here are directions to make various adaptations for your students.

School Tools

• Adapted Glue Stick Holder
• Pencil Holder
• Crayon/Marker Holder 
• Milk Jug Marker Holder 
• PVC Protected Object Display
• The PVC Book (multiple projects) 
• PVC Book Stand 
• Versatile PVC Easel 
• Adapt a Sponge Stamp 

Activities of Daily Living

• Button Hook/Zipper Pull
• Dressing Stick
• Grocery Bag Holder
• The PVC Book (multiple projects) 
• Switch Adapted Talking Alarm Clock

Augmentative and Alternative Communication

• Cutting Board Communication Board
• Table Top Symbol Display
• Talking Picture Frame Switch 
• Talking Picture Frame Switch with Stand
  
• Voice Output Box
• PVC Slantboard
• PVC Eye Gaze Frame

Switches/Switch Accessible

• Build a Switch from a CD
• Aluminum Foil Switch
• Battery Interrupter
• No Solder Battery Interrupter
• Tap Light Switch
• Mouse House 
• Switch Adapted Mouse
• Illuminated Switch
• Loc-Line Switch Mount
• Talking Picture Frame Switch 
• Talking Picture Frame Switch with Stand
• Voice Output Box
• Make a Switch Out of BBQ Tongs
• Soft Switch Instructions
• The PVC Book (multiple projects) 

Leisure/Play

• Let's Play Adapting Toys Booklet (multiple projects)
• Keeping Toys within Reach Booklet
• Ring Mouse Helper
• CD Case Card Holder
• Switch Operated Spin Art Machine
• Turn Your Spin Art Machine into a Switch Operated Game Spinner
• Switch Adapted Game Spinner from a Personal Fan
• Switch Operated Camera
• Action Figure Grip
• Switch Adapt Toys
• Card Holder
• Adapting Puzzles

Academic Helpers

• Reading Overlay Helper
• Page Fluffers 

CVI Interventions

• Make a Portable Lightbox

Helpful Information

• The Basic Guide to Soldering

Music Therapy and AT/AAC

The above presentation is designed for Pre-practice Music Therapists.

What should I get for my new room?

I have a feeling I have answered this before, so fogive me, but I have been e-mailed a couple of times recently by new teachers or teachers changing to a new population asking what they should ask for as the building blocks of adapted devices/assistive technology for their new classroom of learners with severe or multiple disabilities.

Although the specifics will vary depending on the age group, the budget, the computers and other educational technology available in the room and other variables here are the items I would ask for:

• switches at the very least a Big Red and/or a Jelly Bean and possibly a wobble switch such as the Ultimate Switch or if you wish the Jelly Beamer Switch eliminates wires.
  
• switch mounts if your population with need them such as the Universal Mounting Arm
• Boardmaker Plus is the one piece of software that you MUST have in the intensive/severe special education classroom, it can be used for everything from printing out picture symbols and board, to creating interactive books and curriculum to sharing everything you can think of on Adapted Learning
• Classroom Suite is the next must have and with the exception of printing symbol/boards it does everything Boardmaker Plus does and then some
• Choose It Maker is another piece of software to consider
  
• a sequenced voice out put switch such as the Little Step-by-Step
• a two choice voice out put device such as the iTalk2
• a switch interface to attach a switch to the computer such as the Don Johnston Switch Interface Pro or the new Ablenet Hitch
• A Powerlink or similar device to allow students to use a switch to control small appliances like blenders and radios
  
• battery operated switch scissors make cutting possible for switch users
  
• a pouring cup on a flew mount can be used for everything from watering plants, to cooking, to pouring paint to mixing solutions in science and is a must have in most room and many teachers don't even know it
• battery adapters and a notching file to adapt any battery adapted item yourself
  

Note: try using the search feature to search this blog for ways to use any of these items.

Other fun things to consider:

• the Webber Functional Communication Game gets TONS of use in our classroom (I won it as a door prize at a conference a couple of years ago and it is one of my most prized possesions)
• All About Me, All About You and Yes or No also get lots of use (although I often re-word questions based on the student to allow them to be answered using a particular communication system)
  

Some friendly advice:
Make sure you know the warranty and repair policies of the companies you are ordering from as well as their reputation for making durable products:

• Ablenet Warrenty and Repair Info
• Enabling Devices Warrenty and Repair Info

Also keep in mind pretty much every AT company require a return authorization number for returns or repairs - so call first!

Running Programs from a Flash Drive

One of the challenges of working with technology in a school system is that you often don't have "administrative" privileges on computers to run or install software and because software that is vital to our classrooms is often not vital to the rest of the school we have come up with creative solutions.

One solution is to run smaller and somewhat simple programs from a flash drive, thus altogether avoiding the need to install programs to a computer. This isn't easy because most software isn't designed to be run from a flash drive.

One solution (and this is likely one of many and it only works on Windows) is to use a flash drive with a U3 system (like the SanDisk drives). U3 is an operating system that allows programs to run directly from the flash drive. However programs must be converted to work with U3 and as you can imagine many of the programs we find useful with our students are not available in u3 compliant format.

Luckily there is some free software that can convert (smaller, simplier) programs to be U3 compliant. It is called Package Factory. To make everything even better their is a tutorial on Techbytes. I spent a couple hours trying to convert two programs over the weekend and today at school one of them worked instantly running off the drive. The other one... well I am not sure I can make it happen but I will give it a try soon.

I haven't tried all of the programs below, but they might be worth a shot:

• Switch It Player
• Power Point Viewer
• Watling View Switch Games
• HiYah Activities

Also I did get the Classroom Suite Viewer that comes with News-2-You membership (and with Aimee Solutions Programs) to work.

Voice Amplifiers

Voice amplifiers are sometime the perfect moderate tech solution for learners who have soft or somewhat unclear voices. They can also be the prefect motivational tool for learner with low verbal abilities or help learners with hearing impairment with articulation. Here are some links to voice amplifiers:

• Chattervox (I have used this with many students)
  
• Voicewave Speech Enhancer (clarifies voice as well as amplifies)
• Luminaud (sells an assortment of voice amplifiers)
• Saltillo (sells an assortment of voice amplifiers)

Voicewave and Luminaud have funding advice/assistance.

One tip, get the behind-the-neck microphone it is the most comfortable and works the best.