Research Summaries

Assistive Technology Devices:

1) http://www.newhorizons.org/spneeds/inclusion/teaching/kahn.htm

This website is titled Assistive Technology for Children with Cerebral Palsy: Augmentation Communication Devices. This website provides information on the symptoms of cerebral palsy and outcomes of having cerebral palsy such as having seizures, mental disabilities, auditory problems, visual problems, and communication problems.
Augmentative Communication Devices are devices that help individuals communicate more easily and effectively. This website provides several examples of communication devices individuals may use. For instance, a picture board, board maker/communication board, and speech synthesizers are all examples that can be used with individuals with cerebral palsy.


2) http://www.computers-technology-cerebralpalsy.com/cerebral-palsy-communication.html

This website is titled Cerebral Palsy and Technology. This website can take the viewers to several sections to technology. There are three sections to this website. The first section is on communication and technology. In this section, the viewers can find information on communication devices from low tech to high tech devices. The second section is on mobility and technology. In this section, the viewers can find information on mobility devices such as self-propelled walkers, manually or electrically powered wheelchairs, and powered recreational vehicles like bikes and scooters. Lastly, the third section is on links to other informational websites on assistive technology and cerebral palsy.


3) http://www.cerebralpalsysource.com/About_CP/assistive-technology/index.html

This website is titled Cerebral Palsy Source. This website provides information on cerebral palsy and assistive technology. Just like other websites, this website provides information on low tech and high tech devices for communication, mobility, auditory, and visual.
What is different about this website compared to other websites listed, this website also provides information on treatment and therapy for cerebral palsy, types of cerebral palsy, news, articles, and resources for people with cerebral palsy.

4) http://www.rehabtool.com/

This website is titled Rehabtools.com. This website provides information on assistive technology for all people with disabilities. This website provides information on a variety of high tech devices for communication, computer access equipment, and builds custom software solutions for children and adults with disabilities. Not only does this website provide information on different assistive technology devices, but this website also allows individuals to search for assistive technology products and provides listing of vendors that carry these devices.
This website is also very useful to search for news or updates on assistive technology, and also provides support groups or online communities that assist in finding devices that match the individual’s needs.

5)http://www.technologyawards.org/assistive_technology/Assistive_Technology_and_disabled_children.html

This website is titled Assistive Technology and Disabled Children. This website is different than other previous websites. At this website, the viewers can read through articles in regards to assistive technology. There are several sections that discuss technology. For instance, there are five sections that discuss information on technology such as SEO technology, information technology, computer technology, future technology, and assistive technology. Viewers can find assistive technology devices for disabled children under the section of assistive technology. In this section, the viewers can find several articles on assistive technology and special education, assistive technology and in the kitchen, and assistive technology at home.

Assistive Technology Organizations:

1) http://www.ucp.org/

This website is titled United Cerebral Palsy. At this website, parents and children can find information on cerebral palsy. According to the website, United Cerebral Palsy is a pivotal advocate for the rights of persons with any disability. Furthermore, the website continues on stating that United Cerebral Palsy is one of the largest health charities in America. This organization does support individuals with cerebral palsy, but also supports all individuals with any disabilities. At this website, viewers can navigate information on news, events, and topics related to cerebral palsy.


2) http://www.cerebralpalsy.org/

This website is titled 4MYCHILD. This is an organization that provides all families of children of special needs with Help and Hope for Life. There are specialists in this organization that help provide answers, support, and care for families of children with cerebral palsy. The specialists provide help in assistance to purchase high tech devices, get access to legal services, determining whether the child is entitled to financial support from the government, and access to current medication, medical care, and therapy for families of children with cerebral palsy.
Doctors, teachers, nurses, therapists, and government agencies refer many families to this website. This website provides plenty of information on cerebral palsy and other disabilities.

3) http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/cerebral_palsy/org_cerebral_palsy.htm

This website is titled National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: Cerebral Palsy Organizations. Although this website is not like previous websites where it provides information on cerebral palsy, it does provide information on the types of organizations that support individuals with cerebral palsy.
The types of organizations that were provided were United Cerebral Palsy, March of Dimes Foundation, Children’s Neurobiological Solutions Foundation, and Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation. What is nice about this website is that the organizations provide information such as address and telephone number for anyone to get in contact with the organizations. Not only does this website provide information on cerebral palsy organizations, but the website also provides information from disorders beginning with A and ending with Z.

4) http://www.cpfoundation.com.au/

The website is titled Cerebral Palsy Foundation. Cerebral Palsy Foundation’s mission is to prevent and cure cerebral palsy. The goals of this foundation is to provide enough funding for research, expanding a grant’s program, encouraging researchers to study cerebral palsy, and to build partnership. For this foundation, they have seven major supporters, 11 supporters, and 5 media supporters. This foundation has a donation section where viewers can donate to Cerebral Palsy Foundation. The foundation’s main goal is to raise over $500 million dollars a year for research.

5) http://www.resource4cerebralpalsy.com/topics/organizations.html

The website is titled Resource 4 Cerebral Palsy. Although this website is not an organization, there is a section provided on this website that lists several organizations related to cerebral palsy. There are four organizations that relate to cerebral palsy. The four organizations are United Cerebral Palsy, Easter Seals, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, and Epilepsy Foundation.
Besides providing organizations supporting cerebral palsy, this website also includes information on what is cerebral palsy, the causes, the symptoms, the diagnosis, the screening, treatment, the types of cerebral palsy, and medical resources for cerebral palsy. Because there are so many individuals diagnosed with cerebral palsy every year, there is plenty of information on the world wide web to inform, educate, and make aware to the world.

Assistive Technology and Cerebral Palsy Research Articles:

1) Dyal, A., Carpenter, L.B., & V. Wright, J. (Spring, 2009). Assistive Technology: What Every School Leader Should Know. Education, 129 (3), 556-560.

For students with disabilities, assistive technology devices and services allow the students to access the general education curriculum for social, academic, and extracurricular activities such as sports, music, or art. The article provides information to teachers and administrators the benefits of accessing assistive technology devices for students with disabilities.

2) Smith D, Kelley P, Maushak N, Griffin-Shirley N, & Lan W. (August,2009). Assistive Technology Competencies for Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 103(8), 457-469.

This article is about the challenges teachers of students with visual impairments have with assistive technology. According to the article, many studies have been done and all studies state that teachers feel they are incompetent when it comes to learning assistive technology devices. Many of the devices visually impaired students have cannot be accessed due to the lack of knowledge and experience of the teachers accessing these types of devices. Therefore, the authors asked a very important question in their study. The pertinent question they wanted answers for is which barriers are creating these deficiencies in teachers’ knowledge of accessing assistive technology devices? The result of the study was the development of a highly reliable and valid set of 111 assistive technology competencies.

3) Kelley, S. M. (August, 2009). Use of Assistive Technology by Students with Visual Impairments: Findings from a National Survey. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 103 (8), 470-480.

This study examined the use of assistive technology by students who are visually impaired. A national survey was completed for the sake of this article. The survey found that majority of the students that are visually impaired did not use assistive technology device (high tech). Because of this conclusion, the authors wanted to investigate the reasons why assistive technology devices were not being used, implications for intervention and potential changes in policy or practice was being investigated for the purpose of this study. The result of the study shows that with exposure and experience to assistive technology, students are eager and obedient to learn. Majority of the students that were exposed to assistive technology in this study used their high tech devices.

4) Supon,V. & Ruffini, M. ( January, 2009). Technology Integration During Student Teaching: A Case Study. College Student Journal, 43 (2), 347-351.

The authors of this article wanted to examine the usage of technology in general education classrooms. The authors wanted to examine if student teachers were using assistive technology for their students and if they were integrating assistive technology into their curriculum. Results of the study indicated that teachers were integrating assistive technology into their lesson plans and curriculum; however, the authors also concluded that without the proper equipment and funding, assistive technology will not be included inside the classroom and curriculum.

5) Lancioni, G. E., O’Relly,M. F., Singh, N. N., Sigafoos, J.,Campodonico, F.,& Oliva, D. (May 2009). A Wheelchair User with Visual and Intellectual Disabilities Managing Simple Orientation Technology for Indoor Travel. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 103 (5), 308-313.

According to the article, this study assessed the use of orientation system by a wheelchair user with visual and intellectual disabilities. This individual that was examined for this study used a system that included a sound source at each destination and an electronic control device. The authors wanted to examine if this system could be used for every setting of the day versus only 5 settings in a day. Results indicate that as time went on, the individual’s percentage increased and noticed that the individual could use this system in all settings.