• Welcome
  • For AAC Users
  • For Parents
  • For Educators
  • For Providers
  • Blog
Menu

NWACS

Street Address
Seattle, WA
Phone Number
Northwest Augmentative Communication Society

Your Custom Text Here

NWACS

  • Welcome
  • For AAC Users
  • For Parents
  • For Educators
  • For Providers
  • Blog

Book Review: The Practical (and Fun) Guide to Assistive Technology in Public Schools: Building or Improving Your District's AT Team

September 6, 2018 NWACS
Book Review: The Practical (and Fun) Guide to Assistive Technology in Public Schools: Building or Improving Your District's AT Team by Christopher R. Bugaj and Sally Norton-Darr (2010)

Book Review: The Practical (and Fun) Guide to Assistive Technology in Public Schools: Building or Improving Your District's AT Team by Christopher R. Bugaj and Sally Norton-Darr (2010)

by Erica Sanford, MA, CCC-SLP (Speech-Language Pathologist); NWACS Contributor

Book Review: The Practical (and Fun) Guide to Assistive Technology in Public Schools: Building or Improving Your District's AT Team by Christopher R. Bugaj and Sally Norton-Darr (2010)

My colleagues and I found this book to be an invaluable resource as we attempted to reorganize and rebuild our districts’ AT team! The world of AT (assistive technology) is forever changing and evolving, however the foundations for best practices tend to remain pretty solid. This book is a handy (and easy to interpret) guide for school districts on how they can accommodate students with AT needs. It is therapist, administrator, teacher, and even parent friendly. 

practical guide to AT.png

While reading through The Practical (and Fun) Guide to Assistive Technology in Public Schools, you’ll notice that it covers the basics of defining and understanding exactly what assistive technology is and the laws that come along with it. Additionally, it overviews IEPs and how to include AT in these essential documents. This includes recommendations for where and how to fit assistive technology-related lingo and goals into the IEPs so it makes sense and is easy to interpret for anyone picking up a new IEP or working with a new student.

Do you ever, as a clinician, parent, or teacher, find yourself lost when it comes to conducting or interpreting AT evaluations? This book also covers this process as well! It goes into specifics of interviewing essential providers, observation ideas, and more. I found it instrumental in my practice as a speech-language pathologist working with populations in need of assistive technology. From low-tech to high-tech devices this book pretty much covers it all! 

Some of my favorite tips and tidbits I took away from this book included:

  • Anything can be considered AT! As long as it is used to “increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities”.

  • Look at AT like you would a least restrictive environment; start with simple low-tech options and move up from there if needed. Low tech options and “no frills” devices are easy to implement at school as well as at home!

  • Assistive technology is best written as an accommodation in the IEP and not as a specific goal; this allows for changes as needed as the student learns and grows!

I have nothing but positive comments about the information provided in this book and how helpful it has been for advancing my knowledge about AT in the schools! I highly recommend checking it out if you have any questions about the process or basics of AT. It comes in both book and kindle form.

 

Erica.png
In AAC Education Tags book
← New Discoveries: Core First Books & LessonsRedefining Access to Assistive Technology →

ADD YOUR VOICE!

Are you interested in contributing to the NWACS blog? Click HERE


WELCOME TO THE NWACS BLOG

Collections by topic:

  • AAC and Literacy

  • Communication Bill of Rights

  • Communicative Competence

Browse around or use the navigation tools below to help you find the information that you seek. 1 - This Blog has several main Categories. 2 - You can also look through the Tags. Tags can exist in any of the categories and across categories. 3 - Or use the Search tool ⬇!

CATEGORIES

  • AAC Across the Lifespan
  • AAC Assessment
  • AAC Awareness Month
  • AAC Best Practices
  • AAC Education
  • AAC Implementation
  • AAC Organization
  • AAC Spotlight
  • AAC Systems
  • AACademics
  • Advocacy
  • Assistive Techonology
  • Awareness
  • Language
  • Let's Talk AAC
  • New Discoveries

TAGS

  • AAC
  • AAC abandonment
  • AAC across the lifespan
  • AAC advocacy
  • AAC and Literacy
  • AAC awareness
  • AAC awareness month
  • AAC collaboration
  • AAC community
  • AAC device
  • AAC families
  • AAC in Early Intervention
  • AAC preparedness
  • AAC professionals
  • AAC rep
  • AAC Rights
  • AAC skills
  • AAC stories
  • AAC supports
  • AAC users
  • access
  • accessory
  • acquired conditions
  • acute care
  • advocacy
  • allyship
  • app
  • approach
  • Autonomy
  • awareness
  • basics
  • Bilingualism & AAC
  • birth to 3
  • book
  • collaboration
  • communication
  • community involvement
  • competencies
  • conference
  • cultural awareness
  • device trials
  • disability etiquette
  • Emergency Preparedness
  • family
  • funding
  • goals
  • interview
  • mental health
  • mindset
  • multi-cultural practices
  • myths
  • neurodiversity
  • reading instruction
  • remote learning
  • research
  • resource
  • school
  • shared reading
  • shared writing
  • strategy
  • symbols
  • Team Collaboration
  • tool
  • transition
  • troubleshooting
  • vendor
  • webinar
  • writing instruction
Donate to NWACS - NWACS is a nonprofit organization run solely on volunteer power! Your donations help us: to cover our operating costs, to grow our events and outreach, to provide conference scholarships, and more! Thank you for your ongoing support
 
Blog RSS

Subscribe to our Mailing List

Northwest Augmentative Communication Society (NWACS) will use the information you provide on this form to be in touch with you via email to provide news, updates, and marketing.

You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us, or by contacting us at info@nwacs.info. We will treat your information with respect. For more information about our privacy practices visit our Disclosures Page. By clicking ‘Sign Up’, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with these terms.

We use MailChimp as our marketing automation platform. By clicking ‘Sign Up’ to submit this form, you acknowledge that the information you provide will be transferred to MailChimp for processing in accordance with their Privacy Policy and Terms.

Thank you!

© 2016-2025 Northwest Augmentative Communication Society