IEP =Individual Education Plan  

Important points about AT in the IEP:

• Assistive technology devices and services must be connected to IEP goals, and are only recommended when a student isn't making effective progress towards specific IEP goals. When indicated, assistive technology provides FAPE: a Free and Appropriate Public Education.

• Assistive technology should be listed as an accommodation in the IEP under PLEP A &/or B (Present Levels of Educational Performance), and may also be added to Current Performance/Evaluations &/or Additional Information. Lastly, AT can be added to IEP goals but only as the means for achieving a goal, not as the goal itself. 

• Assistive technology is a tool which compensates for student disabilities; in other words, it “levels the playing field” by providing flexibility and accessibility.

• Assistive technology provides access to the curriculum… it is not the curriculum itself.  

Examples of AT:

• Low-tech: pencil grips, colored overlays, word banks, and math formula reference sheets.

• Mid-tech: portable word processors, audiobooks, handheld spell checkers, and talking calculators.

• High-tech: scan and read software, touchscreen computer/device, word prediction, and voice recognition software.

Non-examples of AT:

• Digital curriculum, such as WordlyWise, Number Worlds, Reading Plus.

• Technology used by all students in the class, such as standard calculators and Thinking Maps.

• Instructional strategies such as the Wilson reading program.