Present Levels of Performance
Assistive Technology is often addressed in the Present Level(s) of Academic Achievement & Functional Performance statements on the IEP. This section provides for a natural place to address assistive technology needs as an INTEGRAL part of the student's curriculum. The team should take into account the student's strengths as well as weaknesses in these statements and the role that assistive technology plays in assisting the student in making gains in goal areas.
The documentation in this area should identify the TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY that is needed as well as the MANNER in which it will be used should be described.
The following are examples of how AT can be documented in the PLAAFP of the IEP:
Lewis exhibits difficulty with transitions from one activity to the next, staff currently uses a visual timer to support Lewis when it is time to transition from one activity to the next.
Samantha has difficulty remembering what is coming up next during the school day. She currently uses a visual schedule to show what is happening throughout the school day.
Rio has difficulty with zipping and unzipping his coat and backpack on his own. Rio will use a zipper pull on his coat and backpack to help him be more independent with this skill.
Paul has difficulty understanding expected behaviors in social situations. Paul will have access to social stories and power cards to help him understand expected and unexpected behaviors. The social stories and power cards can either be read to Paul or he can read them to himself.
Due to student's Severe Learning Disability in reading, student currently uses a text to speech application when expected to read text on her own. This application allows student to be more independent across environments.