Benefits of Assistive Technology User Groups for Early Childhood Education Professionals

Abstract

Assistive technology (AT) has the potential to increase developmental skills and provide solutions to challenges, such as behavior, attention, and communication, faced by students identified with disabilities or at risk in early childhood settings. Early childhood education professionals must have AT knowledge and competency to effectively use AT with young children and to include AT in the curriculum. Teachers share responsibility for effectively preparing all young children to develop important readiness and literacy skills enabling them to successfully participate in public school settings. This paper discusses the effectiveness of AT User Groups to prepare teachers to incorporate AT in the early childhood setting. User Group benefits to teachers, (i.e., increased knowledge and skills, effective use of time, collaboration, individualization of training, and onsite support) as well as distracters and strategies for involving “new” teachers are discussed. Reported child outcomes, such as increased attending, behavior, and communication are also presented.