Switch on the Learning: Teaching Students With Significant Disabilities to Use Switches

Students with significant disabilities often struggle to communicate their wants and needs but can be taught widely recognizable communication with the aid of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) supports. Simple speech generating devices (SGDs) such as Step-by-Step switches or GoTalk ca...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Teaching exceptional children 2016-03, Vol.48 (4), p.204-212
Main Authors: Schaefer, John M., Andzik, Natalie R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accessibility (for Disabled)
Assistive Technology
Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Classrooms
Communication
Communication Skills
Computers
Decision Making
Educational technology
Generalization
Graduate students
Internet
Learning
Leisure
Leisure Time
Physical Disabilities
Reinforcement
Severe Disabilities
Skill Development
Skills
Software
Speaking
Special Education Teachers
Teachers
Teaching
Teaching Methods
Toys
Word Processing
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Summary:Students with significant disabilities often struggle to communicate their wants and needs but can be taught widely recognizable communication with the aid of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) supports. Simple speech generating devices (SGDs) such as Step-by-Step switches or GoTalk can be used by students to send specific messages. However, teaching a student with a significant disability how to use and independently initiate switch use can be a challenge. The first step to helping students is providing teachers with a step-by-step switch training plan in "switching on the learning." In this article, John M. Schaefer and Natalie R. Andzik offer a step-by- step training plan with examples from learning to activate a single toy with a single switch through discriminating and making choices. They also include monitoring for important benchmarks along the learning journey. As with any skill, effective instruction dictates that is it the student's performance (i.e., the data) that informs when to move on to the next step because the eventual goal is the student's independence.
ISSN:0040-0599
2163-5684
DOI:10.1177/0040059915623517