M.I.N.D.ful Learning on Trial
From September 2005
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“We really feel that this software will be able to enhance written-language expression for many individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders,” Hagerman says. “They often do not do well with written-language expression because of their visual-motor coordination problems, but they often do very, very well on computers. They enjoy utilizing them, and so getting information translated from the brain onto paper is usually easiest via a computer.
“We think that this methodology will not only enhance their academic abilities and written language in academics, but could also be woven into some vocational utility in the future, as they move into adulthood.”
Hagerman and her team of assistive technology experts — occupational therapist Laura Greiss-Hess, speech and language pathologist Kerrie Lemons Chitwood and child development specialist Susan Harris — will closely monitor each year’s 20 participants (who must be able to read and write at a first-grade or higher level), as they use the programs to do schoolwork at the institute, in the classroom and at home.
Standardized assessment tests will be given at six and 12 months to measure progress; after students complete their year, they will be followed throughout the remainder of the study. “The families are wonderful to work with, and the kids are great,” Hagerman says. “They have great strengths and great sense of humor, wonderful personalities.”
The project’s principal investigator, Cathy Bodine, Ph.D., director of Assistive Technology Partners in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Colorado’s Health Sciences Center in Denver, will assist in the assessment of the results. The $250,000 trial is funded from a $5.25 million grant awarded to Bodine in November 2004.
What if the study works?
“We want to get the word out so that we can make sure these tools are provided to these children,” Bodine says. “Generally, they do not receive the level of assistive technology supports they could receive. Our hope is that, if we can demonstrate effectiveness, it might influence other schools and other people who make these decisions to go ahead and try that.”
Help may be at hand in California. State Senate Pro Tempore Don Peralta (D-9th District) and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-46th District) have introduced SCR 51, which would establish a 16-member Legislative blue-ribbon commission to study issues related to autism — the most frequently diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorder, affecting one in 166 children — and seek more funding and technical assistance for research and treatment.
Continued...
“We think that this methodology will not only enhance their academic abilities and written language in academics, but could also be woven into some vocational utility in the future, as they move into adulthood.”
Hagerman and her team of assistive technology experts — occupational therapist Laura Greiss-Hess, speech and language pathologist Kerrie Lemons Chitwood and child development specialist Susan Harris — will closely monitor each year’s 20 participants (who must be able to read and write at a first-grade or higher level), as they use the programs to do schoolwork at the institute, in the classroom and at home.
Standardized assessment tests will be given at six and 12 months to measure progress; after students complete their year, they will be followed throughout the remainder of the study. “The families are wonderful to work with, and the kids are great,” Hagerman says. “They have great strengths and great sense of humor, wonderful personalities.”
The project’s principal investigator, Cathy Bodine, Ph.D., director of Assistive Technology Partners in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Colorado’s Health Sciences Center in Denver, will assist in the assessment of the results. The $250,000 trial is funded from a $5.25 million grant awarded to Bodine in November 2004.
What if the study works?
“We want to get the word out so that we can make sure these tools are provided to these children,” Bodine says. “Generally, they do not receive the level of assistive technology supports they could receive. Our hope is that, if we can demonstrate effectiveness, it might influence other schools and other people who make these decisions to go ahead and try that.”
Help may be at hand in California. State Senate Pro Tempore Don Peralta (D-9th District) and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-46th District) have introduced SCR 51, which would establish a 16-member Legislative blue-ribbon commission to study issues related to autism — the most frequently diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorder, affecting one in 166 children — and seek more funding and technical assistance for research and treatment.
Continued...
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