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| Introduction - Suggestions For Using This Guide To Meet Your Immediate Objectives |
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You've been thinking about learning to use technology in your daily routines. Perhaps you want to introduce graduate students to the benefits of technology, need to increase revenue for your school or rehabilitation program, or you are searching for ways to improve client satisfaction. You've probably heard that the use of specialized software and adaptive hardware along with more traditional treatment often improves outcomes and makes treatment more enjoyable. Family members may be asking you what can be done to improve therapy results or what they can do on their own to speed up progress. Until now, perhaps it has just been your goal to use technology. We are often too busy or overwhelmed to make that goal a reality. Another possibility is that you were not aware of the many resources available to help you do your job better. Each day we are consumed by multiple demands and there is often little time to explore options and to take the initiative to learn more about how to effectively integrate technology into practical solutions to improve or compensate for deficits pertaining to talking, listening, reading, writing, thinking and remembering. We strive for the same objective- to deliver the best treatment possible and enjoy the process. This guide will help you with this mission.
The terms used to describe who we are, what we do and who we help change depending on our professions and work settings. You may be a speech-language pathologist working in a school setting, a learning disabilities specialist in an evaluation center, an occupational therapist working in a hospital, a neuropsychologist with your own practice, a recreation therapist in a day treatment program, a media specialist in a rehabilitation center or a teacher of English as a second language in a clinic. Although some of you are therapists and others are doctors and teachers, in this guide I refer to professionals providing help to others as "clinicians." People who are helped in medical settings are referred to as "patients," people in schools are typically referred to as "students," and people who are in private practices are referred to as "clients." In this guide, although the provision of services can take place in a multitude of settings, I typically refer to the people being helped as "clients." Our jargon describing what we do in different surroundings also differs. We may be involved with "teaching," "treatment," "training," "coaching, " "consulting," "counseling" or "evaluating." I use a variety of these terms throughout this guide.
I have spoken to many large groups of professionals as well as consumers and have been told repeatedly that the methods I use in my practice are innovative. My training programs and lectures serve to motivate and encourage professionals to take the plunge and get started implementing technology into their programs. I hope that this guide will have the same effect for you and inspire you to initiate this learning process. Most clinician's realize that they would probably benefit from learning how to use technology to improve their service delivery and treatment outcomes. They often don't know where to begin, have become overwhelmed in their attempts to learn, or just don't have the time, money or inclination to get started.
I wrote this guide to make this seemingly insurmountable task of learning more about the use of technology within reach. Clients deserve to be exposed to this information, strategies and treatment methods. I have tried my best to organize and share what I have learned during the past 20 years into a format that will help others benefit from my experiences. I embarked on this project about three years ago and never imagined that it would take me so long to finish! I wanted this guide to be as complete as possible so that it could be used as a resource to help a wide variety of professionals who work in many different settings with people who have many different communication and cognitive related issues.
As I researched the software, devices and online resources, the enormity of this task became evident. Just when I thought I was done, I discovered more to include in this guide. I am sure that even with this effort to make this guide as comprehensive as possible, I have probably left out helpful resources. I will continue to explore websites, read the literature and check out new products as they are made available. I realize that new websites will be formed and prices may increase or decrease after publication. In order to keep this information current, I plan to create online products such as e-books which can be easily updated which will provide more detailed information on products discussed in this guide and highlight new resources and products that can help improve the lives of people with communication and cognitive deficits as they become available. E-books will be available at www.ittsguides.com.
I consulted with many professionals who are new to this world of technology, and was encouraged to start with a book that readers could hold while exploring websites and software. I also spoke with many neuropsychologists, assistive technology specialists, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists and special educators to learn more about their experiences with technology and asked them to review chapters of this guide in order to make it as helpful as possible to as many professionals as I could. I really want to expedite the process of moving our professions forward. This is the flagship product in a series I am producing and publishing called "Innovative Technology Treatment Solutions."
I have done my best to research, acquire, review and use products with as many clients as possible in my practice. I have personally used the majority of the products listed in this guide and explored many online sites. However, there are products included in this guide that I have not used personally, but have reviewed online and are deemed to be worthwhile from other experienced professionals. I didn't want to omit helpful resources just because I have not used them.
With the help of this comprehensive guide, you can start to use or expand your use of technology to help others. It is only a matter of time until all clinicians will be expected to know much of this information. Whether you are a seasoned clinician with many years of experience, or a graduate student just starting out, the keys to success in using this guide are the same:
- Start gradually. Continue to do what you do best in your current practice and slowly add new technique incorporating the tools described in this guide.
- Focus on the sections within chapters first that will meet you immediate needs. This guide is not meant to be read cover to cover. It will be too overwhelming.
- Read Chapters 1, 2 and 3 prior to selecting the additional chapters which pertain to you. Chapter 2 presents information that I have perceived to be the most worthwhile according to the setting in which professionals work. My "top picks" are listed for each setting. Chapter 3 presents my "technology tips" for getting started organized by area of disability and deficit. I write brief scenarios to help readers envision how the described resources can be used to help.
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