SETT Step Three:
AT Trial + Implementing the AT Plan

The team now begins to develop an Implementation Plan that includes AT services to support trials with equipment - how long, when, and the person(s) responsible. A date is set to meet again to review the results of the trial in the Follow Up section. After this planning session is complete, a written plan begins to take shape specifying what the team plans to do. The team now determines how the student and others will try out the proposed system of tools in the customary environments in which they will be used. The last part of the AT Planning Guide is to trial the identified AT to see what "works" in the student's learning environments.

AT Trials

Specific devices, both hardware and software, and their vendors are identified and prioritized from the list generated in Step Two. If part of the plan is a series of trials with a variety of hardware or software, they will need to be scheduled as the assistive technology is purchased, borrowed, or rented for trial use.

Identify how a student might be able to try out some of the solutions in the natural environment. Look for loan/lease possibilities:

• Check with your State Education Department for loan programs
• Websites can provide additional information about the device or may offer free software demos.
• Community resources such as lending libraries may have AT to loan for short-term use.
• Vendors and evaluators often have leasing rates or short-term free loan programs.

Using the AT Extended Assessment Planner, identify the overall goals and specific tasks for the AT device trial. This form can help teams plan and implement well designed trial periods with devices. Trials are the only truly effective way to determine what will work for a specific child and are integral to the assessment and consideration processes.

Data Collection

Try to get to the specific learning task that the trial AT will be used for -- the problem you want to be solved. Will the AT make a difference? How will you know? Is there more than one tool you could try?

The team works together to measure student performance with the trial devices by collecting data that is observable and measurable. How and when should the information be collected? How long should the student's performance be documented before a decision is made?

Data collection systems are designed for individual student performance changes. Baseline information should indicate what is currently happening without the AT tool. Data taken while using AT interventions can analyze the impact of the device -- does one device work better for this student than another? Does AT improve the functional capabilities of a student? To find out, adapt one of the forms below to collect student data when using a device for a particular task.

Forms

The following data collection forms have been adapted from examples found in How Do You Know It? How Can You Show It? (Reed, Bowser & Korsten, 2002):

Comparing 3 AT Solutions (MS Word)

Worksheet Answers (MS Word)

Initiating Communications (MS Word)

Keyboard Comparisons (MS Word)

Response Time (MS Word)

Be sure to include in your trial AT plan expected task outcome, current student level of performance, data method, person responsible and AT solutions to be observed and measured.

AT assessment and use must be ongoing as it relates to the tasks and achievements of the student. The team assigns specific names of people who are responsible to complete tasks and the dates by which they need to be completed. The plan becomes a record of the team's efforts to determine, organize, analyze, revise, and act upon data obtained.

AT Implementation Plan. The team sets a date to meet again and review their progress after the AT trials are completed. The follow-up meeting will involve a review of all actions to date, including specific data collected, and a discussion of whether or not the assistive technology being used is working. If it is, the tool must be purchased and added to the IEP. If not, the team may need to return to the decision-making process to discuss other AT solutions as more information is gathered through trial use.

Use the AT Implementation Plan to identify the tasks within the student's schedule where the AT will be used. This will also help you to discuss student and staff training needs as well as equipment considerations.

Re-SETT As the student begins to use the AT to more independently participate in learning activities, this will impact aspects of the SETT process. As the use of technology is a dynamic process -- changing as the student's needs change, you will need to address the new factors that result from the student's AT use.