SENSwitcher

Reach Out And Touch - Becoming More Proactive

Pupils should be encouraged throughout the experiential stage to accept and engage in tactile explorations of the input device that they will eventually use to control the software program. Many children begin by reaching out and touching the input device or pointing at the screen. This should be encouraged and reinforced whenever it happens spontaneously.

Pupils begin to be more proactive in their intentions.

This is broken down into three small steps:

7	Pupils reach out toward a switch or touch screen or point to an object on the screen.
8	Pupils proactively make tactile explorations of the access device.
9	Pupils participate in the coactive tactile exploration of the access device including method of activation.

For the final step the teacher would begin to use a single press cause and effect level of SENSwitcher enabling the program to respond to the pupil's activation of the switch.

Making Something Happen - Cause and Effect

To progress from experiential ICT, pupils need to develop an understanding of cause and effect. Simply put, this means a pupil recognising that by pressing a switch or touching a touch screen THEY are causing the effects on the computer screen to happen. Cause and effect is not something that can be taught directly, rather, pupils develop understanding through experiencing it in a range of different contexts. A baby throwing a toy from a pram (and having someone pick it up) or pressing a button on a Jack in the box to make it pop up, are both examples of cause and effect experiences.

ICT can be a powerful tool to help teachers provide a broad range of developmental or age appropriate experiences of cause and effect for all children, especially those with some disability who may not be able to explore the world through the medium of play.

In our experience, children begin to learn to use switches first through continuous or momentary activation. This means pressing and holding a switch closed to trigger an effect. Examples of this may be holding a switch closed to enable a music tape to play on a cassette player or to activate a battery operated toy. The effect lasts only as long as the switch is held closed.

This is an extremely important concept; children need be able to understand that THEY are making the effect happen by holding the switch closed. Devices that require discrete (press and release) activation are much more difficult for children to understand as the effect is not obviously connected to the cause, starting only when they take their hands AWAY from the switch. While software can be used at the continuous activation stage, it should always be used as part of a range of multi-sensory switching activities presented to the learner.

Once continuous activation has been internalised, children then learn to operate a switch using discrete (a single press and release) activation. It should be noted however that for some children with severe mobility problems, especially where there are ataxic or involuntary movements of the limb used to activate the switch, the continuous method of activation might cause pain or discomfort. These children should start using switches with the discrete (press and release) method of activation.

SENSwitcher cause and effect section provides twenty different activities all of which can be operated by any assistive input device using discrete activation. In level one, animations follow on from those presented in the experiential section, allowing for a seamless transition. Pupils would start by being fully prompted to activate the input device and then moving toward more independent use by reducing the level of prompting. Level two activities provide the same opportunities for control but with more developmentally complex images.

Pupils use a switch to produce a desired effect.

Within this level, switch use needs to broken down into three smaller teaching steps.

10	Pupils participate in switch activation activities with full verbal and physical (hand over hand) prompting.
11	Pupils will activate the switch in response to a minimal physical or verbal prompt.
12	Pupils will activate a switch in order to achieve a desired effect.

CASE STUDY THREE - Cause and Effect Richard (5) is a young boy with a non-specific severe learning difficulty. He has some difficulty with fine motor control in both his arms and legs and finds walking difficult. Richard was introduced to switching in the reception class. He started to use switches to control a tape player, with help, holding down the switch to play a favourite tune and used the same switch and control method to operate a range of different battery toys and an electric blender to create milk shakes. Richard also experienced a variety of different software activities on the computer, coactively exploring the switch and the effects generated by holding it closed. Records were kept of the software activities that initiated the most positive responses. Over the next few, weeks support was gradually withdrawn and Richard was able to use the continuous activation method independently. Richard is now working on discrete (press and release) activation and is using the same tape player and battery toys, now connected to the switch via a timer, which allows the effect to start when the switch is released. On the computer, he is using a switch to operate his favourite activities (as recorded earlier) with minimal verbal prompting.

Discrete activation is fundamental to further progression in switching skills and children should be given opportunities to use it in as broad a range of contexts as is possible.

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