DATI's "Assistive Technology in Delaware Schools: Experience and Needs among Educators and Families" Study

Initiative Description

In 2016, the legislatively-mandated Delaware Education Technology Task Force issued a report and a host of recommendations, and several of those recommendations called for enhancements to AT services and supports provided within the state’s early intervention and PreK-12 systems. Since that time, DATI has been in discussion with the Delaware Department of Education (DOE) to develop a plan for addressing the AT-related recommendations in the report. A three-year plan was proposed in which AT guidance would be developed, with subsequent training offered to educators, administrators, families and students to familiarize them with the guidance. The plan took a back seat to urgent pandemic-related priorities but has roared back into “action mode” with the award of Congressionally-designated spending (“earmark” funding) to DATI to support the activities. In preparation for the development of guidance, DATI conducted an interview study in which approximately 50 people responded to a predetermined list of questions about AT access and use. The DOE widely distributed invitations to participate in the interview study. The data from that study, released in June 2023, informed the development of a survey slated for distribution in Fall 2023, and DOE committed to promulgate the link to the study to leadership in the local education agencies. 

The results of the interview study were captured in a technical report titled Assistive Technology in Delaware Schools: Experience and Needs among Educators and Families, which was published in June 2023. The findings were also shared at the Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe conference in August 2023. The study revealed that the AT needs of students often go unmet owing to issues of limited time, inadequate personnel preparation, lack of clear policies and procedures, and limited funding. Families reported that they often had to advocate vigorously to have the AT needs of their children addressed through the school. 

The AT Professional Learning Community that began meeting this year is another rich source of information about what is happening “on the ground” in schools statewide.  

The results of these various approaches to information-gathering reveal that AT practices in Delaware often do not compare favorably with recommended practices. Challenges include teacher and administrator resistance related to perceived lack of funding for AT or pervasive unawareness of funding options; staff inexperience with AT, discomfort with use and/or lack of time and institutional support for in-service training; and inadequate pre-service training that leaves education practitioners and related service specialist ill-prepared or reluctant to recommend AT. Still, there are instances in which IEP team members recognize and execute recommended elements of AT consideration and documentation on the IEP. Some school districts maintain an inventory of AT available for deployment. While there is evidence of gradual improvement in AT awareness, access and use in isolated instances, it is tempered by the challenges noted, and much more needs to be done. As anticipated, these findings will inform the development of AT guidance for Delaware’s PreK-12 education system, and DATI's collaboration with the DOE will ensure that the guidance is promulgated and that education personnel will have access to the training we develop to familiarize education personnel with the expectations of the state relative to AT access and use.  

Year of Implementation

2023

AT Activities

Focus Areas

Other focus area

Early Intervention

State

Delaware

Initiative contact information

Allison Berdoulay
aberd@udel.edu