Hello All, I come out of my hidey-hole on rare occasions but here's an item
for thought.
For those who do not know me, I work for Computability (National Charity,
Advice and Information, Independant of sale and supply, Freephone helpline),
warmest seasonal greetings to you all!
I had a young lad in for a personal assessment on switch input issues. Mum
and dad were getting a little stressed with school, the statement process,
provision of equipment etc.
We went through some different concepts and the usual suspects, SAW, WIVIK,
HANDS-OFF, EZ-KEYS - and found that for the purposes which he requires, AND
his own PERSONAL PREFFERENCE, EZ-KEYS was the right choice. (Reasons
included: support issues; flexibility of interface with a range of software;
the nature of the mouse control; the flexibility of setup, including the
ability to setup himself (14yrs old); the style of the interface; and most
of all, when USING them ALL, he got on best with EZ-KEYS and made a strong
preference.)
I wrote a short report to help with acquisition, explaining the above,
assuming that this would help secure funds and get the equipment he
requires. School does exactly what was expected and contacted various
organisations to check if this is a valid recommendation (who's this Andy
Clarke fellow anyway?).
Guess what......Ace say SAW is best, Foundation say HANDS-OFF is best, both
agree EZ-KEYS is to expensive. This results in a very confused LEA IT
provider, and a frustrated mum and dad when told they can't have the
software, which we proved during an assessment, is best for their son.
I'm not poking fingers, and I'm NOT blaming people for ANYTHING, as
answering a query to the best of our knowledge, in any position, is the best
any of us can do. What I would say, is that if someone calls with this sort
of enquiry, we must where possible, ask the question "Where has this
information come from, and, on what premise have these recommendations been
made?". I know I'm a little guilty on this point, like everyone!
I know a lot of members of this group, assess a lot of people, which helps
to provide methods for development for thousands of individuals, each year.
I would like to try and bridge some gaps where people are falling, and this
seems like one of them.
I read this through and perhaps it does sound like a whinge, but I think
it's a point worth raising if an individual is now left without equipment
for another school year, while parents contest the LEA's decision.
I welcome contact, as always.
Thanks for reaching the bottom. Kind Regards, Andy.
Andy Clarke, Consultant
The Computability Centre
PO Box 94, Warwick CV34 5WS
email: [log in to unmask]
fax: 01926 311 345
tel: 01926 312 847
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