About the Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative

Mission Statement

The Mission of the Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative is to ensure that every child in Wisconsin who needs assistive technology (AT) will have equal and timely access to an appropriate evaluation and the provision and implementation of any needed AT devices and services. A primary goal is to improve the outcomes and results for children and youth with disabilities through the use of assistive technology to access school programs and curriculum. The project is designed to increase the capacity of school districts to provide assistive technology services by making training and technical assistance available to teachers, therapists, administrators and parents throughout Wisconsin.

Design of the Initiative

The Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative (WATI) began in the fall of 1993 in response to requests from numerous school districts to provide statewide leadership and technical assistance to help them implement the AT requirements in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Initiative is designed to provide not only training but also specific strategies to increase the capacity of school districts to provide assistive technology services. These include model forms, suggested procedures, resource materials and access to assistive technology for trial use. In addition to school districts, WATI services are also available to early intervention and early education providers. The activities of the Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative are grouped into four major components: provision of regional and local training; local technical assistance; increased access to resources; and development of a collegial support and technical assistance network of individuals across the state.

The Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative has both state level services and regional services in each of the 12 Cooperative Education Service Agencies (CESAs). The state level has a Lending Library of assistive technology items that is open to all school districts and Birth to 3 programs throughout the state. Additional activities carried out at the state level include providing support and leadership to the twelve regional consultants, providing specialized competency-based training, developing and conducting specialized two-week summer institutes, developing new resource guides or other materials for use by school personnel and parents, and arranging special buys of assistive technology products at reduced prices.

In each CESA the Assistive Technology Consultant works with staff from the constituent school districts to help them develop and improve their AT services. The AT Consultants in each CESA provide training, technical assistance and support to all who are striving to increase their capacity to provide effective, efficient AT services. They also have smaller lending libraries of AT available to their school districts and Birth to 3 programs.

Accomplishments

The Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative strives to help local school districts by providing a wide variety of services under the four components.

• Last year WATI provided over 500 separate training sessions that reached over 6000 participants.
• Last year WATI responded to more than 7000 requests for information or technical assistance related to assistive technology.
• Last year WATI made more than 3000 loans of assistive technology for trial use.
• Last year WATI arranged special group buys that have resulted in over $2 million in savings to Wisconsin school districts.

The Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative is recognized as a leader in the provision of statewide support for assistive technology services.

• The WATI Assessment materials (Student Information Guide, Environmental Observation Guide, AT Planning Guide, and AT Checklist) are used throughout the United States.
• The manual Assessing Students’ Need for Assistive Technology has been purchased by school districts in 47 states and seven countries.
• WATI staff members are frequently invited to provide training in other states and have recently provided training on a variety of AT topics in more than 20 states.
• WATI staff members regularly are invited to provide preconference workshops and invited sessions at national and international assistive technology conferences.
• WATI staff regularly are invited to teach courses and serve as guest lecturers on the topic of assistive technology at Wisconsin state universities and colleges.
• The WATI website has been honored as being in the top 15% of websites run by organizations.
• WATI materials have been included in two recent textbooks on teaching children with disabilities.
• Austin Independent School District in Austin, Texas chose the WATI Assessment materials to use in implementing a district wide training grant to improve the delivery of assistive technology services.
• Both of the national training programs that provide training leading to AT Certification (the ATACP program run by California State University at Northridge and the RIATT program run by the University of New Mexico in conjunction with the National Association of the State Directors of Special Education) use the WATI Assessment materials in their training.
• The Council for Exceptional Children’s IDEA Partnership project, ILIAD, selected for national distribution the AT Consideration Quick List, which was developed by WATI in collaboration with the Technology and Media Division of CEC. It uses information from WATI’s AT Checklist arranged in a wheel format to make a quick and easy tool to help IEP teams consider the need for assistive technology.
  
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WATI Staff

• Elizabeth A. Lahm, Ph.D., Director
• Sharon Rhode, Lending Library Manager
• Mary Chapin, Product Sales Manager & Events Coordinator
• Regional AT Consultants
  

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WATI documents may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes provided their source is identified.

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Last Updated: December 4, 2006