Here's a little piece I wrote for a newsletter for work a few years ago. Because the topic is one that I think still needs discussion, I thought I'd bring it back and share it with you all here. Please give me your feedback on it!
It’s Susie’s first day at the Xavier
School. All of Susie’s teachers and
therapists, as well as Susie’s parents, have been working hard for years to get
her ready for this day. Her power
wheelchair is charged, her communication device is charged, and the back-up
power converter allowing it to run on the power wheelchair batteries is working
and connected. Her backpack with
medications, ADL equipment, and personal supplies is mounted to the back of the
chair. Susie wished that Melanie, her
assistant for the past five years, was coming with her, but, unfortunately,
that wasn’t possible. Still, Susie was
excited about her new school and about making new friends.
Susie’s parents arrived at the principal’s
office 30 minutes after they had been called to take Susie home. Their daughter was in the nurse’s office
crying, obviously very upset, yet she did not respond to questions. All she
could say was “what.” This was odd because she was a pro with her communication
device. Her mother noticed that the symbol library on the tablet was gone. Instead, a QWERTY keyboard with a word
prediction window was in its place. The
low battery light flashed just before the device shut down. Her father reconnected the back-up power
converter, which had been unplugged.
With power restored, Susie’s father loaded her communication symbol
set. Her mom filled Susie’s portable
water pack at the sink and clipped Susie’s sip straw to her shirt so she could
easily reach the straw for a much needed drink.
After two button pushes, Susie began her tale. “I had a bad day…”
I’m sure that we have all heard similar
stories of unsuccessful and problematic transitions from one school to
another. I’m sure that we’ve even heard
of challenging transitions within the same facility due to internal
changes. A person’s support staff leaves
and a new one joins the team. A teacher retires and a new one comes on board.
Therapy staff changes or therapy times change. Sometimes, it’s all of these
things happening at once. The simple fact is successful transition requires a
transfer of information from one group of service providers and support staff
to another. One of the things that makes equipment transitions so important is
that there are so many of them. In
schools, they occur when a student gets a new teacher or a new
paraprofessional. They can also occur
when a student is transitioned into a different educational environment, at the
end of the school year, or if the student changes schools for any reason. In the community, they can occur when an individual
changes support staff, facilities, and/or programs. Whenever new people are, those new people are
likely to need instruction on the particulars of an individual’s AT use.
As transitions are inevitable, we can and
should prepare for them as best we can.
Without such planning, we jeopardize the efficiency of the transition
process, and we risk causing undue stress and hardship on the person using the
AT. The equipment may not be complete or may not be working properly. Problems with equipment ownership may arise
if an item’s history has not been documented.
The new staff may not know how to operate the equipment or how the
individual uses the equipment. All of these
problems—or even one of them—is enough to cause big headaches for everyone. The key to preventing these problems, or at
least minimizing their destructive effects, is the successful transmission of
AT information between service teams.
In
the beginning. . .
As with most things, preparation is the
key. Assistive technology should be an
explicit element of transition planning, and a transition plan should provide
adequate information about the AT and its use. It should also identify those
who will facilitate transition of the equipment from one setting/situation to
another. The team might include the AT user, teachers, therapists,
paraprofessionals, resource specialists, AT specialists, parents, and administrators.
Although this list is by no means comprehensive, it suggests several people who
are likely to play a part in AT transitions.
The thing to keep in mind when forming the
transition team is that each member needs to have a clearly defined role that
is understood and accepted by all members. The team should also have a leader
or coordinator who will keep the process moving along on schedule and according
to the established timeline. The leader should also monitor the transition to
determine whether the supports following the transition are adequate to meet
the AT user’s needs.
Follow
the yellow brick road!
The timeline for the transfer of equipment
should include all appropriate milestones and deadlines. This way, team members will have a clear
sense of how their responsibilities contribute to the overall objectives. Here are some points to keep in mind when
developing a timeline:
Be sure to describe all steps in the
transition of equipment from one environment to another. This provides a “heads
up” for all involved, and enables revision to the plan in advance if necessary.
Give plenty of time for successful
information gathering. Most service
providers have a multitude of responsibilities, and cannot ignore other duties
just because they receive a last-minute request. With adequate advance notice,
team members will be able to compile information enabling the new team to
become familiar with the AT and the user’s needs.
Create milestones. Schedule meetings around the milestones to
make sure that everything is going as planned.
If someone is having a problem gathering information or completing some
other task, the group can troubleshoot or revise the plan. Not all meetings need to be conducted
face-to-face; email can facilitate effective and efficient “virtual” meetings.
The important thing is to keep the team informed.
By following a transition plan complete with time lines,
even the complex equipment transfers can be accomplished with minimal
disruption for the AT user.
It’s
not who you know, but what you know
Because a successful transition depends on
accurate transfer of information, the team will need to generate documentation
about each device if no previous record exists.
Important information might include an item’s purchase history, repair
history, and cleaning and maintenance schedule.
This will tell the new team who purchased and owns the device as well as
who is responsible for its maintenance. Maintenance information should also
specify any special procedures that must be followed if the device requires
service. For example, does the device
need to be returned to the manufacturer for service, or can it go to a local
service center? Are there special
shipping instructions or a certain department within the manufacturing company
that must be consulted? Is there an
associated cost for cleaning and repairs?
If so, who pays, and what is the payment procedure?
In addition, the team needs to learn the
item’s usage history. This describes who
initiated the use of the equipment, when and how it is used, and who is trained
to use it. It is also important to know
if the item is part of an individual’s IEP or treatment plan, as this will
provide additional insight into how the equipment is intended to support the
user. If the team finds that the item is no longer accomplishing its intended
purpose, the treatment plan will need to be updated to reflect any change in implementation.
If an individual’s AT includes software with
customized user settings, those need to be documented and sent with the
user. Otherwise, the work that went in
to tailoring a piece of software for a specific user will be lost, and someone
will have to undertake the customization process all over again.
An ounce of prevention
A successful equipment transfer is possible
with thorough planning and preparation.
While it takes work to gather the necessary information, advanced
planning saves time and aggravation in the long run. Perhaps the best way to
keep transition preparation from becoming overwhelming is to maintain
up-to-date documentation on equipment history and use. As a consumer’s equipment is serviced or
changed, make sure that the circumstances are documented. Transitions are inevitable; the goal should
be to make the transfer of equipment as efficient for all members of the team
as possible.
Something about those blue meanies that just makes me laugh. 
