Northern Illinois University & Indian Prairie School District #204

1. Using Technology to Promote Self-Determination Among Youth with Developmental Disabilities: Project MY VOICE Northern Illinois University & Indian Prairie School District #204 Toni Van Laarhoven, Traci Van Laarhoven-Myers, Justin Olson, Heather Johnson, & Anna Brady

2. Accepting the Challenge…. • An excellent position paper regarding “Technologies for Self-Determination for Youth with Developmental Disabilities” was posted on the DDD website (Skouge, Kelly, Roberts, Leake, & Stodden, 2007) and later published in ETDD. • Skouge, J.R., Kelly, M.L., Roberts, K, D., Leake, D.W., & Stodden, R. A. (2007). Technologies for self-determination for youth with developmental disabilities, Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, 42, 475-482. • The authors recommended using multimedia to give voice to individuals with developmental disabilities. We accepted the challenge.

3. Overview of Project Project MY VOICE (Multimedia for Youth to Voice Outcomes Individually Created for Empowerment) is a collaborative 3-year project between Indian Prairie School District #204 and Northern Illinois University that was funded by the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities. Collaborative activities involve workshop sessions and training for educational staff, pre-service educators, and parents/guardians to have the essential skills and resources to promote and support self-determination and self-advocacy among youth with developmental disabilities.

4. Goals of Project The overarching goal of Project MY VOICE is to develop a systematic model for preparing youth with developmental disabilities between the ages of 16-21 to have necessary leadership skills to become self-advocates regarding important personal life decisions.

5. Project MY VOICE Steffanie MY VOICE 2009

6. Personal Information My name is Steffanie Lynne Van Laarhoven My birthday is February 19, 1961

7. Employment To be successful at work, the type of help or supports I need include:

8. Employment My new Merry Walker helps me to get around more independently at work. See me in action!

9. Preferences and Interests/Recreation and Leisure My favorite movies include: The King and I, Tarzan, Dirty Dancing, Disney movies, And anything with bald men. Bald is beautiful, you know.

10. I like to spend time with my family. Preferences and Interests/Recreation and Leisure

11. Preferences and Interests I also like to talk to my family on the phone “Wake up Slacker! You have basketball practice!”

12. Preferences and Interests/Recreation and Leisure My all time favorite thing to do is to go out to dinner with Mom on the weekend.

13. Preferences and Interests/Recreation and Leisure I also love to play cards with my family.

14. Self Determination I let people know what I want in a nice way by signing please or saying, “Uh”. Sometimes I let people know what I want in not so nice ways by tapping hard on the table or screaming.

15. Self Determination I let people know what I do not want in a nice way by shaking my head or saying, “no”. Sometimes, I let people know what I do not want in not so nice ways by screaming.

16. Project Participants Students: Youth with developmental disabilities between the ages of 16-21 Educators: Teachers, therapists, vocational coordinators, etc. from IPSD #204 who work with targeted youth Pre-Service Educators: NIU students who are enrolled in MY VOICE course Parents: Although not formal participants, we also provided information and assistance to parents/guardians of targeted youth

17. Activities of Participants Students Communicated strengths, interests, & preferences and identified needed supports during assessment activities Explored available options within life domains and evaluated pros & cons of each Gathered & assisted with development of multimedia materials that reflected strengths, interests, preferences, & needs Presented MY VOICE presentation at IEP/transition meeting

18. Activities of Participants (cont) Educational Personnel Attended five workshops and developed a plan of action for implementing Project MY VOICE Assessed students regarding strengths, interests, preferences and needs. Collaborated with students, pre-service educators and parents/guardians to conduct assessments Assisted students with gathering multimedia materials to create MY VOICE presentations Developed goals and action plans for targeted students

19. Activities of Participants (cont) Pre-Service Educators Enrolled in project course at NIU Met with educational staff, students, and parents/guardians if possible to determine assessments to be used Assessed student’s strengths, interests, preferences and needs under the supervision of educational staff Wrote assessment reports and shared with educational staff & NIU instructors Assisted student with creation of portion of MY VOICE project

20. Resources for Participants MY VOICE Template: A PowerPoint template was created that provided a guide for assessing and presenting students’ strengths, interests, preferences, and identifying needed areas of support across life domains Overview of Template

21. Resources (cont) MY VOICE Toolkit Binder: A corresponding Toolkit was provided that had resources and assessments for each life domain outlined in the MY VOICE template. Overview of Binder

22. Resources (cont) MY VOICE Toolkit Box: In addition to the binder, participants were provided with the following resources at each site: Transition Planning Inventory (TPI) http://www.proedinc.com/Customer/productView.aspx?ID=875 YES (Your Employment Selections)  http://www.yesjobsearch.com/ Choicemaker: Choose & Take Action Software http://web.uccs.edu/education/special/self_determination/cta_software.html Reading Free Vocational Interest Inventory http://www.proedinc.com/customer/ProductView.aspx?ID=3052 Attainment Company Life Skills Curricula http://www.attainmentcompany.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16384&cat=0&page=1

23. Resources (cont) • Paper Forms: • Student • Parent • School • Available on CD • Consolidates data from three different forms automatically • Transition Planning Inventory (TPI) • http://www.proedinc.com/Customer/productView.aspx?ID=875

24. Resources (cont) Example Job Selection 1 Example Job Selection 2 Facilitator’s Manual & 7 CD-ROMs with 120 different jobs • YES (Your Employment Selections)  • http://www.yesjobsearch.com/

25. Resources (cont) Choose Job to Investigate Watch Video Decide Evaluate Choice Print off Documentation of Preference • Choicemaker: Choose & Take Action Software • http://web.uccs.edu/education/special/self_determination/cta_software.html Pictures and Chart from http://education.ou.edu/zarrow/files/Choose%20and%20Take%20Action-rev.pdf

26. Resources (cont) • Appropriate for ages 13 through Adult • Utilizes pictures of individuals engaging in different occupations • 55 sets of three drawings – ranging unskilled, semiskilled, and skilled levels • No reading or writing required • Reading Free Vocational Interest Inventory • http://www.proedinc.com/customer/ProductView.aspx?ID=3052

27. Resources (cont) • Home Cooking Cookbook • Recipes with Pictures • Shopping Smart • Planner, Checklist, & Strategies • Select-A-Meal • Planning, Ordering, Paying, Behavior/Social • Plan Your Day • Time Management • Looking Good • Grooming / Dressing • Keeping House • Cleaning , Laundry, Maintenance • Attainment Company Life Skills Curricula • http://www.attainmentcompany.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16384&cat=0&page=1

28. Other Resources to Consider • Enderle-Severson Transition Rating Scales (The ESTR-S is a transition instrument for students with severe/multiple disabilities) http://www.estr.net/ Excellent Websites: • National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center http://www.nsttac.org/ • This website has numerous and fantastic resources for supporting transition planning activities. A definite “must see” • Transition Coalition http://transitioncoalition.org/transition/index.php • Check out the work of Mary Morningstar. She has compiled an excellent list of resources for supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities • Beach Center on Disability http://www.beachcenter.org/education_and_training/self-determination.aspx • Dr. Michael Wehmeyer has published numerous articles, books, and resources on self-determination. Great stuff

29. Resources (cont) Technology: Each site (4) was provided with the following equipment: Laptop Computer Digital Video Camera Digital Camera USB Microphones DV tapes, memory cards, firewires, external hard drives, CDs

30. Resources Print and Video Tutorials: Following each workshop, participants were provided with both print and video tutorials for how to use the technologies Overview of tutorials

31. Additional Resources Picture Resources, Guide for Adapting TPI & Associated Symbol-Based Survey: To modify assessments for students with more significant needs, picture resources and a guide for modifying the TPI, as well as visual supports to accompany the Student form were provided to participating teachers. Overview of picture resources, guide, & modified form

32. Sample Presentations

33. Health and Safety In school, the use of color helps make specific items more apparent for me to see. In doorways, green tape is wrapped in the middle of the frames. Yellow paper is marked on my locker so I can easily spot it. NEXT

34. Health and Safety I know how to communicate with others when I need their help or support . If I am sick or injured, I need help with taking medications, first aid care, going to doctor appointments, and all other healthcare needs. At school, I may need to go see the school nurse Mrs. Fegley. NEXT

35. Health and Safety In case of an emergency, such as a fire, I know to listen to my teachers and follow their directions to be safe. NEXT

36. Self Determination I like and am good at transitioning throughout my school with or without my class with staff assistance Some challenges I have include Not getting distracted whiling navigating the halls. Seeing stairs, ramps, and corners. NEXT

37. Self Determination Nice things that others say about me include that I am Social Caring Fun Silly Smart A Leader I am most proud of being a leader. NEXT

38. Self Determination I let people know what I do not want in a nice way by Touching them nicely on the arm or face Waving them away Sometimes, I let people know what I do not want in not so nice ways by Hitting NEXT

39. Hello, let me introduce myself and my MYVOICE project in my video…

40. My dreams for the future are: 1. To get a corvette convertible. 2. To be independent, and on my own. 3. To get married and have a family!

41. I currently have my driving permit. I would like to get my driving hours completed, and get my license.

42. The first goal I would like to work on is completing my driving hours, and obtaining my driver’s license.

43. I will need some help and support. The support I will need to achieve this goal includes: completing driving hours, reviewing the Rules of the Road, and going to the DMV to take the drivers test. I would like my parents to help me achieve this goal.

44. The steps I need to take to make this happen include: Have parents take me out on the road to receive the appropriate hours needed. Review the rules of the road. Go to the DMV and take the driving and written test. Receive drivers license.

45. Incorporating related services into My Voice Presentations Speech Therapy Occupational Therapy

46. Hey! Watch me cut and prepare a sandwich and some vegetables!

47. If you thought that was cool, watch me make a burger!

48. I express myself best through my augmentative communication device called Vantage. I also use gestures, pictures, and sign language to communicate sometimes. I have a lot to say. People just need to give me some time. When expressing myself, I need to work on starting interactions, using more words to tell my thoughts, taking turns, and using eye contact.

49. I have been working so hard on learning and using my Vantage Communication Device. I have made awesome progress with it. Look what I can do with it!

50. Thanks for being a part of my meeting!