Assistive technology – from in-browser options, apps to support for BLV, HHD.
Assistive Technology (AT) is any piece of technology that helps a student with or without a disability to increase and/or maintain his/her level of functioning. These often include laptops with specialized programs, like speech to text, text to speech, graphic organizers and word prediction software.

Social Media/Device management
There is no question that social media use is on the rise. There is a general concern that the increase in social media use takes away from young learners’ ability to communicate, interact and build lasting relationships. How can social media be leveraged to increase positive responses and empower young learners to be aware of their use and the associated implications?

Self-regulation
The American Psychological Association defines self-regulation as “the control of one’s behavio[u]r through the use of self-monitoring (keeping a record of behavio[u]r), self-evaluation (assessing the information obtained during self-monitoring), and self-reinforcement (rewarding oneself for appropriate behavio[u]r or for attaining a goal).” In learning environments we this as a students’ ability to use tools and skills to regain focus, identify when they need support and to find the ability to accomplish work through the gambit of emotions.

IEP Development/Support
A students’ Individual Education Plan or ‘IEP’ is a learning plan put together by teachers, councillors, and most importantly families that sets out a path forward for students in need of additional supports and accommodations. These supports are created in partnership with families and the school board and are based on a thorough understanding of students’ strengths, needs, and ability as it relates to accessing the curriculum.

School/Team training
Schools are at the centre of every student’s success. Teachers have so much to do in a day, finding new technology or teaching strategies can be time consuming and difficult. With a thorough understanding of your staff’s needs, we can develop Professional Development sessions that are impactful, and importantly, tangible to student success.

Transition needs
Students moving from one program to another produces stress and stress-related responses. Whether this is a transition from elementary school to high-school, or from a specialized program back into school or vice versa, students need the tools and consistency in programming to be successful.

Metacognitive skills (goal setting, reflection, skill adaptation)
An often mis-understood or under-represented area of learning is our own ability to ‘think about thinking’. Through this process we interact with skills, experiences and tools to build lifelong strategies and personal mind maps to successfully respond to external and internal inputs. Learners need to know what they are good at, how to support themselves in areas where they are improving and when and what to ask when they need help.

Executive Functioning Support
The Centre on the Developing Child at Harvard University details executive function as the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully. Just as an air traffic control system at a busy airport safely manages the arrivals and departures of many aircraft on multiple runways, the brain needs this skill set to filter distractions, prioritize tasks, set and achieve goals, and control impulses.