Welcome to the QIAT-PS website. This project, Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology in Post Secondary, offers tools and resources on quality implementation of assistive technology in the Post Secondary environment. QIAT-PS is a collaborative effort of hundreds of professionals from a wide variety of higher education and K-12 schools and based on the successful implementations of assistive technology indicators in K-12 public schools.

Mike Schaff has more than 30 gold medals and about 30 silver ones from the Special Olympics over the years. While he's extremely proud of those, he has a new honor to beam about. Schaff was named the Montana Special Olympics Outstanding Athlete of the Year. He was surprised with the award during the statewide Special Olympics leadership conference in Great Falls last weekend.

Wednesday's edition of the Independent Record contained a dramatic story and a picture of a Helena man in crisis on the U.S. 12 overpass on Interstate 15. The community of Helena deserves to know the good news and the untold story behind the picture in the paper. The untold story is that all the different pieces of Helena's crisis response system worked well and this man is now safe and receiving the support he needs. He was treated with dignity and respect.

Are you worried that your child isn’t developing like other children? Has your child been diagnosed with a developmental delay or disability? You are not alone. We are here to help you find answers to your questions. Other parents and therapists are here with you.

Q. IS IT TRUE THAT YOU WERE DOING LAUNDRY WHEN YOU GOT THAT EARLY MORNING CALL FROM STOCKHOLM?

A. Yes. I don’t usually do the laundry so early in the morning, but I was already up, and there was all this laundry staring at me.

Q. DID YOU ALWAYS WANT TO BE A BIOLOGIST?

By the time he was 17, Antonio Rocha had bounced among 11 New York City schools and was reading at a first-grade level. It wasn't until he told school officials "I want a lawyer!" that things began to change.

With the help of an advocacy group, Rocha pressured the city to pay for 480 hours of private tutoring, which eventually helped him read at a functional level. Now 20 and working for United Parcel Service, he's one of three people profiled (and the only one comfortable with being identified) in WNYC Radio reporter Beth Fertig's new book, Why Cant U Teach Me 2 Read?.

On Monday night, the dads who gathered at the Mason sports bar were ready for some football. Oh, were they ready.

One said it had been three years since he had watched "Monday Night Football." Another said he hadn't allowed himself such an evening out in 13 years.Besides a fondness for football, the men shared another bond: They are fathers of children with autism.

For most of his life, music critic Tim Page felt like an outsider. Restless and isolated, he was overstimulated and uneasy around others. Finally, when he was 45, Page was diagnosed with Asperger's, a syndrome that falls within the autism spectrum. As Page explains in the prologue of his new memoir, Parallel Play: Life As An Outsider, the diagnosis came as a relief: "Here, finally, was an objective explanation for some of my strengths and weaknesses," he writes.People with Asperger's often struggle to interact with groups and understand social norms. Page describes himself growing up as a "very lost little kid" who acted out in school by making faces at teachers and being aggressive with the other students. His ability to connect to others didn't improve with age.

We are looking for examples of young people, age 18-30, in Montana who have a developmental disability according to the Montana definition (see attached information sheet) and have creatively organized their supports to: Live in the community (on their own or with family or friends) and/or Work in the community (including owning their own business) and/or Access inclusive education (high school, college, trade school, community classes) and/or Participate in recreation and leisure activities that are inclusive (that is, alongside people without disabilities)

This knowledge path about caring for children and youth with special health care needs has been compiled by the Maternal and Child Health Library at Georgetown University. It offers a selection of current, high-quality resources that analyze data, describe effective programs, and report on policy and research aimed at developing systems of care that are family-centered, community-based, coordinated, and culturally competent. A separate section lists resources for families. The final part of the knowledge path presents resources that address specific aspects of care and development, such as advocacy, early intervention and special education, financing services, rehabilitation, screening, and transition. This knowledge path for health professionals, program administrators, policymakers, educators, researchers, and families will be updated periodically.

The Communication Matrix is an assessment tool designed to pinpoint exactly how an individual is communicating and to provide a framework for determining logical communication goals. It was first published in 1990 and was revised in 1996 and 2004 by Dr. Charity Rowland of Oregon Health & Science University. It was designed primarily for speech-language pathologists and educators to use to document the expressive communication skills of children who have severe or multiple disabilities, including children with sensory, motor and cognitive impairments.

Best Beginnings Childcare Scholarships The Early Childhood Services Bureau offers “Best Beginnings” child-care scholarships to qualified low-income families whose child attends a licensed child care center, registered group or family child care home, or legally unregistered child care provider. Each family participates in the cost of that care by making a co-payment based on a sliding fee scale.

Chelsea Eubank has such severe learning disabilities that her mother resigned herself long ago to the fact that her daughter would never be a reader. In spite of that, Chelsea, 20, is in college, has started her own business, and was recently named a national finalist for the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards

The use of optical character recognition (OCR) systems combined with speech synthesis (computer-generated speech) has become increasingly accepted as a means of compensating for reading disabilities. These OCR systems, or reading machines, convert printed text to spoken language so the user can hear and see written words. These technologies are now marketed internationally (for example, WYNN®, Kurzweil 3000®), commonly found in assistive technology centers serving individuals with learning disabilities, frequently exhibited at LD conferences, generally considered in assistive technology evaluations for students with LD, and regularly discussed in publications on LD and assistive technology.

rom audio books to classroom sound systems, many families have found that assistive technology (AT) can provide a crucial boost — to struggling students' academic performance and self-esteem. Need some guidance when it comes to choosing the best tools for your child with a learning disability? Learn more about AT and how to find the right fit for your child's needs and strengths with this collection of articles developed in collaboration with Marshall Raskind, Ph.D., an expert on assistive technology.

ZoncoArm manufactures Mobil Arm Supports for people with upper-limb disabilities which can help with rehabilitation, and can add more freedom and independence to such activities of daily living as feeding, using a computer, and controlling the joy stick of a power wheelchair.

Our society is confronting many serious, chronic medical issues, including AIDS, diabetes, obesity, cancer, Alzheimer's, MS, heart disease, and autism. What do all those conditions have in common? Every one is something you live with for a long period of time; in some cases all your life. Furthermore, every one has one or more strong advocacy organizations who speak for people affected by the condition.

COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES A Student's Perspective

Welcome to Montana's "No Child Left Behind Report Card".  The "Report Card" is required by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The information is helpful in determining how Montana schools and districts are meeting the requirements of this federal legislation.  It should not be considered a comprehensive report on the quality of education provided by any Montana school or district.