Eye-tracking tools seen as transformative for students with multiple disabilities |
On Board Online • April 29, 2019
By Heather Battaglia
Some students have disabilities that interfere with their ability to use a computer. Eastern Suffolk BOCES is using eye-tracking tools so these students can independently access technology.
Some of the students now have a way to communicate with others for the first time. The BOCES has seen results with students who are both cognitively impaired and suffer from multiple physical handicaps.
"This technology has opened up an entire world for our students," said Stephanie Hannigan, a speech teacher who was instrumental in acquiring the system. "We've discovered that some have a sense of humor we didn't know existed."
Students are "ecstatic" with this form of independence, Hannigan said.
"This gives our students the opportunity to choose something and have them tell us something," she said. "We now know for certain that their cognitive capabilities were greater than we previously thought."
Another benefit: more collaboration among service providers (physical therapists, speech therapists classroom teachers, etc.) as they seek to have each student use the technology to its fullest potential. The technology may be these students' gateway to a larger curriculum.
The technology works with users who wear glasses or who can only use one eye. However, students must be able to make precise, accurate eye movements and have the cognitive ability to understand the effects of their eye movements.
Students have developed the needed eye movement skills through software-based lessons. The most basic activities teach students to fixate on a target. After mastering that, students use eye movements to make choices.
The program has built-in data-collection capabilities so educators can gather information on what students are processing. They can assess performance and make adjustments.
With an augmented communication device, eye-tracking technology can also be used to synthesize speech.
The equipment consists of hardware, software and peripherals (adjustable stand, Bluetooth-enabled buttons/switches and keyboard). A bar mounted to the computer's touch-screen reads a user's eye movements across the monitor, allowing their eyes to act as a mouse and make selections.
The system is made by a North Carolina company called Inclusive TLC. The cost is about $4,500 per classroom or specialized office (such as speech or vision).
An earlier prototype was tested at Eastern Suffolk BOCES in 2017.
For more information contact Anthony Coggiano, divisional administrator for special education, at (631) 244-4052, acoggian@esboces.org .
Heather Battaglia is communications specialist for Eastern Suffolk BOCES.