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<strong>Education</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Developmental</strong> <strong>Disabilities</strong>, 2005, 40(1), 60–67 © <strong>Division</strong> on <strong>Developmental</strong> <strong>Disabilities</strong> Us<strong>in</strong>g a Personal Digital Assistant to Enhance the Independence of an Adolescent with Asperger Syndrome Heather Ferguson, Brenda Smith Myles, <strong>and</strong> Taku Hagiwara University of Kansas Abstract: The Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), while <strong>in</strong> use <strong>in</strong> the ma<strong>in</strong>stream population, is not generally utilized by <strong>in</strong>dividuals with disabilities. Us<strong>in</strong>g a multiple-basel<strong>in</strong>e design across sett<strong>in</strong>gs we tested effectiveness of us<strong>in</strong>g a PDA to <strong>in</strong>crease the <strong>in</strong>dependence of an adolescent with Asperger Syndrome (AS). Results <strong>in</strong>dicated use of the PDA was effective <strong>in</strong> decreas<strong>in</strong>g the student’s reliance on adults to complete tasks at home <strong>and</strong> at school. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to the Individuals with <strong>Disabilities</strong> <strong>Education</strong> Act Amendments of 1997 <strong>and</strong> the Technology-related Assistance for Individuals with <strong>Disabilities</strong> Act of 1988 as Amended <strong>in</strong> 1994, school districts must provide technology <strong>and</strong> related services to support students with disabilities <strong>in</strong> the general education curriculum (Mirenda, Wilk, & Carson, 2000). This act <strong>in</strong>troduced assistive technology as a means of help<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>dividuals with disabilities overcome the obstacles that <strong>in</strong>hibit them from fully tak<strong>in</strong>g part <strong>in</strong> activities at school, home <strong>and</strong> the community, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g enhanc<strong>in</strong>g tasks that <strong>in</strong>volve memory <strong>and</strong> organization skills (Bremer & Rauch, 1998; Bull, Bull, Garofalo, & Harris, 2002; Lewis, 1998, 2000). Assistive technology <strong>in</strong>cludes a variety of supports rang<strong>in</strong>g from augmentative communication devices to more commonly used desktop <strong>and</strong> laptop computers. One device that appears promis<strong>in</strong>g for students with disabilities is the PDA (Swan, Swan, & Van Hover, 2002). The PDA, a h<strong>and</strong>held computer that ma<strong>in</strong>ly serves as a personal <strong>in</strong>formation organizer, allows data <strong>in</strong>put via an on-screen keyboard or h<strong>and</strong>writ<strong>in</strong>g recognition program us<strong>in</strong>g a stylus. With multimedia capabilities, it is capable of play<strong>in</strong>g both sound <strong>and</strong> video clips. Pictures <strong>and</strong> other visual representations are Correspondence concern<strong>in</strong>g this article should be addressed to Brenda Smith Myles, Department of Special <strong>Education</strong>, University of Kansas, Joseph R. Pearson Build<strong>in</strong>g, 5 th Floor, 1122 W. Campus Road, Lawrence, KS 66045-3101. E-mail: bmyles@ku.edu 60 / <strong>Education</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Developmental</strong> <strong>Disabilities</strong>-March 2005 vivid <strong>and</strong> precise due, <strong>in</strong> part, to the highresolution color screens. In addition, the PDA can be hooked up to a computer to synchronize <strong>in</strong>formation <strong>and</strong> connected to network systems, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the Internet for exchang<strong>in</strong>g e-mails <strong>and</strong> explor<strong>in</strong>g the World Wide Web. In addition, portable keyboards can connect to the Pocket PC to create a discrete word-process<strong>in</strong>g system, enabl<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>formation such as names, addresses, phone numbers, dates, <strong>and</strong> personal schedules to be stored for easy access <strong>and</strong> retrieval. Schedul<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> time management programs are <strong>in</strong>cluded as default functions <strong>in</strong> the PDA (Lewis, 1998; Swan et al.). Despite their use <strong>in</strong> the ma<strong>in</strong>stream, few studies have been conducted on the impact of PDAs. Nevertheless, the follow<strong>in</strong>g has been established to date. For <strong>in</strong>dividuals without disabilities, the PDA has assisted students <strong>in</strong> organiz<strong>in</strong>g classroom notes <strong>and</strong> prepar<strong>in</strong>g for tests (Norris & Soloway, 2003). PDAs have also been used to support <strong>in</strong>dividuals with special needs <strong>in</strong> career <strong>and</strong> leisure activities (Furniss et al., 2001) <strong>and</strong> to <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong>dependence <strong>and</strong> self-determ<strong>in</strong>ation (Davies, Stock, & Wehmeyer, 2002). Davies et al. found that persons with disabilities who used PDAs functioned more <strong>in</strong>dependently, learned more, <strong>and</strong> required less assistance from support personnel. The purpose of this study was to add to the literature base on PDA use with students with special needs. Specifically, this study was designed to determ<strong>in</strong>e whether a PDA could
enhance the <strong>in</strong>dependence of an adolescent with AS at home <strong>and</strong> at school. Method Participant Kent, a Caucasian male <strong>in</strong> his f<strong>in</strong>al year of public middle school <strong>in</strong> the Midwestern United States was the participant. He was 14years old, <strong>and</strong> had a diagnosis of AS made by a medical professional us<strong>in</strong>g criterion <strong>in</strong> the Diagnostic <strong>and</strong> Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – 4 th Edition (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Kent’s <strong>in</strong>telligence quotient was <strong>in</strong> the above average range <strong>and</strong> his grades were average. He had considerable difficulty with his h<strong>and</strong>writ<strong>in</strong>g, f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g it both tiresome <strong>and</strong> tedious. A Behavior Assessment System for Children (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1992) was adm<strong>in</strong>istered to Kent’s resource room teacher, his mother, <strong>and</strong> Kent himself. His teacher reported that Kent was rated “At-Risk” <strong>in</strong> Attention Problems, <strong>and</strong> was identified as “Cl<strong>in</strong>ically Significant” <strong>in</strong> Anxiety, Atypicality, <strong>and</strong> Withdrawal. Kent’s mother classified him as “At-Risk” <strong>in</strong> Hyperactivity, Anxiety, School Problems, Learn<strong>in</strong>g Problems, Withdrawal, Adaptive Skills, <strong>and</strong> Behavioral Symptom Index; he received “Cl<strong>in</strong>ically Significant” scores <strong>in</strong> Atypicality <strong>and</strong> Attention Problems. The discrepancy <strong>in</strong> responses between Kent’s teacher <strong>and</strong> mother appears consistent with other reports by educators <strong>and</strong> parents address<strong>in</strong>g the characteristics of a child with AS (Barnhill et al., 2000; Myles, Ferguson, & Hagiwara, 2003). Kent rated himself as “At- Risk” <strong>in</strong> Anxiety <strong>and</strong> Atypicality; other areas fell <strong>in</strong> “Average” or above ranges <strong>in</strong> his report. An Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile (Brown & Dunn, 2002) was also completed by Kent. This measure <strong>in</strong>dicated that Kent avoided sensation much more than most people, was more sensitive to sensory stimuli than most people, <strong>and</strong> exhibited registration <strong>and</strong> sensory seek<strong>in</strong>g behaviors <strong>in</strong> a manner similar to most people. Sett<strong>in</strong>g The study took place <strong>in</strong> Kent’s math <strong>and</strong> social studies classes, <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong> his home. Kent’s math <strong>in</strong>struction occurred <strong>in</strong> the resource room <strong>in</strong> a small group sett<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>in</strong>cluded two other students, <strong>and</strong> his social studies class was held <strong>in</strong> a general education classroom with 20 other students. Target Behavior Kent relied heavily on prompts from his parents <strong>and</strong> teachers to complete his daily activities. Without multiple prompts from his mother to f<strong>in</strong>ish rout<strong>in</strong>e daily tasks, for example, Kent would become distracted <strong>and</strong> stop his rout<strong>in</strong>e. In school, Kent’s teachers prompted him to gather the appropriate materials before class, pay attention dur<strong>in</strong>g class, submit his homework, record his homework assignments, <strong>and</strong> transition to his next class. Kent needed to function more <strong>in</strong>dependently to complete rout<strong>in</strong>e daily tasks, especially as dem<strong>and</strong>s for greater <strong>in</strong>dependence <strong>in</strong>crease by age <strong>and</strong> grade level. Thus, the behavior targeted for this study was to <strong>in</strong>crease Kent’s <strong>in</strong>dependence dur<strong>in</strong>g morn<strong>in</strong>g home activities, school tasks, <strong>and</strong> even<strong>in</strong>g home activities by decreas<strong>in</strong>g his dependence on the adults <strong>in</strong> his life. Instruments A Hewlett Packard Jornada 560 Personal Digital Assistant (Hewlett-Packard, 2001) with Microsoft W<strong>in</strong>dows for Pocket PC Software 2002 (Microsoft, 2002) was <strong>in</strong>troduced to <strong>in</strong>crease Kent’s <strong>in</strong>dependence when complet<strong>in</strong>g early morn<strong>in</strong>g, school, <strong>and</strong> even<strong>in</strong>g tasks. Kent, his mother, <strong>and</strong> resource room teacher received tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g on the PDA. In essence, the PDA rema<strong>in</strong>ed the same as the product available to the general public. The calendar <strong>and</strong> alarm functions that are a part of the Microsoft W<strong>in</strong>dows for the Pocket PC were used <strong>in</strong> implement<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>tervention. A data collection sheet was designed to outl<strong>in</strong>e the four morn<strong>in</strong>g tasks <strong>and</strong> desired times when Kent needed to complete each task every morn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> his home. A second data sheet, created us<strong>in</strong>g the same format, listed four even<strong>in</strong>g activities. The data collection form listed each task <strong>and</strong> its start time on the left. Three additional columns on the right allowed Kent’s mother to <strong>in</strong>dicate (a) if he completed the task <strong>in</strong>dependently, (b) if he com- Pocket PC <strong>and</strong> Asperger Syndrome / 61
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