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Founded in 1992 under a grant from the Febe Family Foundation,
the Trafford Center for Technology and
Learning Disabilities (TCTLD) at the Frostig
Center was the nation's first technology center devoted exclusively
to persons with learning disabilities.
The primary focus of the TCTLD is on Assistive Technology,
computer support that helps students work around - or bypass
- their learning disabilities, enabling them to function at
a level more in line with their intellectual abilities. Assistive
Technologies can be helpful in compensating for difficulties
in areas such as reading, writing, spelling, math, organization
and memory.
The TCTLD provides a unique program of technology assistance
for each student in our school program based on his or her
individual needs as determined by an Assistive
Technology Assessment.
The TCTLD also provides direct services including:
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Training in assistive technology for students with learning
disabilities.
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Specialized training and hands-on workshops for teachers,
administrators, counselors and therapists offered both
at Frostig and off-site locations.
The TCTLD also conducts research
to evaluate specific technologies and their benefits to persons
with learning disabilities. The results of this research have
been published in numerous scholarly publications.
Some of the cutting edge technologies used at the TCTLD
include:
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Speech Recognition Systems that
change spoken words into computer text and enable students
to write by dictating to a computer: for students who
can "talk out" information better than they
can write it.
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Speech Synthesizers combined
with word processors that enable students to hear as well
as see what they have written on a computer: for students
who are better able to catch errors in their writing when
they can hear as well as see what they have written.
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Optical Character Recognition/Speech
Synthesis systems that work as reading machines, converting
hard-copy text such as books or newspaper articles to
spoken language, so students can hear as well as see printed
words: for students who have difficulty reading printed
words and can understand spoken languages better than
printed text.
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Alternative Keyboards that allow
for customizing character appearance and placement/position:
for students who have motor problems that may interfere
with the use of a standard keyboard.
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"Talking" Calculators that
speak the numbers pressed on the keypad as well as displayed
answers: for students who make frequent errors when inputting
numbers and have difficulty reading answers.
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Electronic Personal Data Managers
that allow the user to store and retrieve large amounts
of data, such as phone numbers, addresses, appointments
and notes: for students who have difficulty organizing
and remembering information.
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"Talking" Spell Checkers/Dictionaries
that read letters, words and definitions aloud: for
students who have difficulty spelling words and have reading
problems that interfere with the use of a standard dictionary.
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Word Prediction Software that
"predicts" the words that students want to write
on the computer: for students who have problems with keyboarding,
spelling, grammar or finding the "right word"
to use.
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Semantic Mapping Software that
allows students to create a diagram of their ideas on
the computer before writing: for students who have difficulty
getting their ideas down on paper in an organized fashion.
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Reading Pen which is a handheld,
portable text scanner and speech synthesis device for
single decoding single words or whole lines with dictionary
and syllabication functions.
Assistive
Technology Assessment
Assistive Technology Evaluations help our students and parents
better understand the role technology can play in compensating
for learning difficulties. Our assessment services explore
a range of technology options to determine types that may
prove beneficial at school, home and in the workplace. While
some technology is quite sophisticated, others are relatively
simple and inexpensive.
Rex
Sanchez
TCTLD Assistive Technologist Specialist
E-Mail
Rex Sanchez
The
Frostig Center
971
N. Altadena Dr.
Pasadena, CA 91107
Phone: (626)791-1255
Fax: (626) 798-1801
E-mail the Frostig Center
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