Orthopedically impaired (OI) students face a formidable challenge during the writing process due to their limited or non-existing ability to use their hands to hold a pen or pencil or even to press the keys on a keyboard. While they may have a clear mental picture of what they want to write, the biggest hurdle comes well before having to tackle the basic elements of writing such as grammar, punctuation, syntax, order, coherence, and unity of thought among others. There are many examples of assistive technology that has been deployed to facilitate writing for these students such as: word processors, word prediction software, keyboards and mice modified to be manipulated by feet and even mouth, and speech recognition software (SRS). The use of SRS has gained great popularity mainly due to the leaps in technology that have occurred during the last decade, particularly during the last three to five years. SRS is now capable of delivering speech to write with a verifiable accuracy rate in excess of 90% with as little as 10 hours of training. The current SRS industry recognized leader is Nuance Communications with its iconic Dragon Naturally Speaking (DNS) which is on version 12.5 at the time of this writing. DNS has practically eliminated the competition on SRS applications. This investigation explored the feasibility of using SRS as a writing tool by OI students to take notes and to complete writing projects. While others have tested the efficacy of SRS in general and of DNS in particular, this exploration is believed to be the first investigation into the use of SRS in the general classroom. One OI and two regular students were observed taking notes in three different classrooms after having received 10 hours of training using the software. Results indicate that all students dictated at a rate at least twice as fast as typing while averaging 90% accuracy rate. While the OI student dictation speed was consistently lower than that of the other students, there was minimal difference in accuracy. The Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devices Scales (PIADS) questionnaire revealed a positive effect of the use of SRS on all three students with the OI student showing a higher index of improvement than the regular students in the areas of competence and self-esteem while all students experienced a closely similar score in the area of adaptability.

Στην παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία θα πραγματευτούμε τις πιθανές μαθησιακές επιπτώσεις της Δυσλεξίας στην Τριτοβάθμια Εκπαίδευση και θα προτείνουμε μεθοδολογίες για την υποστήριξη των εν λόγω φοιτητών, προκειμένου να ενισχυθεί η μαθησιακή διαδικασία και να επιτευχθούν τα μέγιστα γνωστικά αποτελέσματα. Προκειμένου να γίνει αυτό, θα αναφερθούμε αρχικά στο φάσμα των μαθησιακών δυσκολιών, στις οποίες έγκειται και το προς μελέτη θέμα, καταγράφοντας τους ορισμούς που έχουν δοθεί αλλά και τις βασικές κατηγορίες, περιγράφοντας συνοπτικά τα κύρια χαρακτηριστικά τους. Έπειτα, θα αναφερθούμε στη δυσλεξία, παραθέτοντας τους ορισμούς που έχουν δοθεί αλλά και την αιτιολογία της, ενώ στη συνέχεια θα περιγράψουμε τις επιπτώσεις της στην ακαδημαϊκή ζωή του ατόμου, δίνοντας μεγαλύτερη έμφαση στην Τριτοβάθμια Εκπαίδευση. Έχοντας καταγράψει τα πιθανά μαθησιακά προφίλ των φοιτητών, θα αναφερθούμε στην ισχύουσα νομοθεσία και την παρούσα κατάσταση στην ανώτατη εκπαίδευση, ενώ στη συνέχεια, με τη χρήση της ξένης βιβλιογραφίας, θα αναπτύξουμε μεθοδολογικούς κανόνες και προτάσεις προς τους δυσλεκτικούς φοιτητές, προκειμένου να επιτευχθεί η καλύτερη και ομαλότερη εκπαίδευση των εν λόγω ατόμων. Παράλληλα, θα καταγράψουμε τα ισχύοντα πρότυπα για την παραγωγή έντυπου υλικού, ενώ θα αναφερθούμε και στην Υποστηρικτική Τεχνολογία, που χρησιμοποιείται ήδη στο εξωτερικό και είναι καλό να προταθεί για τους εν λόγω φοιτητές για την υποστήριξη της μαθησιακής διαδικασίας. Τόσο η μεθοδολογία όσο και τα πρότυπα, θα παρουσιαστούν με παραδείγματα για την καλύτερη αποτύπωση και περαιτέρω υιοθέτησή τους. Τέλος, κάνοντας μια ανασκόπηση της εν λόγω εργασίας, θα αναφερθούμε στις μελλοντικές προεκτάσεις του συγκεκριμένου θέματος, παραθέτοντας επιπλέον προτάσεις και συμπεράσματα, που μπορούν να διευκολύνουν περαιτέρω το εκπαιδευτικό και μαθησιακό έργο. / The present master thesis deals with the possible cognitive difficulties of Dyslexia in Higher Education and the methodologies which could be used in order to support the educational process. The goal of this thesis is to support dyslexic students in order to improve their academic achievements. For this purpose, we will refer, firstly, to the different types of Learning Difficulties, in which lies the current topic, recording the definitions given and the basic categories with their main characteristics. Then, we will refer to Dyslexia, citing the definitions given and the reasons for, and afterwards, we will describe its impact on the academic life of individual, placing greater emphasis in Higher Education. Having cited the possible learning profiles of dyslexic students, we will refer to the current legislation and the current situation in Higher Education, and then, with the use of the bibliography, we will develop methodological rules and suggestions to dyslexic students, in order to achieve better and smoother education for those individuals. At the same time, we will record the current standards for the production of printed material and we will mention the Assistive Technology which has been already used abroad and has been recommended for these students, for the support of the learning process. Both methodologies and standards will be presented with examples for better mapping and further adoption. Finally, making a review of the current thesis, we will also examine the future implications of the issue, giving additional recommendations and conclusions, which could facilitate further the learning and educational process.

Survey research was used to conduct a formative evaluation of Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology Services (QIAT) by 120 leaders in the field of assistive technology. Survey respondents represented five different types of assistive technology interest and responsibilities: consumers of assistive technology services and family members, district and regional assistive technology leaders, state and national assistive technology leaders, assistive technology leaders in higher education, and assistive technology policy leaders. Respondents reviewed QIAT and completed either print or online electronic versions of a survey in which they provided their perspectives on the need for quality indicators, the importance of each quality indicator contained in QIAT, the clarity of each accompanying intent statement, and the usefulness of QIAT to people with assistive technology interests and responsibilities similar to their own. Results of this investigation suggested that quality indicators are needed to guide the development and delivery of assistive technology services, that the 39 quality indicators contained in QIAT are important, and that QIAT would be useful to people with varied interests and responsibilities in assistive technology. The perceptions of the majority of the participants about QIAT were positive. Analysis of the rankings indicated that every quality indicator contained in QIAT was considered important by greater than 92% of the participants and every intent statement was considered clear by greater than 82% of the participants. Results also indicated that participants believed that some revisions in the wording and reordering of the items contained in QIAT would increase clarity and that the identification and development of training and products aligned to QIAT could aid in the development and delivery of effective assistive technology services. Proposed revisions were made in QIAT as a result of respondent recommendations. Implications for practice, future development, and additional research also were proposed.

This thesis is part of the Aurora project, an ongoing long-term project investigating the potential use of robots to help children with autism overcome some of their impairments in social interaction, communication and imagination. Autism is a spectrum disorder and children with autism have different abilities and needs. Related research has shown that robots can play the role of a mediator for social interaction in the context of autism. Robots can enable simple interactions, by initially providing a relatively predictable environment for play. Progressively, the complexity of the interaction can be increased. The purpose of this thesis is to facilitate play between children with autism and an autonomous robot. Children with autism have a potential for play but often encounter obstacles to actualize this potential. Through play, children can develop multidisciplinary skills, involving social interaction, communication and imagination. Besides, play is a medium for self-expression. The purpose here is to enable children with autism to experience a large range of play situations, ranging from dyadic play with progressively better balanced interaction styles, to situations of triadic play with both the robot and the experimenter. These triadic play situations could also involve symbolic or pretend play. This PhD work produced the following results: • A new methodological approach of how to design, conduct and analyse robotassisted play was developed and evaluated. This approach draws inspiration from non-directive play therapy where the child is the main leader for play and the experimenter participates in the play sessions. I introduced a regulation process which enables the experimenter to intervene under precise conditions in order to: i) prevent the child from entering or staying in repetitive behaviours, ii) provide bootstrapping that helps the child reach a situation of play she is about to enter and iii) ask the child questions dealing with affect or reasoning about the robot. This method has been tested in a long-term study with six children with autism. Video recordings of the play sessions were analysed in detail according to three dimensions, namely Play, Reasoning and Affect. Results have shown the ability of this approach to meet each child’s specific needs and abilities. Future work may develop this work towards a novel approach in autism therapy. • A novel and generic computational method for the automatic recognition of human-robot interaction styles (specifically gentleness and frequency of touch interaction) in real time was developed and tested experimentally. This method, the Cascaded Information Bottleneck Method, is based on an information theoretic approach. It relies on the principle that the relevant information can be progressively extracted from a time series with a cascade of successive bottlenecks sharing the same cardinality of bottleneck states but trained successively. This method has been tested with data that had been generated with a physical robot a) during human-robot interactions in laboratory conditions and b) during child-robot interactions in school. The method shows a sound recognition of both short-term and mid-term time scale events. The recognition process only involves a very short delay. The Cascaded Information Bottleneck is a generic method that can potentially be applied to various applications of socially interactive robots. • A proof-of-concept system of an adaptive robot was demonstrated that is responsive to different styles of interaction in human-robot interaction. Its impact was evaluated in a short-term study with seven children with autism. The recognition process relies on the Cascaded Information Bottleneck Method. The robot rewards well-balanced interaction styles. The study shows the potential of the adaptive robot i) to encourage children to engage more in the interaction and ii) to positively influence the children’s play styles towards better balanced interaction styles. It is hoped that this work is a step forward towards socially adaptive robots as well as robot-assisted play for children with autism.

The aim of this study was to describe occupational therapists’ experience of prescribing cognitive assistive technology for adults with ADHD. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight occupational therapists who worked in a region in central Sweden. A qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data and resulted in four categories; Interview the client regarding their daily activities to assess their needs of cognitive assistive technology, the importance of adapting strategies based on the client’s abilities, the importance of client participation and individualized routines to follow-up cognitive assistive technology. The results showed that occupational therapists used different approaches to assess the client's daily activities prior to prescribing cognitive assistive technology. An important approach was to customize strategies based on the client's prerequisites and to promote its motivation and participation. Furthermore, the result showed that prescribing cognitive assistive technology is a time-consuming process.

Team collaboration is necessary to fully support school-age students who use assistive technology (AT). Teams should include the student, his or her family, and school professionals. Unfortunately, team collaboration is often not realized due to constraints that range from scheduling conflicts and language barriers to lack of defined roles and access to shared information. In addition, families and students are often passive participants in the educational planning process rather than active contributors. Groupware has been used in comparable areas of professional and peer collaboration to address similar barriers. The study resulted in a groupware model intended to enhance the collaboration of individualized education program (IEP) teams supporting students who use assistive technology (AT). The groupware model had a working title of CollaborAT. Through literature review, goal definition, prototyping of alternatives, panelist review and ranking of proposed attributes, and user testing, CollaborAT was be systematically designed, developed and evaluated. Through review and ranking of prototypes by a panel of 20 experts, the design phase of the study provides insight into the aspects of computer-mediated communication (CMC), content management, member profiling and scheduling supports that the intended audience values for collaboration related to AT and the IEP process. The study also provides insight into the viability of developing a groupware tool that consists of the attributes valued most by the intended audience. The CollaborAT model was built based on the design criteria established by the panel of experts. The model was presented to the panel for review and approval. With the approval criteria met, user testing was conducted with a small sample representing the target audience. The user test group consisted of 12 participants with varied IEP experience and role assignment. The user testing results provide initial evaluation data on the usability of CollaborAT. The study provides insight into the design, development and evaluation process for groupware tools. Through the application of a panel of experts, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), prototyping, and user testing, the design criteria were defined and validated. The study provides detailed information for those interested in replicating all or portions of this research-based approach for the design and development of similar products and supports.

According to the UNICEF report, up to ten percent of children in the world have affected specific learning disabilities (SLD) and the majority of these children are educated in general education classrooms. An important resource for children with learning disabilities to flourish in the classroom is access to assistive technology. To prepare children on how to utilize assistive technology in the learning environment is important for teachers. This systematic review focused on teacher perspectives on assistive technology regarding children with SLD. Six scholarly articles were used for this study. The information drawn from the articles showed that teachers are receptive to assistive technology in their classrooms. They perceived assistive technology as an important supportive device for improving the vital skills of reading and writing comprehension. However, it is clear from their perspectives that the teachers needed more support than they were able to access in order to feel comfortable to implement and use assistive technology in the classroom. Therefore the need for professional development and training and the integration of appropriate technical devices are vital to enhance the development of children with SLD. Future research will be focus on how pre-service teachers are being prepared for AT use as a part of their pre-service training program and professional development.

O processo de hospitalização compromete diversos aspectos da vida do paciente, além das questões relacionadas a própria patologia o indivíduo vivencia a ruptura de seu cotidiano, afastando-se da realização de suas atividades, do convívio familiar e social, do trabalho e lazer. O terapeuta ocupacional atua no contexto hospitalar auxiliando o paciente a criar sistemas de apoio para que o mesmo tenha condições de enfrentar as dificuldades trazidas pela internação, Para isso, o profissional pode utilizar de vários recursos, entre esses a Tecnologia Assistiva, desenvolvida para permitir o aumento da autonomia e independência de idosos, de pessoas com deficiência ou com mobilidade reduzida em suas atividades. Este trabalho tem como objetivo conhecer as mesas auxiliares utilizadas por pacientes durante o processo de hospitalização, com suas possibilidades de adequações e diferentes usos, e propor requisitos de projeto para um novo modelo que possibilite uso dos indivíduos com diferentes capacidades. Para atingir estes objetivos foi realizado levantamento através de catálogos de produtos hospitalares das mesas auxiliares disponíveis no mercado nacional, descritas as características físicas desse móvel, além disso, Terapeutas Ocupacionais que atuam em hospitais foram convidados a participar respondendo um questionário sobre a mesa auxiliar disponível em seu local de trabalho. Esses profissionais indicaram as características físicas dos móveis e opinaram sobre ajustes e melhorias necessárias para otimizar o uso da mesa auxiliar a fim de permitir maior funcionalidade aos paciente. Ao todo foram identificados 38 modelos de mesa auxiliar nos catálogos de produtos hospitalares, 37 modelos possibilitam a regulagem de altura, através de mecanismos de guias cromadas na maioria das mesas. A base das mesas é confeccionada em aço inoxidável e 36 modelos possuem rodízios. Segundo os sujeitos da pesquisa para promover maior independência ao paciente internado torna-se necessário que esse móvel possibilite maior regulagem de altura, uso em diferentes situações, apresente base apoiada diretamente sobre o solo, bordas elevadas para evitar a queda de objetos e inclinação do tampo. Com base nos dados coletados nos catálogos, nas respostas dos participantes e considerando princípios ergonômicos propõem-se requisitos para o projeto de um móvel mais versátil que possibilite ao paciente a maior funcionalidade possível. / The hospitalization process commit various aspects of the patient\'s life in addition to issues related to the individual experiencing the pathology the disruption of their daily lives, moving away from performing their duties, the family and social life, work and leisure. The occupational therapist works in the hospital helping the patient to create support systems so that it is able to face the difficulties brought about by hospitalization for this, the practitioner can use various resources, among these the Assistive Technology, developed to enable the increased autonomy and independence of the elderly, people with disabilities or reduced mobility in their activities. This study aims to know the auxiliary tables used by patients during hospitalization, with its possibilities for adaptations and different uses, and to propose design requirements for a new model that allows use of individuals with different capabilities. To achieve these goals survey was conducted via product catalogs of the hospital auxiliary tables available in the domestic market, described the physical characteristics of mobile, in addition, Occupational Therapists working in hospitals were invited to participate by answering a questionnaire on the side table available in their workplace. These professionals have indicated the physical characteristics of the auxiliary table and commented on improvements and adjustments needed to optimize the its use to allow more functionality to the patient. Altogether 38 models were identified in the catalogs of hospital products, 37 models allow for height adjustment, through mechanisms of chrome guides at most tables. The basis of the tables is made of stainless steel and 36 models have casters. According to the research subjects to promote greater independence of the patient admitted it is necessary that the mobile enables greater height adjustment, use in different situations, present base resting directly on the ground, raised edges to prevent objects falling and tilting the top. Based on data collected in catalogs, participants\' responses and considering ergonomic principles are proposed requirements for the design of a more versatile mobile that allows the patient the greatest possible functionality.

O presente trabalho investiga as diculdades enfrentadas por decientes visuais ao ingressarem em um curso de nvel superior em Música, onde a troca de informacão musical escrita é frequente e se dá por meio de partituras impressas em tinta, e a conversão deste material para braille demanda conhecimentos específicos e disponibilidade de recursos. Igualmente problemática, a produção musical do aluno cego é feita em braille, seja para tomar nota de aulas como para realizar tarefas de disciplinas como Contraponto, Harmonia e Análise Musical, ou mesmo para a realização de exames. Claramente, esse material deve passar por um processo de conversão para que o professor possa avaliar o aluno, entre outros motivos. O foco principal da pesquisa realizada é a analise da musicografia braille sob a ótica das possibilidades de se produzir transcrições automáticas entre partituras em braille e tinta, a fim de prover recursos tecnológicos direcionados a solução deste problema. Para tanto, foi desenvolvido um aplicativo capaz de receber informação musical em braille e converê-la para o formato MusicXML, adequado para a leitura a partir de outros aplicativos de notação musical e, consequentemente, a impressão deste material em tinta. Este programa esta sendo distribudo como software livre sob licenca LGPL, contrapondo-se as suas alternativas hoje existentes no mercado. O aplicativo desenvolvido foi utilizado e avaliado por usuarios decientes visuais e com visão normal por meio de um questionário. Os dados foram então analisados, buscando mapear as diferenças nas experiências de uso e verificar necessidades de melhorias e novas funcionalidades, buscando com isso o aprofundamento nas questões pertinentes ao problema e dando suporte a novas pesquisas relativas ao assunto. / This work researches visually-impaired person\'s dificulties when studying music as a university career, where musical information is usually forwarded as ink-printed sheet music and the translation of this material to braille involves specic skills and resource availability. In that sense, the musical production demanded from a blind student is accomplished by using braille notation, for taking notes or producing homework for disciplines like Harmony, Musical Analysis, or even to take tests. Clearly the information produced has to be submitted to a conversion process, and finally it can be reviewed by the professor or other students. The main focus of this research is the understanding of braille music aspects and the problem of generating automatic ink-printed sheet music transcriptions, providing assistive resource for music students. For attaining this goal, an application was developed in order to receive braille music input and translate it to MusicXML format, which can be read by any of the widely MusicXML compatible softwares available for reading, editing and printing music. The program is distributed as free software under LGPL license, as opposed to currently available alternatives. The resulting application was tested by visually-impaired and non-visually impaired users, and reviewed trough the application of a survey. The collected data was analyzed, in search for variations on user experience and checking for software improvement needs, as well as uncovering further relevant matters on this subject.

Esta pesquisa investigou as condições de acessibilidade às tecnologias de informação e comunicação oferecidas aos alunos com deficiência visual e física matriculados na rede municipal de ensino de São Paulo, como forma de garantir seu acesso e participação nas atividades curriculares. Para sua realização, optou-se pela abordagem qualitativa, por meio de análise da legislação e de documentos produzidos pelas equipes responsáveis pela Educação Especial e Informática Educativa, bem como entrevistas com os gestores destas áreas na referida secretaria municipal e nas regiões de Guaianases, Butantã e São Miguel. A análise dos dados considerou recomendações internacionais, das quais o Brasil é signatário, garantias legais nacionais e do município de São Paulo, além do referencial teórico referente ao direito à educação, à educação inclusiva e a importância das tecnologias na escolarização de alunos com deficiência. Observou-se que o município prevê em seus documentos legais a Educação Especial e a Informática Educativa e apresenta diversos aspectos relevantes para promover a acessibilidade as Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação e que o acesso a esses recursos pelos alunos com deficiência é considerado importante na visão dos profissionais que atuam na gestão dos projetos e no apoio aos alunos e professores, revelando algumas iniciativas de adaptação e aquisição de recursos e equipamentos para alguns alunos com deficiência. Como sugestões para o aprimoramento do trabalho realizado na referida secretaria foi apontada a necessidade de investimento em formação continuada e produção de materiais sistematizados a partir das práticas dos próprios professores, sendo, todo esse processo, construído a partir de um estudo mais detalhado das necessidades identificadas nas escolas da secretaria municipal com relação à acessibilidade as Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação Também são sugeridas estratégias para que a construção dessa proposta ocorra de forma articulada entre os profissionais das equipes de Educação Especial, Informática Educativa e Ensino Comum. Assim, espera-se contribuir com reflexões e com o planejamento das próximas ações tanto no referido município, como em outras localidades. / This research has investigated the conditions provided to the visual and physical impairment students enrolled in São Paulos municipal schools to access the information technology and communication as a way to ensure their access and participation in the curricular activities. In order to accomplish it, the qualitative approach was chosen by analyzing the legislation and documents produced by the teams responsible for Special Education and Information and Communication Technologies in Education, as well as interviews with the managers in these areas in São Paulo municipal secretariat and in Guaianases, Butantã and São Miguel zones. The data analysis took into consideration the international recommendations in which Brazil is signatory, national and São Paulo city legal warranties, and also the theoretical foundation referring to the right to have education, to the inclusive education, and the importance of the technologies in the education of disabled students. It was observed that the city predicts Special Education and Information and Communication Technologies in Education in its legal documents and presents several relevant aspects to promote the access to the Information and Communication Technologies. The access to these resources by the disabled students is also considered important from the professionals view, who perform in the projects management and support the students and teachers, revealing some initiatives in adaptation and acquisition of resources and equipment for some disabled students. As suggestions to the improvement of the accomplished work in the secretariat above, it was pointed the need of investment in continuing education and production of systematized materials for the practices of the teachers themselves, having all this process built from a more detailed study about the needs identified in the municipal secretariats school regarding the accessibility to the Information and Communication Technologies. It is also suggested strategies in order to make this proposal to be organized in an articulate way among the teams professionals in Special Education, Information and Technology Education and Regular Education. Thus, it is expected to contribute with reflections and with planning for the next actions both in São Paulo and other places.