Academy for Educational Development

When information on any subject under the sun seems to be just a Google-click away, is there really a need for a project in which the primary product is more information? 

“Absolutely,” said Jackie Hess, the director of AED’s Family Center on Technology and Disability.  “Every time we do a needs-assessment we’re surprised at the overwhelming demand for information about assistive technology.” 

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs, the Family Center has been administered by AED since 2001.  Located within AED’s Disabilities Studies and Services Center, the Family Center provides a wide range of information and resources to a national network of organizations that serve the families of children with disabilities.  How do they explain the strong, continuing need for information on both high-tech and low-tech devices that assist children who have functional deficits in areas of communication, mobility, sight, hearing, and cognition? 

“In technology, the sand is constantly shifting,” says Hess. “There are new developments all the time and new research about what works for specific needs. The organizations we serve are staffed by enormously dedicated people who understand the disabilities field, but who do not see themselves as ‘techies.’ They need current, accurate information, packaged in family-friendly and user-friendly language.”

The Family Center provides a searchable database of hundreds of assistive technology resources, and distributes a monthly newsletter that “goes deep rather than broad,” said Hess. Several times a year, the Family Center hosts month-long online discussions and an online institute for which participants can receive continuing education credits. Many of the resources are provided in Spanish as well as English.

“Whenever we’re having a hard day,” reports Hess, “we read the email or online posts from people who tell us how the information they received from us changed the life of their child or the students with whom they work.  This may be the information age, but it’s still very much about the people.”

For more information, visit http://www.fctd.info or contact Jackie Hess at jhess@aed.org.