Web Posted on: November 20, 1998

MATCHING (little) PERSON AND TECHNOLOGY

Marcia J. Scherer, Ph.D., Director
Institute for Matching Person and Technology
486 Lake Road, Webster, New York 14580
716-671-3461 (phone/fax)
http://members.aol.com/IMPT97/MPT.html

Limitations are often the focus when assistive technology is selected: technology is "matched" to a child's disability. This can result in technology left in a closet or bag because it did not meet environmental needs or the child's motivation. MATCH is a process to reduce this from happening.

A 1998 paper by Dr. Sharon Lesar in the Journal of Early Intervention identified several areas that serve as barriers to matching children with the most appropriate assistive technologies (AT): the need for additional training in AT for early childhood educators, family involvement in the selection and use of AT, and a useful assessment process. In hopes of providing a more personal approach to matching infants and children with the most appropriate technologies for their use, the Matching Assistive Technology and CHild or MATCH assessment process has been developed through the collaborative efforts of parents and professionals associated with the Monroe County (NY) Early Intervention Program and the Rochester Center for Independent Living.

A group of more than twenty parents and professionals met for over a year to create a draft assessment process which was then pilot tested by early interventionists and educators in Monroe County. The MATCH assessment process consists of a series of instruments designed for early educators, AT evaluators, IFSP and IEP teams, AT service coordinators, therapists, and parents concerned with achieving the most appropriate match of an infant or child with an assistive technology. Each instrument is quick, easy and self-explanatory. They are meant to be completed by the parent and professional in partnership to create dialogue around options, expectations, and concerns and to:

• ensure parent and user input drives the MATCH process.
• guide professionals into considering all relevant influences on the use of a technology while focusing on the user's development and quality of life.
• identify possible mismatches between a proposed technology and a potential user in time to reduce inappropriate use or non-use of the technology and the accompanying disappointment and frustration.
• choose the most appropriate technology when there is a choice of several.
• decide on the most appropriate training strategies for a child's/parent's optimal use of a technology.
• decide whether a particular technology is the most appropriate choice given the characteristics of the child, preferences of the parent(s), technology under consideration, and environments of use.

This presentation is designed to disseminate information about this process to early childhood educators and parents who may benefit from knowing how it was developed and is meant to be used. As a result of attending this presentation, the following learning outcomes will be achieved:

• Explain the rationale for better matching of assistive technology and child.
• Plan a family- and child-centered assessment.
• Demonstrate use of the family- and child-centered assessment process, MATCH.
• Apply the MATCH process regardless of parent and child cultural or linguistic background and in the child's natural settings.
• Evaluate/analyze the usefulness of the MATCH process for the learner's practice.

REFERENCES

Lesar, S. (1998). Use of Assistive Technology with Young Children with Disabilities: Current Status and Training Needs. Journal of Early Intervention, 21(2), 146-159.

Scherer, M.J. (1998). Matching Assistive Technology and CHild (MATCH) Assessment Process. Webster, NY: Institute for Matching Person and Technology.