Assistive Technology Works!

Knowing where to begin and how to proceed can be daunting, however.  We're here to help.  The Family Center on Technology and Disability provides a wide range of resources on assistive and instructional technologies, from introductory fact sheets through CEU's for practitioners and educators.  Try setting aside 30 minutes a day to review an FCTD resource.  Before you know it, you'll know a lot more about both established and emerging technologies that can improve the lives of the children and youth with whom you work and live.  Of course, we're here for your just-in-time information needs as well.  We hope you'll visit our site often!

News & Notes

Boy working on laptop

We have more than 75 monthly newsletters archived for your review.  The current issue of FCTD News & Notes features Michael Russell,
Ph. D.  He joins us as we examine the expanding role of computer-based accommodations and universally designed assessment platforms.

Assistive Technology (AT) Resources

Explore our AT Resources database for information on assistive and instructional technology. This week our featured resource is a detailed guide  for teachers on how to present materials so that they are accessible to students with a variety of disabilities. This resource  provides a basic understanding of the needs of users with different disabilities, summarizes various approaches to serve them, and identifies specific solutions for designing more accessible software. Accessible Digital Media: Design Guidelines for Electronic Publications, Multimedia & the Web

Sign up for our listserv.

Receive our free monthly newsletter and announcements (infrequent...no email overload from us) of our annual online institute and month-long online discussions.  To register for our listserv, click here.

Join the FCTD Network!

Let people throughout the U.S. know who you are and what you do. By joining the FCTD network, you'll make it easier for colleagues and consumers to find you through our searchable organization database.  You'll also automatically receive our monthly newsletter by email.  It's simple to do and, of course, it's free!

FCTD Online Discussions

Gayl BowserThe Family Center recently concluded an online discussion of AT and Transition, moderated by Gayl Bowser.  You can read the transcript of this discussion and many others - on a wide range of AT topics - in our online discussion archive. 

Family Information Guide to Assistive Technology

Available in both English and Spanish, the FCTD Family Information Guide to AT provides an illustrated glossary, information on AT laws and funding sources, and a great deal more. 
Click here for Spanish. 
Click here for English.
Order a print copy here. 

Assistive Technology Success Stories

David ZuckerWe understand the impact technology can have on the life of a student with disabilities.  Read inspiring stories about students with a range of disability who have experienced great success and achievement through their use of assistive and instructional technologies in our AT Success Stories

2009 AT Resources CD-Rom

When you don't have ready access to the Internet, you can still view all of the information available on our website.  The Family Center CD-ROM continues printer-friendly versions of our many resources. Request a copy of our most recent disc.

Family Center on Technology and Disability (FCTD)
Academy for Educational Development (AED) 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW 7th Floor Washington, DC 20009-5721
phone: (202) 884-8068 fax: (202) 884-8441 email: fctd@aed.org
Copyright 2009
Level Triple-A conformance icon, 
  W3C-WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0