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Reason For Referral
MP was referred for an assistive technology (AT) evaluation by her counselor, PU, in order to ascertain M’s needs for the attainment of her educational goals at TNC College in NN V.

Background
MP has been diagnosed with congenital optic atrophy. The Functional Vision-Assessment dated January 26, 2011 revealed that M needs to sit approximately 6 feet away to watch television. She reported that she occasionally wears glasses but is not able to wear them for long periods of time because they hurt her eyes. She uses Handi-Ride when she goes to school but travels with a companion when visiting unfamiliar places. She has difficulty seeing in the sunlight outside. She is majoring in child development. She reported that she has not been able to use the ZoomText App Reader/Doc Reader features in the PDF files forwarded to her by the college. Additionally, her Evaluation Report dated August 16, 2006 states that M scored low to average in the Wide Range Achievement Test/3 (WRAT) in reading and spelling. The purpose of this assessment was to establish the required vision-related assistive technology devices, technologies, and/or strategies appropriate for assisting her with the completion of her educational goals.

ASSESSMENT

Environmental Observation
The evaluation performed for the consumer on January 7, 2014 consists of a review of her current assistive technology options, an observation of the extent to which the devices are accessible to her, and an interview with the consumer and a support personnel member at her college to identify additional technology options. The rehab technology specialist visited TNC College to meet CJ, the assistive technologist, and received sample electronic format textbooks. Later, the AT evaluation occurred at M’s apartment. She reported that she normally studies at her desk, which is located in her bedroom at home, although on that day she had her laptop and other assistive technology devices on her living room table.

Current AT Devices
M uses magnifier/reader software (Zoom Text), a hand-held video magnifier (Pebble 4.3), an audio book reader (Victor Reader Stream), a various-distance video magnifier (transformer with a USB adaptor—no VGA), a scanner camera (Pearl), scanner software (OpenBook), and various other low vision aids. She has a 32-bit Windows 7 Intel 2 GHz system with 4GB RAM and a hard drive with approximately 400 GB of storage. The rehab technology specialist updated her Zoom-Text 9.1 to 10.0 on her laptop. She will need to wait to use Zoom-Text USB 10.1 until the version becomes compatible with Windows 7 (per AiSquared). She has a SmartView Xtend CCTV but is currently not able to use it because the camera does not display a clear image. The power turns on, but it appears as though the CCTV camera lens is misaligned. She reports that the Humanware is no longer able to support her CCTV. 

She reports that she often uses her Pebble magnifier at school and uses her Victor Reader Stream to review classroom lectures or reading materials at home. She occasionally uses her transformer to read printed documents at home but studies more often by using electronic format textbooks forwarded to her by her college. The assistive technologist states that he needs to convert PDF format textbooks from Publisher to plain text or MS Word files to make the materials more readable. This process takes longer, but it is clear that this extra step helps all students who, like M, need alternative format textbooks. She makes an effort to provide the necessary textbook information to Claude in advance before a new semester begins. 

Accessing Information

Accessing print materials: She uses her hand-held video magnifier or transformer to access print materials.

Accessing information through Braille: She does not use Braille but reports that she knows how to read Braille.

Accessing information in auditory formats: She reports that she uses her VR stream to record and review lectures. She learned how to use bookmarks from a trainer, which has been very helpful.

Accessing information at a distance (blackboard, projections): She reports that she used her transformer magnifier in one class but no longer has a monocular.
 
Recording information: When she was asked to write her name and address on a piece of paper without her glasses, her handwriting was approximately ¼ inch in size. She often uses a writing guide, lined paper, and 20/20 pens.

Accessing the Computer

Keyboard: A typing test was not conducted during this evaluation, but she demonstrated that she very seldom made typing errors during the observation. She uses a Zoom-Text large font keyboard but states that it is still difficult for her to identify each letter on the keyboard. For this reason, she has memorized all keyboard positions. 

Magnification: She uses ZoomText magnification between 11x and 12x when she is roughly 16 inches away from the monitor. She reports experiencing physical fatigue and requires rest after 15 minutes of reading. 

Positioning/ergonomics: She has a large desk and a chair, which accommodate both her laptop and provide space for a CCTV.  

Equipment Recommendations

For accessing printed materials: She will benefit from becoming familiar with her assistive technology aids. First, she could use the OCR feature on her OpenBook software with the study materials forwarded by the assistive technologist. Additionally, she will benefit from exporting text to an audio file so that she can also listen to the materials using her VR Stream player.

It is essential to determine if her CCTV camera alignment can be fixed or if a replacement is available.

For recording information: She has an audio recorder/player (VR Stream) and frequently uses the player to record lectures. No other equipment is recommended.

For distance viewing: She states that she no longer has a monocular. She would benefit from evaluation for the use of a monocular.
 
For accessing the computer: She has a computer with a screen-reading program. It was observed that she has difficulty reading from her laptop, and she may benefit from using a large monitor with her laptop.

Overall Summary: 

Mrs. MP is doing very well currently in the child development program at her college. Although she became tired from time to time, she was very cooperative throughout the entire evaluation. 

She is already equipped with several assistive technology aids but reported a few problems with her devices and software. The CCTV (SmartView Xtend) power could be turned on, but it appeared that the image was misaligned. The CCTV has been scheduled to be brought to the N DB for further examination. She also has a various distance video magnifier (Transformer). The advantage of using a various distance video magnifier such as the Transformer is that she can use it for document reading at home and in classroom. She should be able to use her transformer with a laptop and display the images onto a larger monitor (32â€ or larger). However, she stated that her transformer magnifier is the first version model and does not immediately refresh the magnified view of what she writes on her computer. However, it is recommended that she discuss her additional video magnifier options with her counselor.

Additionally, she reported having problems using certain features (App/Doc Reader) in her ZoomText software. The rehab technology specialist updated her Zoom-Text software from 9.1 to 10.0, modified the Adobe Reader settings and taught her how to use hotkeys in ZoomText. The App Reader and Doc Reader were repaired during the visit. M was able to demonstrate her ability by reading her book at a speed rate of 60 with 11x magnification. She preferred using the reading setting with blue font on a black background. She also has ZoomText 10.1 USB but will not be able to use it until the ZoomText 10.1 version becomes compatible with the Windows 7 system. 

The rehab technology specialist forwarded the information pertaining to her assistive technology aids to the assistive technologist. She will benefit from becoming more familiar with the OCR features available in OpenBook and ZoomText with the electronic format textbooks provided by her college while working with the technologist on campus. She likes the OCR/Audio conversion feature and plans to use the study materials forwarded to her by her college. She may benefit more from using reading materials in an audio format than from visually reading text with her eyes.