ACVREP CATIS key terms

Any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a person with a disability.

Any service that directly assists a person with a disability in selecting, acquiring, or using an assistive technology device, including evaluation, training, and technical assistance for the user and those who support them.

A structured process of comparing the specific features a user needs with the features offered by candidate devices, so that selection is driven by functional requirements rather than brand or novelty.

A team-based planning structure that examines the Student, the Environments, the Tasks, and then the Tools, in that order, so technology decisions follow from identified needs rather than preceding them.

The required team discussion, documented in a student's individualized education program, that determines whether the student needs assistive technology devices or services to receive a free appropriate public education.

The federal special education law that entitles eligible students to a free appropriate public education and requires that assistive technology be considered for every student with an individualized education program.

The legal entitlement of eligible students with disabilities to special education and related services, provided at public expense, that are individualized and designed to confer meaningful educational benefit.

A written plan for a student receiving special education that states present levels, measurable goals, services, placement, and any assistive technology devices and services the team has determined are needed.

A plan under a federal civil rights law that provides accommodations and services so a student with a disability can access the general education program and activities on an equal basis with peers.

A federal civil rights law prohibiting discrimination based on disability in employment, public services, public accommodations, and telecommunications, including requirements for effective communication and reasonable modifications.

A federal law requiring that electronic and information technology procured or used by federal agencies be accessible to people with disabilities, which has shaped accessibility standards adopted in many other sectors.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, an internationally recognized set of success criteria organized around the principles that content be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for users with disabilities.

An instructional planning approach that builds in multiple means of engagement, representation, and action and expression from the start, reducing the need to retrofit materials for individual learners.

Specialized formats of curricular content, such as braille, large print, audio, or digital text, that allow students with disabilities to access the same information as their peers at the same time.

Adjusting content, process, product, or learning environment based on learner variability, often pairing technology supports with changes in how a lesson is taught and assessed.

Breaking a functional activity into its component steps so that the team can pinpoint where performance breaks down and target instruction or a tool at that specific step.

Gathering information about a person's performance across the actual settings and routines of daily life, rather than in a clinic alone, to identify supports that fit real environments.

An alternative input method in which a person activates one or more switches, singly or in scanning patterns, to control a device instead of using a standard keyboard or touchscreen.

Any nonstandard method of operating a computer or device, such as switch use, eye gaze, head pointing, or voice control, chosen when conventional keyboard and mouse use is limited.

A camera-based access method that tracks where a person is looking so that dwell time or a blink can select items on a screen, useful for people with very limited voluntary movement.

Software that converts on-screen text and interface elements into synthesized speech or braille output and lets the user navigate by keyboard commands rather than by pointing.

A device with rows of pins that rise and fall to present text in braille, typically paired with a screen reader so a user can read and navigate digital content tactilely.

A short written description attached to an image or graphic so that screen reader users receive equivalent information, and so the meaning is preserved when images fail to load.

Augmentative and alternative communication: the strategies, systems, and tools, from gestures and picture boards to speech-generating devices, that supplement or replace spoken communication.

A dedicated or tablet-based device that produces spoken output when a user selects symbols, words, or letters, often with customizable vocabulary sets and access methods.

The small set of high-frequency words that make up most everyday communication, which AAC systems prioritize and place for quick access while fringe words are added as needed.

A partner strategy in which the communication partner uses the learner's AAC system while speaking, providing repeated demonstrations of how and when to use symbols to communicate.

Equipment that brings a speaker's voice closer to a listener's ear or hearing aid, such as FM or infrared systems, improving speech understanding in background noise or over distance.

An induction system that transmits audio as a magnetic field within a defined area so that telecoil-equipped hearing aids and cochlear implants receive sound directly.

The legal standard requiring public entities and covered settings to provide communication access, through auxiliary aids and services, that is as effective as communication with people without disabilities.

A system that lets a person operate household devices such as lights, doors, beds, or telephones through an accessible input, increasing independence in daily living.

Routine self-care tasks such as eating, dressing, bathing, toileting, and transferring, which are common targets when selecting technology to support independent living.

More complex tasks needed to manage a household and participate in community life, such as meal preparation, medication management, shopping, transportation, and money handling.

Systematic recording of a learner's performance during AT use, such as accuracy, independence level, and prompting needed, used to judge whether a tool or instruction is working.

A planned, time-limited opportunity to use a candidate device in real settings with defined data collection, so the team can verify benefit before committing to purchase.

A written agreement describing who provides which AT supports, in what settings, with what training and timelines, and how progress will be monitored and reviewed.

Agreement to assessment or services given voluntarily by a person, or a legally authorized representative, after receiving understandable information about purpose, risks, and alternatives.

The ethical and legal duty to protect personal information about a client, sharing it only with authorized parties and for legitimate purposes consistent with consent and applicable law.

Timely, objective written records of assessment findings, recommendations, training provided, and outcomes, forming the basis for continuity of care and accountability.

The principle that people with disabilities have the right to make choices about their own lives and supports, which practitioners honor by building consumer control into assessment and goal setting.

A collaborative process that starts from the individual's own priorities, preferences, and vision for daily life, then designs supports and technology around those stated goals.