補救或補償──輔助科技介入前決策與判斷之思辨以自閉症手寫問題之個案為例

Remediate or Compensate? Considerations When Deciding Whether to Use Assistive Technology. A Case of Autism with Handwriting Difficulty

輔助科技的理論或適配模式皆指出補救（remediation）或補償（compensation）是輔助科技決策的首要議題，當決定使用補償作為介入方式時，才會進入輔助科技的轉介及適配評估等後續程序。在面對特殊教育需求學生時，透過補救，如重複訓練或增加練習時間的方式，是教育現場選擇的主要介入方式，那麼究竟什麼情況才是選擇補償，也就是輔助科技進行介入的時機呢？在缺乏足夠指引的情況下，本文希望透過教育現場一位自閉症學生手寫問題之介入經驗，作為教育工作者在抉擇運用策略或治療的「補救」，亦或是以輔助科技介入的「補償」之思辨材料，並於文末提出相關的省思及建議。

Assistive technology (AT) is used to compensate the student with disabilities by helping gain functional ability. Many assistive technology theorists suggest that we have a critical decision to make: remediate or compensate? From the theory, we only know that the main difficulties of specific disabilities may be the consideration when making the decision. However, when the critical features of the disability are not associated directly with the student's difficulty, we are then faced with the dilemma of how to make the decision. How long should we continue to provide the remediation, such as providing additional practice or time, when the child is not benefiting from the intervention? What is our signal that tells us to make another decision? Few guidelines are available to guide in the decision-making process in choosing between remediation and compensation. In this article, a case of autism with handwriting difficulty was discussed to provide some examples of considerations when making a critical decision before opting for an assistive technology referral.