TAPit, or the Touch Accessible Platform for Interactive Technology, is the world’s first ADA compliant information systems that uses “intended touch” to serve students with special needs. Utilizing state-of-the-art assistive technology, the TAPit platform can tell the difference between a purposeful interaction and an accidental interaction with the screen, which makes it infinitely easier for disabled students to use and learn.
Successfully used by more than 1,000 schools in North America, this revolutionary AT platform provides multiple modes of learning to accommodate tactile, visual, and auditory learners, as well as those with traumatic brain injury, Down Syndrome, intellectual disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, spinal cord injuries, ADD/ADHD, learning disabilities, vision and hearing disabilities, Sensory Processing Disorder, and Muscular Dystrophy.
Easy to Use and Easy to Reach
The TAPit is within easy reach for people using wheelchairs, walkers, or other mobility devices, providing full access to the screen with simple adjustments that adapt to individualized needs. The work area is especially designed to ensure that the majority of students are able to reach the entire surface. With just the touch of a button, the TAPit platform can move up or down and the 42″ interactive LCD panel can be tilted from 0 – 90 degrees. These adjustments make TAPit much more accessible to physically challenged students and their instructors than stationary wall-mounted boards.
Students can use the interface to interact with applications on TAPit’s LCD panel, which helps to accommodate their lack of precision and accuracy in directing the mouse pointer. If a student is visually impaired, teachers, students, and parents can resize graphics, adjust brightness and contrast controls, and enlarge images or change background colors. The program’s Fine Motor Delay function enables students to operate the screen using a finger, assistive device, or reach stick. The TAPit platform also caters to students with developmental delays, while ongoing visual reinforcement complements lessons and improves functional capabilities, which helps students with ASD or ADD to track content with greater ease. Additionally, the TAPit is compatible with EyeTech, allowing users to control the screen through their eyes rather than with a mouse or trackpad device.
Independently tested for durability and impervious to dust, grit, grime, or other contaminants, the commercial grade LCD panel is made of shatter-resistant safety glass. The platform is also counter-balanced, so even if a student leans their full body weight against it, TAPit will not tip over. It can also be easily and conveniently rolled to the desired location and kept stable with commercial grade locking casters for added protection.
An optimal interface for teaching students with special needs at their own pace, TAPit’s assistive technology reinforces skills that can be transferred to other computer-based learning applications utilizing the Internet, educational software, or communication devices. And no separate computer is needed to work with the TAPit—just plug in your current classroom or personal computer and get started!
To find out more about TAPit and ADA compliant information systems, visit www.teachsmart.org or call 800-398-5652 x682.