Throughout the country, school teams increasingly are adopting culturally sensitive family centered practices in planning for assistive technology (AT) for children with disabilities. Over the past two decades evolving research has revealed the importance of considering family and cultural issues when planning AT interventions for children with disabilities and their families. This paper presents an overview of selected family and cultural issues, and suggests ongoing questions. The potential for interactive multimedia in helping teams and families make AT decisions is reviewed. The paper concludes with a description of a newly available interactive CD-ROM designed to provide to both families and professionals basic information on augmentative and alternative communication decision-making, including an overview of relevant family and cultural issues.

This article is the first in a series of special invited manuscripts from leaders in the field of special education technology. jSET has invited experienced researchers and practitioners to share their current projects and speculate on important trends for the future. This forum will provide a distinct opportunity for sharing ideas and generating new directions for research and practice in special education technology.