This page preserves the wording of the Lifespace Access Profile (Physical Disabilities) and organizes it for retrieval. Content is grouped under universal anchors so teams and an AI helper can deep‑link to student context, assessment indicators, supports/feature menus, implementation steps, and compliance notes.

Lifespace Access Profile — Physical Disabilities (Clean)

Student Context

Lifespace Access Profile — Physical Disabilities (PlainLanguage Guide)

How to use this guide

Who uses it: Parent/caregiver, teacher, SLP, OT, PT, tech specialist, behavior specialist, vision/hearing specialists, nurse, etc.

What to do: Read each section, discuss the prompts, jot notes. When helpful, give a quick impression rating:

1–5 (1 = major challenge / not yet; 3 = emerging/inconsistent; 5 = typical/independent), or

1–10 for finer detail.

Tip: Keep notes concrete—what the student does, in what setting, with what support. That makes next steps obvious.

1) Student Snapshot

Purpose: Align the team on goals before tools.

What is today’s primary participation goal (e.g., write a sentence, answer questions, take notes, access reading, communicate choices, operate devices)?

What is the student’s voice on priorities (likes/dislikes, what they want to do more independently)?

What has worked before? What hasn’t?

Any health/attendance patterns that impact availability and stamina?

2) Vision & Hearing

Why it matters: Access depends on what the learner can reliably see and hear.

Vision prompts

Does the student use glasses or magnification? Is contrast, size, or glare an issue?

Best viewing distance/angle/height for screens/materials?

Any visual processing concerns (crowding, tracking, field cuts)?

Hearing prompts

Hearing aids/FM? Comfortable volume? Better with headphones?

Follows spoken directions better with visual supports? Shorter chunks?

3) Touch/Sensory

Why it matters: Tactile sensitivity affects switch placement, key size, and mounting.

Does the student avoid/seek certain textures or pressures?

4) Muscle Tone, Posture & Positioning

Why it matters: Good positioning often unlocks access.

Current seating/positioning (wheelchair, adaptive chair, standing frame)? Is posture stable for head/hand control?

Tone patterns (hypo/hyper/mixed). Do reflexes or startle responses interfere with targeting?

Best work surface angle (e.g., ~90° upright, ~60–70° slant). Can we reduce reach and keep elbows supported?

5) Range of Motion (ROM) & Coordination

Primary controlled movement site(s): hand, finger, thumb, wrist, forearm, head, eyes, foot, knee, etc.

Optional quick checks (informal):

What minimum target size stays ~80% accurate (e.g., 0.5", 1", 2")?

Goal: Identify the simplest reliable control method.

Questions

Primary site & mounting: Where can we place the device so movement is easiest and repeatable? Any secondary site to alternate when fatigued?

Work angle & monitor: screen distance/height/tilt for comfort and visual access.

7) Fine Motor & Hand Function

Why it matters: Drives handwriting, typing, and direct touch.

Benefits from word prediction, abbreviation expansion, or voice input for text entry?

8) Mobility & Transfers

Why it matters: Impacts where and how access happens.

Primary mobility: manual/power chair, walker, cane, unaided.

Can the student reposition independently? Need assistance for transfers?

Is equipment transportable between classrooms/home/community?

9) Communication (Receptive & Expressive)

Receptive (understanding)

Strongest input mode: spoken, print, pictures/symbols, sign/gesture, tactile?

Follows 1–2 step directions? Needs visual cues?

Expressive (getting message out)

Primary mode: speech, vocalizations, writing/typing, sign/gesture, AAC.

Intelligibility (to familiar vs unfamiliar partners)? Conversational speed?

10) Learning & Skills

Computer familiarity (exploring → independent in 1–2 programs → supports others).

Best contexts for learning (quiet, visual models, step-by-step, hands-on, frequent breaks?).

11) Attention, Motivation & SelfRegulation

Attention span for preferred vs nonpreferred tasks? Main distractors?

Tolerance for change/novelty; frustration signs; recovery strategies.

What actually motivates this student (tangible, points/grades, praise, intrinsic)?

12) Environments (Where Access Happens)

For Home, School, Community, Employment (if applicable):

Current independence: How much support is needed to start/finish the task?

How often is communication AT, physical participation AT, and computer use happening? (none → daily → integrated hours/day)

What equipment is available in each environment? What’s missing?

At home: time, training, equipment, or person support needed?

At school: same as above; who will do training and followup? Where will the device live and be charged/maintained?

Other supports: specialists, clinics, community programs.

Issues/concerns:

…

Top 3 resource priorities:

Physical access: …

Cognitive/language: …

Emotional/behavioral: …

Strengths by domain: Home … | School … | Community …

Quick next steps:

Quick Scenario Guides

A) Fine Motor Involvement with Limited Hand ROM

What to look for

Try first

Positioning: forearm supported, slight slant board, reduce reach.

Input methods:

Data to note

If still hard

Move to scanning (step or auto) with preferred switch site; slow the scan; use fewer choices per page; add auditory cues if vision is busy.

B) Head Control but Limited Limb Movement

Stabilize head with positioning; adjust cursor dwell & tremor filters.

C) Low Vision + Motor Involvement

Increase contrast/size, simplify layouts, add speech feedback (screen reader or onkey speech).

Prefer highcontrast, largetarget access; reduce the number of onscreen options.

Notes for Teams & AI Use

Use this as a conversation map and to seed AI guidance; it’s intentionally simple.

Revisit after 2–4 weeks; keep what works, drop what doesn’t, and advance one variable at a time.

Attribution: Adapted from the Lifespace Access Profile: Physical Disabilities (1990s editions), reformatted into plain language for modern assistive technology screening and planning.

Assessments & Screenings

A simplified rewrite for teams and AI reference. Based on the structure of the 1990s Lifespace Access Profiles. Use this to guide screening conversations and quick planning; it is not a diagnostic tool.

Outcome: A short summary of needs, possible tools/strategies to try, and next steps for trials and training.

Quick rating (optional): Goal clarity ___/5 • Team agreement ___/5 • Attendance/stamina ___/5

Note: Adjust font size, contrast, line spacing, captioning, audio levels before assuming a motor or cognitive barrier.

Any tremor or overshoot undershoot (accuracy issues) that suggest larger targets or filters?

How many choices can be hit with ~80% accuracy (e.g., 2, 4, 6+)?

Reading/writing/math levels (rough bands are fine: preK, early elem, mid, secondary).

Support ideas: visual schedules, timers, chunking tasks, firstthen boards, short successful trials, immediate feedback.

Trial __ (e.g., head mouse vs joystick) for notetaking; compare 10selection time & accuracy.

Minimum comfortable target size, number of targets maintainable at ~80% accuracy, time for 10 selections, fatigue changes across 10–15 minutes.

Prefer trials over assumptions. Document what worked, where, and for how long.

Supports & Features

Comfortable dwell time (how long they can hold still on a target)?

Try first: stabilize trunk/pelvis; bring targets into the most controlled range; use arm supports/keyguards as needed.

Why it matters: Determines target size, spacing, and whether scanning or head access is better.

6) Access & Control (Switches, Pointers, Keyboards)

Current access: regular/alternate keyboard, keyguard, large keys, mouse/trackball/joystick, touch screen, head pointing, eye gaze, single/double switch, scanning? What works best today?

Device settings that help: acceptance delay, repeat rate, key bounce filters, cursor dwell click, scan speed/step-auto, prediction/abbrev.

If targeting is hard: try larger targets, a keyguard, reduced grid, or switch scanning (auto or step). If touch is difficult, test trackball/joystick/head mouse, then eye gaze if head control is limited.

Better with stylus + hand rest than finger? Better with keyguard than open touch?

If using AAC: fixed phrases vs stored words vs spelling/prediction? Access via touch, switch scanning, eye gaze, head?

Consider: Pre-program common phrases, use prediction, and simplify page sets. Choose access first, language layout second.

Try __ (e.g., keyguard + reduced keyboard + prediction) during writing block.

Train staff on __ (e.g., scan settings, dwell click, charging routine).

Targets: larger buttons/keys; onscreen keyguard or physical keyguard; reduced keyboard layout.

If some finger control → largekey keyboard, keyguard, trackball with large ball.

If touch is hard → joystick or head mouse; test switch scanning if aiming remains difficult.

Text supports: strong word prediction, abbreviation expansion, possible speechtotext for drafts.

Try head mouse or eye gaze if head control is inconsistent.

Consider single/dual switch scanning as fallback.

Implementation & Training

Time needed for 10 intentional selections (helps compare options).

13) Support & Training

14) Planning Summary (Write Short & Clear)

Issues & Troubleshooting

Light touch vs firm press preferences? Fatigue with repeated presses?

Motion is small/precise or large/sweeping? Consistent? Fatigues over time?

Grip/pinch? Finger isolation? Wrist stability? Fatigue?

Finger isolation limited; overshoot/undershoot on small targets; fatigue; wrist instability.