Assistive Technology

Assistive Technology

Teachers who use only traditional classroom instruction and materials may find that students with disabilities often have difficulty accessing the general education schedule. To overcome this challenge we use assistive technology. AT is a service or device that helps a student with a disability to meet his or her individualized education program (IEP) goals and to participate in the general education setting to the maximum possible extent. AT improves the practical performance of an individual with a disability. Students can use assistive technology to:

·         Communicate

·         Perform academic tasks

·         Take part in extracurricular and social activities

·         Move or travel around the school

·         Use proper seating and positioning

·         Access materials

When AT is appropriately integrated into the general education classroom, students are provided with multiple means to complete their work and meet their educational ambitions. To successfully access the general education schedule a student might require a magnifier, slant board, reaches, amplification system, computer, alternative keyboard, calculator, or any number of other tools.

A student with poor vision might use magnified text. A student with motor difficulties might use a simplified, enlarged computer keyboard. A student who can understand history at the grade-6 level, but can read only at the grade-3 level might read a textbook with the help of scans and reads text. The adaptability of assistive technology allows a teacher to build tools and materials that address students’ strengths as well as their weaknesses.

For students with disabilities that interfere with their learning, social relationships, communication, or active participation, assistive technology supports their participation in learning experiences in the least contrary environment.

The Federal government recognizes the potential of assistive technology for students in the 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which mandates that assistive technology devices and services be considered for each child with a disability. The amendments done in 1997 projects a shift in focus about the use of assistive technology. Rather than being recognized as just a rehabilitative, assistive technology is projected in the student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) as a method for general curriculum entry. Rather than just stating a student’s special education assistance, the IEP must also include information about a student's current abilities and how his or her disability affects involvement and progress in the general schedule. The IEP must also include the program changes and supports the school and teachers will provide to help a student’s involvement and progress in the general curriculum.

References:

1.      http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/at/cresource/what-should-ms-adelaide-know-about-assistive-technology-and-how-it-is-used-by-students-with-disabilities/at_02/#content

2.      http://www.sc.edu/scatp/cdrom/atused.html