Assistive Technology to Support
Students with Special Needs
Doreen Engel, MA
Director of Special Education
Archdiocese of Washington
Distributed by the
National Catholic Partnership on Disability
www.ncpd.org
Universal Design

Universal Design is a principle that is
borrowed from architecture.

The idea is to “build-in” accessibility, so
that as many people as possible can
have access.
Example of Universal Design

Curb cuts allow people
in wheelchairs, people
pushing a wheeling
walker, consumers
pulling a shopping cart,
parents pushing a
stroller, and children
riding tricycles, all to
seamlessly leave the
sidewalk, cross the
street, and return to the
sidewalk. Walkers are
not bothered by the curb
cuts.
In education:

Universal Design means planning ahead
in regard to instruction, curriculum,
materials, classroom layout, etc. so that
children can have seamless or near
seamless access.

Technology is a big part of making
Universal Design a reality.
Purpose of this PowerPoint:

1. Let you know about some possibilities.
There are many good products and
services – these are just a few.
However, they give you a basic idea of
price range and function.
Purpose of this PowerPoint

Keep some basic principles in mind:
Portability is key.
 Low tech is good.
 Always try to arrange for the child/family to
try out items before any purchases are
made.
 Try to consider how all students might
benefit, even though for some students the
technology might be essential, and for
others, optional.

Finally,

Parents may be over eager to make
purchases for their child. Slow them down –
be sure they have read carefully, and let the
child try out the item for a length of time before
purchasing anything at home.
 Ideally, purchases used for school should be
part of the school budget, not something you
ask the parents to pay for.
Quick overview of several types of
supports:
Assistive Listening Devices
Books on CD (RFB&D)
Free on-line software
Build-a-book
Sparktop
TypeIt4ME
Google Docs
Free Natural Reader
Other commercially available products:
Boardmaker Plus (communication)
WordQ (Word prediction software)
Soliloquy Reading (Reading assistant)
Solo (All-in-one product with text-to-speech,
dictation, graphic organizer, and word
prediction)
Books on CD

Available for free from the Library of Congress
www.loc.gov/nls
 Available for a fee from Recording for the Blind and
Dyslexic (www.rfbd.org)
 You can visit their local office, to try out various
players before recommending them.
 Schools or students with financial need can receive
free equipment and free books.
 If they don’t have a book you need, they will record it.
 Books on CD are mailed directly to the school or
home.
Books on CD





Excellent no cost or low cost strategy for many
learners: ELL, learning disabilities, AD/HD
“Special” CD player is required, but many look like
typical CD players.
Parents may worry the child “will never learn to read”
using this technique, but the research shows just the
opposite.
Also useful for children who are strong auditory
learners, or children who have a very long commute to
school.
Ideally, let the child try it out at school before asking a
parent to order this.
Assistive Listening Devices

For children with hearing
loss, or occasionally for
children with significant
attention problems.
(When working with a child
with a hearing loss, be
certain the audiologist is
involved in the selection
of the device.)
http://www.asha.org/publ
ic/hearing/treatment/assi
st_tech.htm
Assistive Listening Devices
Cost from $600 upwards.
 I am trying to get donations of used
equipment for children who may benefit
from this.

Free On-line Software
Build-a-Book available from CAST.
http://bookbuilder.cast.org/
Universal Design approach allows
children with different
reading/comprehension levels to access
the same book.
Also check out
http://lessonbuilder.cast.org

Sparktop.org
Available from ldonline.org
 Game format explains to students that
every brain is different, and that we all
have strengths and weakness. Good
explanations of multiple intelligences,
learning differences, and attention for
children.

TypeIt4ME
Word prediction software for Macs only.
 Single user is only $27.00
 See
 More info at
http://ettoresoftware.com/About%20Type
It4Me.html

Google Docs

FREE
http://www.google.com/
Two people can look at the same document online in real time. They can both edit the
document, and the other person can see the
changes immediately.
 This has caught on as a way for parents who
are out of town to be involved in homework.
Free Natural Reader
Natural Reader is a free text to speech
reader. The free option comes with only
one voice. However, it may be a good
way to let a student try out text-tospeech software before making any
purchases.
 More info
http://www.naturalreaders.com/

Boardmaker Plus
Creates communication boards for
students with limited communication
ability. http://www.mayerjohnson.com/products/default.aspx
 Very useful for students with expressive
language issues, or limited vocabulary.
 I found it a bit complicated to use, but
might be worthwhile for a motivated
paraprofessional who is working one-onone with a student.

WordQ
Word prediction software.
 Has various levels (k-2) (2-8) and adult.
 More info at http://www.wordq.com/
 One computer: $211.00.

Unlimited Site License: $1800. Maybe we
have schools who would like to share
this?
Reading Assistant

Students read aloud, and this software
corrects their errors. It provides immediate
feedback on pronunciation, and fluency.
 $210 for stand alone (home) elementary
version.
 $510 for stand alone (home) secondary
version.
 There is a network version – call for
pricing.
More info at
http://www.scilearn.com/products/readingassistant/
Excellent newsletter
Family Center on Technology and
Disability.
 FTCD offers information for parents and
teachers, free newsletters, funding
sources, etc.
 More info at www.fctd.info

MathPad and MathPad Plus
Allows students to use the computer to
work math problems, including fractions
and decimals. Will accommodate
problems up to 6th grade level.
 Demo available at
http://www.infouse.com/mathpad_public/
 Cost: $80 (five pack = $320)
