Assistive Technology Paper
By: Sarah Hughes
When working with students with disabilities it is important to look at every piece of equipment
available to us as teachers and parents that would better their education process. We must look at this
the same way we look at children without disabilities. For example, you would not send a child without
disabilities to school without their needed necessities such as paper and pencils; therefore you should
not send a special needs child to school without the proper tools to help them succeed as well. There
are many different disabilities that we may come across in our lifetime as teachers. We must know the
proper techniques and equipment to use with each different type of disability.
First we look at mild disabilities. Mild disabilities have certain limitations that may hinder
someone from skills such as communicating, taking care of themselves, or social skills. In working with
students with mild disabilities, there have been seven areas modeled to consider: organization, note
taking, writing assistance, productivity, access to reference materials, cognitive assistance, and materials
modifications. In organization it is important to help the students learn how to organize their thoughts
through things like flow charts. When the student is taking notes the teacher could supply structure
outlines that allow the students to simply fill in the blanks. The student also could use software that
transforms typewritten material into computer readable text using a scanner. Laptops or portable
keyboards can also provide easy note taking skills for students with mild disabilities. Word processing is
the most helpful to students when needing writing assistance for mild disabilities. It does not limit them
like paper and pencil and also allows for easy management such as spell check and grammar issues.
Spreadsheets, databases, graphics software or simple calculators help the students with productivity.
This helps them in order to calculate math equations easily and keep their thoughts together.
Multimedia software and computers help the students to reference materials, provide cognitive
assistance and have modifications for materials.
Moderate to severe disabilities can include autism, deafness, blindness, mental retardation,
multiple disabilities, and/or serious emotional disturbance. Communication boards, computers, head
sticks, and adaptive switches allow children to communicate in the classroom. Other types of assistive
technology can include wheelchairs, speech synthesizers, talking clocks/calculators, voice recognition
software, picture boards, Braille machines, reading machines, magnification software, phonic ear
devices, telecommunication devices, and sound magnification devices.
Physical disabilities can range from orthopedic, neuromuscular, cardiovascular, and pulmonary
disorders. The disability may be either congenital or in result from injury, muscular dystrophy, multiple
sclerosis, amputation, heart disease, pulmonary disease or others. People with physical disabilities may
use wheelchairs, crutches, canes or artificial limbs for mobility. They may use audio books instead of
regular textbooks, and/or pencil grips and adapted paper to write legibly. They may also require special
devices in order to communicate, like computers, or to manipulate materials in front of them for
assignments.
The next type of disability, sensory disabilities, affects how a person gathers information from
the world around them. The most common forms of sensory disabilities affect sight and hearing. For
students with hearing difficulties it is important to remember to use subtitles in videos and other forms
of multimedia that needs to be heard. Students who have problems with their sight can range from
small difficulties to large difficulties. Students may simply need a computer screen enlarged or
magnified. More severe issues may need output computers with speech or Braille output systems.
At risk students are more like to drop out of school and may have behavioral problems that can
hinder the learning of the student as well as other students in your classroom. Students may be enrolled
in classes and research information they are interested in learning about while at schools. They also
need to be taught how to make and achieve goals in their lives. The students also may wear
WatchMinders that remind the child to positive behaviors to have during the school day. The student
may have trouble concentrating and may be benefited from wearing ear plugs or ear muffs. The student
also will benefit from using Word processing software that helps them get their ideas down when it is
hard to get them down on paper.
Last, we look at gifted and talented students. These students are above average in comparison
to their age level and grade level. These students can be some of the most difficult to handle merely
because they are bored with the material. Teachers must learn to manage any behavioral issues while
also differentiating instruction through things such as curriculum compacting and enrichment. Through
the use of computers, teachers are able to provide a differentiated instruction. Computers allow for a
more enriched learning experience as well as more advanced searches on information being discussed
within class. Gifted and talented student enjoy stimulating their mind and will greatly enjoy challenging
computer games and activities.
It is important for us to know each individual student in our classroom. We must know their
strengths and weakness as well as their disabilities in order to provide the best learning environment
possible for each student that enters our classroom. It is our responsibility to know the devices available
to them in order to help them succeed in their education. Assistive technologies have come a long way
over the past years. If we use them correctly and effectively, each student that we encounter in our own
classroom will benefit and learn more because we took the time to help them in every way possible.
Resources:
 http://www.teachervision.fen.com/assistive-technology/teaching-methods/3791.html
 http://www.ehow.com/about_6514486_assistive-students-severe-multiple-disabilities.html
 http://www.csun.edu/~sp20558/dis/physical.html
 http://www.axistive.com/assistive-technology-for-students-with-physical-disabilities.html
 http://www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Technology/wtsense.html
 http://www.ehow.com/about_7219566_assistive-technology-students-behavior-disorders.html
 http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10436.aspx