Running Head: ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY PAPER
Assistive Technology Paper
Moses Lane
The University of West Alabama
Running Head: ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY PAPER
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 requires that special needs students be
given free appropriate education that also places students in a least restrictive environment (“Individuals with
Disabilities,” 2004). Thus, more and more special needs students are mainstreamed into a general education
classroom. The inclusion of special needs students not only affects the students themselves but the teachers as well
and can bring about a variety of burdens. Some special needs students become more dependent, less confident, and
less productive in a general classroom setting because the means of learning are not adapted to their individual needs
(Roblyer & Doering, 2010). However, there is a vast array of technology available to assist special needs students.
Assistive technology is defined as “mechanical aids which substitute for or enhance the function of some physical or
mental ability that is impaired” (Kelker, 1999). It can assist special needs students in performing what we think of
as “normal” tasks in the classroom and can halt the student from reaching an unnecessary frustration level.
Assistive technology is created to help the student become more confident and independent in daily living tasks as
well as become better accustomed to being mainstreamed into a general education classroom (Roblyer & Doering,
2010). For students with mild, moderate, severe, physical, or sensory disabilities, as well as at-risk or gifted
students, assistive technologies are necessary to ensure educational success.
Students with mild disabilities often hold cognitive and academic deficiencies that cause them to struggle
with skills related to reading, writing, and retention (Roblyer & Doering, 2010). Therefore, subject areas such as
Reading and Math are bound to be troublesome for students with mild disabilities. Teachers should make available
assistive technology resources to assist these students with reading, writing, and retention skills. Broderbund’s
software series entitled Reader Rabbit is designed to build specific reading and math skills in young students. For
students who do not like to write due to past failures, the Write: OutLoud talking word processor is perfect in that in
assists special needs students with their writing. The Wizcom Quicktionary Reading Pen is a tool struggling readers
could use to identify new words and pronunciations while reading. The Coin-U-Lator and NeoCalculator are both
specially designed calculators for students with learning disabilities who are struggling with mathematics.
It seems as if moderate to severe disabilities affects students more in the classroom than anywhere else.
Students with moderate to severe disabilities need assistance with daily living skills; therefore, teachers should focus
on teaching more functional skills than anything else. The TeachTown software program not only assists special
education students with learning classroom skills, social skills, and functional skills, it also provides teachers with
Running Head: ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY PAPER
data and feedback on each individual learner (Thoren, Feshbach, & Whalen, 2011). This feedback can be used for
IEPs and progress checks for the special needs students. Furthermore, moderately/severely disabled students greatly
benefit from assistive technology when working with computers in the classroom. Alternative keyboards, such as
the Maltron One-Handed keyboard or the Keys-U-See wireless keyboard, work best for special education students
who are learning to type. The Attainment Company’s Attainment WorkStation is an actual PC with a touch-screen
and adaptive keyboard that runs preloaded Attainment software programs. This device is perfect for special
education students who are working on functional and academic skills. Augmentative and Alternative
Communication Devices, such as the DynaVox M3, also assists student who have trouble communicating.
Students with physical disabilities have trouble with fine-motor and/or gross-motor movements. (Roblyer
& Doering, 2010). This, of course, can affect the student’s ability to move around freely in the classroom or to
possess the ability to perform every day actions. For some students with a physical disability, simply writing or
holding a book is out of the question. Some may have trouble maneuvering a mouse or using a keyboard. These
issues can all be accommodated for with the help of assistive technology. Switches can assist different control
aspects of a computer. A joystick is a great alternative to a computer mouse, and the HeadMouse Extreme from
Origin Instruments work well for students who cannot use a mouse or joystick. Alternative keyboards can assist
students with physical impairments as well. Students with a physical disability may find success in using voice
recognition software or talking word processors such as Dragon Naturally Speaking or ReadingMadeEZ.
Sensory disabilities affect a student’s hearing or sight, which can most definitely affect a student’s
performance in the classroom. Teachers need to make accommodations for these students so that there is no issue
with the disability affecting their school work. There are many devices to assist students with a sensory impairment.
Students who partially sighted can make use of adaptive keyboards (such as the Keys-U-See Wireless Keyboard
mentioned earlier) or the magnification screens for the computer (such as the Smartview Desktop Magnifier). The
Merlin CCTV or Vocatex Plus is also products for students with low-vision to use in order to magnify printed
material. Schools can purchase certain software to either convert printed text or read aloud text. The ABBYY Fine
Reader software by OCR and the Scan and Read Pro software by ReadingMadeEZ are two examples of this
software.
Running Head: ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY PAPER
Additionally, at-risk students could benefit from assistive technology. These students generally have
trouble reading and comprehending, writing, sequencing, and remembering (Roblyer & Doering, 2010). Normally
these students can quickly disengage from school work and are not motivated to participate within the classroom.
Teachers should do everything possible in order to keep the students motivated while helping the students succeed in
every area. Because these students have trouble staying organized, teachers should allow at-risk students to use a
child’s PDA organizer like the VTech Phusion. To assist with remembering steps for a problem or assignments to
be done, at-risk students may find perfect use of a digital recorded such as the Wilson Digital Recorder. Teachers
can also install certain assistive software programs for at-risk students to utilize. These programs could include textto-speech programs such as ReadPlease, predictive word processors like Gus! Word Prediction, or focus and
memory programs such as AttenGo!
Students labeled as gifted and talented demonstrate abilities on a higher performance level than their peers
and require extraordinary services (Roblyer & Doering, 2010). These students must be constantly stimulated and
must receive higher-level activities to satisfy their desire for knowledge. Microsoft Office is a great program to
acquaint gifted students with, as it will allow them to learn the ropes of interactive and multimedia presentation
software (Roblyer & Doering, 2010). A few fun examples of software for gifted students are BigBrainz Timez
Attack, Star Logo, and Chronic Logic. Perhaps the most discussed new device for gifted and talented students is
GoKnow Mobile Learning. This campaign is currently being tested in many gifted classrooms across the United
States. It involves the use of mobile devices (such as smart phones and IPads) to specialize instruction that allows
students to compose, draw, animate, and create projects as well as view other students’ creations.(Soloway & Norris,
2010). This will allow teachers to have a more on-on-one relationship with students during the particular
assignment as it prepares students for the new 21st century technologies.
In conclusion, students who are living with a disability need not struggle through their school day.
Assistive technology can help teachers and students adapt and accommodate to fit the individual’s needs. The
software and hardware designed for special needs students can help ease even the toughest burdens and turn them
into simple tasks. With more and more special education students being included in general classrooms; teachers
should educate themselves on the different and emerging assistive technologies. These assistive technologies almost
ensure student success.
Running Head: ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY PAPER
REFERENCES
Kelker, K. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. (1999).
Family guide to assistive technology. Billings, MT: PLUK. Retrieved from
http://www.pluk.org/AT1.html
Roblyer, M.D., & Doering, A.H. (2010). Integrating educational technology into teaching. (5th ed.).
Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Soloway, E., & Norris, C. (2010). GoKnow! mobile learning solutions. Retrieved from
http://www.goknow.com
Thoren, T., Feshbach, D., & Whalen, C. (2011). Teachtown: educational products for children with autism.
Retrieved from http://web.teachtown.com
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. (2004). Individuals
with disabilities education act. Retrieved from
http://www2.ed.gove/policy/speced/leg/edpicks.jhtml?src=1n