Assistive Technology

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) indicates that if a child meets eligibility criteria for early intervention services, he or she may receive assistive technology devices and services (“ALL-7, Assistive Tech for Infants and Toddlers.indd - ALL7.pdf,” n.d.). It is further mandated in (IDEA) that all special education students in secondary education receive transition planning services which should include consideration of assistive technology (Asselin, 2014). In 2013-14, the number of children and youth ages 3-21 receiving special education services was 6.5 million, or about 13 percent of all public school students. Among students receiving special education services, 35 percent had specific learning disabilities (“The
Condition of Education - Participation in Education - Elementary/Secondary - Children and Youth With Disabilities - Indicator May (2016),” n.d.). With the use of assistive technology these students are able to transition from segregated, self-contained environments to more inclusive classroom settings (“How Assistive Learning Technology Has Impacted The Disabled,” n.d.). Assistive technology enables students who have specific learning disabilities to break down barriers and realize their full academic potential (“How Assistive Learning Technology Has Impacted The Disabled,” n.d.). The Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) defines an assistive technology device as “any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of a child with a disability.” Assistive technology for students with learning disabilities generally fall into two categories hardware and software.
Some forms of rehabilitation technology available for students with learning disabilities include: written language, reading, listening, and organization/memory and math technologies. When selecting assistive technology for a student it is critical that the correct and appropriate technology is selected. Many factors contribute to the selection process and it is key to the students’ academic success that these factors are taken into consideration.
When researching the topic of the impact of assistive technology has on the academic success of students with learning disabilities, there is research information on the importance of selecting the right assistive technology, as well as, the importance of assessment. However, there is limited research information available on the impact assistive technology has on the overall academic success of students with learning disabilities. Literature can be found on this topic that suggests the use of assistive technology has many benefits for students with learning disabilities.
Rehabilitation Technology
and Student Success
Research shows that assistive technology can help young children with disabilities to learn developmental skills.
The use of assistive technology may help infants and toddlers to improve in areas such as, social skills, communication skills, attention span, fine and gross motor skills and self-confidence and independence (“ALL-7, Assistive Tech for Infants and Toddlers.indd - ALL7.pdf,” n.d.). As students with learning disabilities move into more formal educational environments the use of assistive technology can enhance their learning experiences. Assistive technology devices allow students to utilize their strengths and work around the challenges of the disability (Stanberry & Raskind, n.d.). Due to the struggles these young students face they are often overly dependent on parents or teachers. The use of assistive technology devices can help students gain a sense of self-reliance and independence (Stanberry & Raskind, n.d.). Students with learning disabilities who incorporate the use of assistive technology into their overall learning programs gain insight into their specific learning needs. This insight enables these students to reach their full learning potential, which contributes to fuller and richer lives. Introducing the use of assistive technology to young students with learning disabilities not only enhances academic achievement it fosters social acceptance and connects cultures. Teachers who work with special needs students are finding that technology
can not only broaden their students experiences but engage them in learning, help them retain information, improve their socialization and boost their self-esteem (Meyer, 2016). By using assistive technology students are connecting across cultures. Students are learning helping skills and developing leadership skills. A group of students from Finland, Sweden, Germany, South Africa and the United States who had learning and social difficulties participated in a program called SMARTee Project. This project enabled students with specific learning and other disabilities to collaborate through the use of assistive technology. An inclusive class in Pennsylvania, with both special and general education students were involved in an exchange project where they communicated with students in Kenya. The students began a video exchange project, the students in Kenya taught the students in Pennsylvania Swahili and the students in Pennsylvania taught the students in Kenya math. The Pennsylvania students with lower-level math skills participated in teaching simpler math concepts (Meyer, 2016). Michael Soskil the teacher for the Pennsylvania class commented that it is known that when kids teach they retain 90 percent of what they learn, whereas they only retain 20 percent of what the consume (Meyer, 2016). The students from Pennsylvania went on to collaborate via assistive technology with students from Kansas and Greece. These students worked to organize a clean water campaign for Kenya. This project was developed after students learned about the water crisis Kenya was