Department
of Education
Washburn University
The
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Public Law 105-17 (1997)
mandates that assistive technology be considered for students with disabilities,
and that such considerations be a part of the development of IEP’s.Another
federal law, P.L. 100-407 the Technology-Related Assistance Act, 1988,
has increased the availability of resources and equipment for use by families
and school personnel.
The
use of Assistive Technology (AT) for students with disabilities can increase
their capabilities and independence in both in and out of school settings.These
items can be used for communication and productive or to provide an individual
with an opportunity to experience recreational opportunities.Individuals
with serious sensory disabilities such as physical disabilities, visual
impairments or deafness have benefited more than any other group of individuals
from advances in assistive technologies.The
advances in technology for these individuals can lead to increased productivity,
employment and recreation opportunities.However,
students classified as mildly disabled can also benefit from what assistive
technology has to offer.AT can include
a wide variety of items developed for different uses or functions such
as powered mobility, adapted toys, eating systems, environmental control
units, augmentative communication devices, talking word processing programs,
speech recognition systems, electronic page turners, and various forms
of computer access.
Computer
manufacturers have increasingly built in a number of hardware or software-based
applications into system files that can be accessed by any computer user.Such
adaptations can be used to increase or decrease the speed with which key
presses are recognized or the speed with which the mouse operates.Some
applications like CloseView on Macintosh computers can easily magnify the
size of the screen display.
Assistive
Technology is defined as any item or piece of equipment that is used to
increase or improve the functional capabilities of a student with a disability.Such
equipment can be purchased, modified or made.According
to Behrmann and Jerome (2002) these items can be categorized into three
categories: no technology, low technology and high technology.
The
“No Technology” category refers to assistive technology that is not electronic.These
items or adapt ions may be something as simple as putting hot glue gun
beads on pages of a book to separate the pages and make them easier to
turn.Such modifications are relatively
inexpensive and have the added advantage of being developed especially
for the needs of an individual student.The
“Low Technology” category refers to items which are electronic but do not
include highly sophisticated computer components (Behrmann & Jerome,
2002).Such items might include electronic
page-turners.“High Technology” items
and equipment refer to those items that are more sophisticated. These
items are likely to be the most expensive, but also have capabilities that
are multifunctional.High Technology
devices usually include some type of computer operation and software.
Determining
the right kind of AT for an individual student will be the responsibility
of the IEP team, parents and the student themselves.The
needs and capabilities of the student need to be assessed and considered
when determining which type of AT is best suited to that individual.Depending
on the type and extent of the disability several different professional
disciplines will be involved including occupational and physical therapists,
speech/language therapists and teachers.In
instances in which a child has a severe physical disability or may be medically
fragile, medical or rehabilitation professionals may provide valuable assistance.In
addition to these professionals, someone with knowledge of current computer
applications and technology would be invaluable.There
are also hundreds of sources of information on AT on the Internet.Using
the simple search term “assistive technology” will provide a listing of
organizations, companies and technical assistance projects.
The
nature and extent of a student’s disabilities need to be considered in
selecting the appropriate AT.For
example, a student with a physical disability has different needs than
a student with a visual impairment.For
the student with physical disabilities the primary problem is inputting
information into a computer.The
standard keyboard input method is not often suited to the capabilities
of these users.Conversely, the primary
problem of users who are visually impaired involves the output generated
by computers.The standard monitor
display may not be easily visible to these users without modifications.
There
are numerous alternatives to the keyboard through which we can input information
or respond to computer stimuli and it is important that we find the easiest
and most reliable method for each person.Among
the alternatives are:a mouse (various
types), expanded keyboards, keyboards with modifications, speech input,
touch screens, and single switches.Each
of these alternative forms of input offers advantages and disadvantages
and each requires certain abilities.In
addition, in choosing from these alternatives we need to consider what
will the person do and what will the technology do.Generally
speaking, the more severely disabled an individual is, the more the technology
needs to do to.
Some
of these alternatives are relatively simple and inexpensive.Keyboard
modifications, for example, may be accomplished by putting plastic overlays
with holes punched out over certain keys over the keyboard.The
plastic overlay can be slightly above the keyboard with sturdy foam squares
and even attached with Velcro.It
would also be easy to attach colored stickers with larger numbers or letters
written on them to certain keys so that they can be located more quickly.
Separate
or expanded keyboards and single switch input devices are commonly used
with persons with physical limitations.These
input devices can be adapted to the capabilities of each person and used
across any software application.Physical
and occupational therapists will be of assistance in helping to determine
which type of switch, accessed by which body part and movement, is best
suited to a certain individual.
Another
form of input that is easy, direct and quick for many children with disabilities
is a touch screen.As the name implies
touch screens only require you to touch the monitor to respond to computer
stimuli.For younger children or
children with significant cognitive delays, touch screens can be an important
alternative to the standard keyboard.Children
do not need to look away from the monitor to respond which can assist in
maintaining their attention.However,
to use touch screens software must have been developed for this type of
input.It is worth the time to find
software that can be accessed via touch screens.
Speech
recognition technology is still being developed, but some applications
are on the market.This emerging
technology will allow all of us to talk to the computers to input information
for basic computer commands or for word processing.The
advantages of this type of input over traditional keyboards are obvious,
but we are still some time away from when this type of input will be commonplace.
Software
and Word Processing
Students
with relatively mild disabilities, such as learning disabilities, mild
mental retardation, or attention deficit disorder can use AT to assist
in schoolwork, employment and recreation.There
are several ways in which AT can be used.
Numerous
software programs are available that include drill and practice, tutorials,
simulations and games that can support what student’s are learning in the
regular curriculum.Software programs
can be found to support any academic area including reading, spelling,
science and math.The selection
of good software is an important consideration.The
content of software programs needs to be linked to the content of the curriculum
student’s are learning.Software
should be selected that is easy for the learner to use.Feedback
for responses and key presses should be both visual and auditory.The
software should keep data on student progress.Teachers
or parents should be able to change the speed or difficulty of what is
presented so that students can use the programs at different stages of
learning.Screen displays should
not be “too busy” because these students can sometimes have difficulty
discriminating between what is relevant and what is not.
As
with any educational material it is important to evaluate software programs
before purchasing them.When contacting
companies ask if there has been any research or field-testing of the software.If
so, ask who participated in this field-testing and if the results are available
to see.Numerous sources of software
evaluations can also be found on the Internet.Using
the general search term “educational software evaluations” will yield numerous
sites.Some examples of sites, which
have information onsoftware evaluations
and/or children’s web sites, are:
http://info.ops.org/evaluations/search/html
www.gillespie.macoupin.k12.il.us/software.html
www.csulb.edu/~murdock/educswurls.html
Productivity
software such as word processing, spreadsheets and databases, with training
and assistance, can provide important ways for students to organize and
produce school projects.It is important
to stress that students will need training an on-going support in how to
use these software applications and in how they might be used to assist
in completing school projects.We
cannot and should not assume that these students know how to use these
programs.Students’ will need training
in how to find, load, save and print files as well as in basic keyboarding.
Word
processing may be one of the most important tools for students with mild
disabilities.These students often
struggle in producing writing assignments and in the mechanics of writing
including spelling, grammar and punctuation.Word
processing can assist in generating ideas, organization, writing and editing
drafts and in producing a clear and neat final product.The
use of word processing has been shown to increase motivation and interest
in writing and students will produce longer and more often edited documents.Student’s
can also use various font types or sizes, change font or background colors
and add clip art that can greatly enhance motivation and creativity.
Students
will need training and on-going support in using word processing.Depending
on the age and computer experience of the student, some concepts such as
the scrolling of text on the screen, cutting and pasting text, and text
justification may be confusing to them.Although
word processing programs have increasingly become easier to use, there
have also been increases in the number of command functions and capabilities
that can be confusing even for experienced computer users.
Spelling
and grammar checkers within word processing programs can be very helpful,
but we need to consider the problems student’s with mild disabilities have
with language.Spell checkers will
highlight words that may or may not be misspelled and this can be confusing.When
words are targeted as being misspelled they will be displayed on the screen
with several other words the computer thinks you are trying to spell.The
ability to pick out the correctly spelled word can be a challenge for these
learners.For example, for a student
with dyslexia the words displayed in a listing of suggested spellings may
all “blend together.”
There
are a number of “talking” word processing programs available that may be
very helpful for student’s with mild disabilities.Although
many of these were initially developed for persons with severe visual impairments,
these software applications can be used by anyone.When
using talking word processing programs letters, words and sentences are
spoken and highlighted as they are typed.This
provides auditory as well as visual feedback on what is being typed.Once
something has been typed in it can be read at different speeds and with
different computer voices.Students
can even generate oral presentations by having their work read by these
applications.One example of a talking
word processing program is Write:Outloud from Don Johnston’s Developmental
Equipment (www.donjohnston.com).Some
word processing programs also have word prediction features.One
example of this type of program, also from Don Johnston, is Co:Writer.
Some
other useful software programs are available to aid teachers in developing
materials for students.Two programs
Picture This: Professional (Silver Lining Multimedia) and BoardMaker (Mayer
Johnson) can assist in easily creating pictures for augmentative communication
devices or to be printed as sequences for classroom instruction.The
BoardMaker program has a database of 3000 pictures that can be accessed
for use in augmentative devices or worksheets.Pictures
can be printed in different sizes and words added . The program can print
words from 10 langauges.
Access
to Reference and Educational Materials
Electronic
online databases and the Internet provide a means by which students can
locate resource and reference materials to assist them in producing school
projects.Online databases and the
Internet allow students to access information that may not be readily available
in school libraries and may increase their motivation to find and locate
reference material.
These
two applications are similar in that both make use of search terms to help
find the most relevant sources of information.Students
will need training and practice in choosing search terms that are broad
enough to find all information that is relevant, but narrow enough to not
be overwhelmed by the number of sources available.
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Augmentative
Communication Devices
Augmentative
communication refers to any form of alternative communication system and
can be no-tech, low-tech or high-tech.Augmentative
communication systems are often used with students who cannot speak due
to severe physical impairments.However,
if viewed in a broader sense, augmentative communication also involves
sign language because this is an alternative to speech for individuals
who are deaf.
Determinations
regarding a specific augmentative communication system will be a team approach
that involves assessing the student’s needs and capabilities.The
age and gender of the person should be considered as well as their physical
capabilities, memory and non-verbal language intelligence.Among
the areas that might be assessed are range of motion, eye-hand coordination,
positioning, range of receptive and expressive vocabulary and long and
short-term memory.The goal of such
assessments is to find an augmentative communication system that is easy
to use and understand and one that can “grow” with the student.
Several
factors also need to be considered with choosing a particular augmentative
communication system.These include
the durability and portability of the device, how easily expandable it
is, how easy it is to operate and understand and the cost of such devices.To
be used effectively augmentative communication devices need to be portable
and able to stand up to normal wear and tear.It
should be easy to add words or phrases to the device as the expressive
vocabulary of the user increases.The
device should be easy for the student to operate and the user should be
able to generate words or sentences quickly.
How
easy such a device is to understand by a listener is another very important
consideration.In the past, high-tech
devices used speech synthesizers to produce speech.The
artificial speech produced by these devices was hard for listeners to understand
without prior exposure to experience with these devices.Although
we are in a time where sounds and speech is digitized and easier to understand,
there will still be some augmentative communication systems that rely on
speech synthesis.The effectiveness
of any augmentative communication system is minimized if other people cannot
understand what is being communicated.A
related considerations is that the voice produced by the AT should match
the age and gender of the user.This
capability has increased significantly over the years.It
would be inappropriate, for example, to have a seven-year-old girl sound
like a male, adult robot.
Another
important consideration is the cost of the device or system and the related
question of who pays for it.Low-tech
or no-tech systems, such as laminated pictures in three-ring-binders can
be very inexpensive.However, as
the users vocabulary increases these may get increasingly difficult or
slow to use.High-tech devices, such
as electronic augmentative communication devices that speak, can be very
expensive depending on their capabilities.Schools
do have an obligation to pay for such devices because it is mandated by
P.L. 105-17.However, some schools
may not have the fiscal means to purchase such devices even if they are
included in a child’s IEP.Families
and health insurance companies are other options for paying for such devices,
but these options are not consistent with the intent of P.L. 105-17.Another
important option is for families or schools to borrow or “check-out” such
equipment from state assistive technology resource centers.Every
state and several territories have assistive technology resource centers.A
listing of these technical assistance projects can be found at:
www.resna.org/taproject/at/statecontacts.html