ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR

STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL

NEEDS

Lindsay Cronk

Georgia Southern University

ITEC 7530 – Module 4

Dr. Carlson

RESPONSIBILITY

The goal of any teacher in any setting is to teach all students adequately, engagingly, and responsibly.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (APA) 2004 is a law ensuring services to students with disabilities throughout the nation. APA has created a set of recommended standards for working with adults with disabilities. The goal of the APA standards is to keep students in the least restrictive environment so an effort is made to keep students in the general classroom as much as possible.

=

Reference: APA – Visit

http://www.apa.org/pi/disability/resources/assessment-disabilities.aspx

CONSISTENT PROCESS If an adult student is identified as a special needs student:

1. Team develops an Individualized Development Program

(IEP). IEPs provide specific, measurable short-term

and annual goals for each of the student’s needs.

2. Review the IEP with each student in order to insure

optimal results and experience.

3. Support services may include special education, speech

therapy, occupational or physical

therapy, counseling, audiology, medical

services, nursing, vision or hearing therapy, and many

others.

Reference: http://www.apa.org/pi/disability/resources/assessment-

disabilities.aspx

ADDITIONAL EXPLORATIONDifferential Instruction (sometimes referred to as

differentiated learning) involves providing studentswith different avenues to acquiring content; to processing, constructing, or making sense of ideas; and to developing teachingmaterials so that all students within a classroom can learneffectively, regardless of differences in ability. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differentiated_instruction

Additional Resources:

TeachNology at

http://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/teaching/differentiate/planning/

Partners in Learning at http://performancepyramid.muohio.edu/Differentiated-Instruction.html

RESOURCES TO ENHANCE

STUDENT’S EDUCATIONAL

EXPERIENCE

•Adults with disabilities often require assistance to enhance

social, emotional and cognitive growth.

•Many technologies are available from low to high tech, but they

are often under utilized.

•Assistive technology (AT) helps students participate in activities

as independently as possible.

•Technology helps students move, communicate and participate.

Reference: LD Online at http://www.ldonline.org/article/8088

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGYAssistive technology or adaptive technology (AT) is

an umbrella term that includes assistive, adaptive, and

rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and also

includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using

them. AT promotes greater independence by enabling

people to perform tasks that they were formerly unable to

accomplish, or had great difficulty accomplishing, by

providing enhancements to or changed methods of

interacting with the technology needed to accomplish such

tasks.

Reference: Assistive Technology - Wikipedia at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistive_technology

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY -

CONTINUED"No-technology" or "no-tech" refers to any assistive device

that is not electronic. No-tech items range from a piece of

foam glued onto the corners of book pages to make turning

easier to a study carrel to reduce distraction. "Low-

technology" or "low-tech" devices are electronic but do not

include highly sophisticated computer components, such as

an electronic voice-recording device or a "talking watch"

(Behrmann & Schaff, 2001). "High-technology" or "high-tech"

devices utilize complex, multifunction technology and usually

include a computer and associated software.

Reference: Education.com at

http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Assistive_Technology/

CHOOSING ASSISTIVE

TECHNOLOGYStep 1: Collect contextual information. Begin the discussion about the student’s

strengths, abilities, preferences and needs. What strategies have been found to

work best?

Step 2: Identify activities for participation. Discuss the various activities within

the environments that a student encounters throughout the day. What is

preventing him/her from participating more?

Step 3: What can be observed that indicates the intervention is successful?

What is his/her current level of participation and what observable behaviors will

reflect an increase in independent interactions? What changes (e.g., number of

initiations, expression attempts, responses, reactions, etc.) will you look for?

CHOOSING ASSISTIVE

TECHNOLOGY-CONT.

Step 4:Brainstorm AT solutions. With the activity and desired

outcomes established, you are now ready to discuss possible

solutions with educators, family members, physical therapist, and

other people with whom the student interacts on a weekly basis. Do

the student’s needs include supports for movement, communication

and/or use of materials? Start with what is available in the

environment (what other students use) and consider adaptations to

those materials. A range of options that address specific support

areas should be considered.

CHOOSING ASSISTIVE

TECHNOLOGY-CONT.

Step 5:Try it out. Determine when the AT intervention will begin

and create an observation plan to record how the student

participates with the AT supports.

Step 6:Identify what worked. Selecting AT interventions is a

continuous learning opportunity. Reflect on your plan and discuss

what worked. What didn’t work? What should be done differently?

Make modifications as needed and try again. Only by trying the AT

can certain factors such as technology placement, amount of

force, mounting, number of choices, etc. be determined and

adjusted.

Reference: LD Online at http://www.ldonline.org/article/8088

CASE STUDY

You are a teacher who has a few students that require

you to differentiate your instruction. Three have been

diagnosed with ADHD, while one has an auditory

disability, and requires a special device in order to hear.

In addition, you have a number of students that have

mild learning disabilities that impact all areas, especially

reading and writing. As you prepare for the school

year, you ask yourself, "What resources do I have in

order to help me meet my students' needs?"

DIFFERENT APPROACHESStudents with ADHD often have difficulty adjusting to the structured

environment of a classroom, determining what is important, and

focusing on their assigned work. They are easily distracted by other

students or by nearby activities in the classroom. Resources should

be individualized.

ADHD – High Tech

Built on technology originally used by NASA and the U.S. Air Force, the solution–

called “Play Attention”–reportedly taps into brain waves through a red bike

helmet lined with sensors. The sensors send information to a computer that in

turn controls the outcome of scenarios on the computer screen. As the brain

waves change, the outcome on the computer screen changes.

Reference eSchoolNews at http://www.eschoolnews.com/2004/07/29/new-technology-offers-help-for-

adhd-students/

DIFFERENT APPROACHES

ADHD – No/Low Tech•Assign student a seat with the least distractions while in close

proximity to the teacher

•Eliminate excessive noise

•Eliminate excessive visual stimuli and classroom clutter

•Keep directions short and to the point

•Provide an individualized written schedule

•Allow student to chew gum to burn excess energy and keep their

mouth engaged

Reference LO Online at http://www.ldonline.org/article/8797#instructional

DIFFERENT APPROACHESAuditory– High Tech

•Personal FM systems can send a teacher’s voice from a wireless

microphone worn by the teacher through FM radio waves directly to

a small receiver worn by the student with hearing loss.

•Soundfield systems send the teacher’s voice from a microphone

to one or more speakers positioned close to the student or

mounted to a wall. This allows more than one student to use the

system simultaneously.

•Infra-red (IR) systems through which sound is transmitted using

infrared light waves.

Reference: American Speech Language Hearing Association at

http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/Hearing-Assistive-Technology-for-

studentren/

DIFFERENT APPROACHESAuditory – Low Tech

•Translation Services are available which allow the words of

a speaker to be transcribed, by a trained individual using a

keyboard, into text displayed on a monitor, screen, or

laptop computer, used by the students who are hard of

hearing or deaf.

•Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) may be a

consideration as hearing loss can impact competency in

reading.

Reference: American Speech Language Hearing Association at

http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/Hearing-Assistive-Technology-for-

studentren/

DIFFERENT APPROACHES

Mild Learning Disability– High Tech

•Word Processing /Proofreading Software

•Speech Recognition Software

•Audio Books and Publication

•Optical Character Recognition Devices

•Alternative/Overlay Keyboards

•Paper-Based Computer Pens

Reference: Great Schools at http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/assistive-

technology/702-assistive-technology-for-kids-with-learning-disabilities-an-overview.gs

DIFFERENT APPROACHESMild Learning Disability – Low Tech

•Graphic Organizers

•Light Board

•Grip Pens

•Book Holders

•Page Turners

•Highlighters

Reference: Great Schools at http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/assistive-

technology/702-assistive-technology-for-kids-with-learning-disabilities-an-overview.gs

ADDRESSING ADULTS

I chose to use this assignment as an opportunity to address adult disability in professional classroom settings. The range of resources available on the subject was somewhat limited, however, I feel that within the framework, I succeeded at fulfilling the assignment requirements and addressing the issues as they would present themselves in my classroom.