2. Assistive Technology
Definition
Benefits to Students
Identifying AT for your Students
Working with students with Special needs
Important Special Education Laws
Helpful Terms to Know
Identified Special needs
Choosing the best Assistive Technology
Assistive Technology Devices
Resources
3. Definition
General definition – is used to describe devices and services
that lessen or remove barriers faced by persons with
disabilities.
Legal definition – Any item, piece of equipment, or system,
whether acquires commercially, modified, or customized, that
is commonly used to increase, maintain, or improve functional
capabilities of individuals with disabilities.
4. Assistive Technology
can Benefit students
Have a learning disability
Have a behavior disorder
Are learning English as a second language
Are autistic
Are cognitively challenged
Have an emotional disorder
Have a hearing impairment
Have a speech impairment
Have a development delay
Have a vision impairment
etc.
5. Matching Students with AT Tools
To be helpful and effective, assistive technology tools must meet each
child's needs, tasks, and settings. Assistive technology (AT) has the
potential to enhance the quality of life for students with learning
disabilities (LD) by providing them with a means to compensate for
their difficulties, and highlight their abilities.
6. Working with students
with Special Needs
Children with disabilities are evaluated as having autism, serious
emotional and behavioral disturbances, mental retardation,
attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), epilepsy, cerebral
palsy, feeding and eating disorders, tics, elimination disorders,
learning disabilities, orthopedic, visual, speech or language
impairments, other serious medical conditions, history of abuse or
neglect, medical or genetic risk due to familial mental illness or
parental substance abuse. Children with Special Needs also
include those children who are “at-risk” for disabilities such as
those who have a developmental delay. The definition of special
needs also includes children who may not have specific diagnoses,
but who are assessed as needing special services, support, and
monitoring.
7. Special Education Laws
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a
federal law that ensures public schools serve the educational
needs of students with disabilities. IDEA requires that schools
provide special education services to eligible students outline in
the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). It
addresses the educational needs of children with disabilities
from birth to age 21 in cases that involved 14 specified
categories of disability.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a civil rights law
to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in programs
and activities, public and private that receive federal financial
assistance.
8. Key Terminology
An IEP is a written statement for each child with a disability that is
developed, reviewed, and revised to include a statement of the child’s
present levels of academic and functional performance, and how the
child’s disability affects the child’s involvement and progress in the
general education curriculum.
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) this means these are the
services the school thinks will meet the need for the child’s free and
appropriate public education designed to meet his unique needs.
Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) is an evaluation that
parents may request if they disagree with the results of an evaluation
of their child or they disagree with the decision about which services
their child will receive. The school district must pay for the IEE or
prove at a due process hearing that its evaluation is appropriate.
9. Key Terminology
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) means that as much as possible,
children with disabilities should be educated in the same setting as
children without disabilities. Placement in a special school or in special
classes should occur only when the disability is so severe that the child
would not receive an appropriate education in regular classes with
additional supports.
Inclusion considers that all students are full members of the school
community and are entitled to the opportunities and responsibilities
that are available to all students in the school.
Accessing the Curriculum is a term used to indicate how well a child
is functioning in class compared to his or her peers.
Cognitive Level refers to how easy or difficult it is for your child to
learn in school.
10. Identified Special Needs
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Auditory disability
Mild learning disabilities with particular impacts on Reading
and Writing
11. Instructional Practices to
meet students needs
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Teachers can help students with ADHD be successful through
academic instruction, behavioral modification, and classroom
accommodations.
Examples:
Use motivating computer programs for specific skill building
and practice (programs that provide for frequent feedback and
self-correction.
Pointers, such as bookmarks, can help student visually track
written words on a page and follow along as students are
taking turns reading aloud.
12. Instructional Practices to
meet students needs
Auditory disability
Hearing assistive technology (HATS) for children enable students
with auditory disabilities to participate in the traditional classroom
and maximize learning capabilities.
Examples:
Improving classroom acoustics and reducing background noise
can help students with auditory disabilities as well as all other
students who might be easily distracted.
FM transmitter systems allow the student to hear the teacher’s
voice at an appropriate and constant intensity level, regardless
of the distance between the child and the teacher. Additionally,
they allow the teacher’s voice to be heard more prominently
than background classroom noise.
13. Instructional Practices to
meet students needs
Mild Learning Disabilities
Teachers can help students with ADHD be successful through
academic instruction, behavioral modifications, and classroom
accommodations.
Examples:
Desktop publishing/multimedia activities can help motivate
students who struggle with reading and writing to write and
express themselves visually.
For students who have trouble reading, recorded audiobooks
can provide a way to listen to text and/or follow along with
print books.
14. How to choose the best Assistive
Technology for your students
Collect information about the students, including the data
relative to what strategies have worked best for the student.
Determine what activities are occurring in the learning
environment and the level of participation that the child is
putting forth.
After instituting an appropriate intervention, observe the child
to determine how well the intervention is working.
Consider all the assistive technology options and determine
which, if any, would work best in making interventions
successful.
Try out different assistive technologies and determine what
works best for each student.
Quick-Jump index to other TermsRelated Services (RS)Special Education (SP)Transition Services (TS)Reference:http://www.211la.org/parenting/specialneeds.pdfhttp://techinclusion.tripod.com/http://nichcy.org/schoolage/keyterms
