1. Special needs
and
Technology
Jasmine
Mansour

2. Overview
• History of special education
• Special needs
• Assistive technology
• Devices
• 2 studies on
iPods and
iPads.

3. Historical Overview of Special Education
• History of special education in the United
States started after World War II
• Before, children with special needs were
denied access to public education
• In the United States, in 1970, schools
educated only 1 children out of 5 with
disabilities

4. Historical Overview of Special Education
• Nowadays, the IDEA (“Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act”) provides special
education opportunities to more than 6.5
million children and 200 000 infants and
families each year.

5. What are special needs?
• Students that are suffering from:
- Physical disabilities
- Medical conditions
- Intellectual difficulties
- Emotional problems
Disability: Mental or physical condition that will
limit a student’s activities or senses.
 Requires special education, environment,
support, and services

6.  Students with special needs who do not attend
special education classes struggle more. They do
not have the learning environment they need to
succeed.

7.  This graph shows the most frequent conditions
that will require special education.

8. Types of Special Needs
• Attention deficit disorder
• Autism
• Learning disabilities
• Sensory disabilities

9. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• Inability to focus on one task
inattentiveness
• Hyperactive + impulsive behavior
• Can be easily distracted
• Fails to finish schoolwork and chores

10. Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Affect child’s ability to communicate and
interact with others
• Lack of interest in other people
• Poor eye contact
• Repetitive movements
• Strong need for routine

11. Learning disabilities
• Refer to many disorders
-acquisition
-organization
-retention
-understanding and/or use of verbal and/or non verbal
information
• Impairments in one or more processes related to:
-perceiving
-thinking
-remembering
-learning

12. Learning disabilities
• May range in severity which will interfere with:
-oral language
-reading
-written language
-mathematics
-difficulties with organizational skills
-difficulties with social perception
-difficulties with social interaction

13. Sensory disabilities
• Affect how people gather information
• Can be hearing loss and/or visual impairment
Hearing loss: Can have difficulties with
communication, may talk too loudly, may touch
someone to get his/her attention.
Visual impairment: Can be uncomfortable and
anxious, visual problems really depend on the
severity

14. Assistive Technology
• What is assistive technology?
The National Center on Accessible Information Technology in Education at
the University of Washington defines it as “technology used by individuals
with disabilities in order to perform functions that might otherwise be difficult
or impossible…”
• Assistive technology helps students who
struggle because they assist students
with disabilities.

15. Examples of Assistive Technology
• Voice output device or Speech generating
device
Improve communication effectiveness
Improve user’s spelling skills
It helps the individual clearly communicate
It helps developing word recognition

16. Examples of Assistive Technology
• Whiteboard’s screen
Special needs students can manipulate the
whiteboard with more ease than a normal
computer with a mouse.
Large fonts and bright colors: keep students’
attention + help students with visual
impairments.
Much more interactive than a simple board

17. Examples of Assistive Technology
• Speech recognition software
significant improvements in word recognition,
spelling, and reading comprehension
Recommended device:
-Dragon NaturallySpeaking (dictation, text-to-
speech, command input), you basically use your
voice to create and edit your documents etc.

18. Why is assistive technology so useful?
Examples
1. A student who has difficulties with his speech can
use technology to communicate.
2.Text and graphics can be enlarged to be seen by
people with visual impairments (text can also be read
electronically for people who are blind).
3.Students with learning with disabilities can keep up
with the work in class by using spellchecking and
grammatical tools
4.Technology is very efficient for teachers when
planning lesson plans.

19. Why is assistive so useful?
• The link below is a video that shows how
video games help students with autism.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/s
tory/2012-05-31/video-games-autism-
students/55319452/1

20. iOS application in special needs
classrooms (Study)
-Analysis of iPod Touch and iPhone devices in classroom
• Students in grade 7 with special needs
• Used MyVoice mobile application that
links words with pictures+ MyVoice can
speak on behalf of users.
• MyVoice was purposely created for people
with special needs.

21. iOS application in special needs
classrooms (Study)
-Analysis of iPod Touch and iPhone devices in classroom
• Why were iOS applications chosen?
-high popularity
-Students perceive iOS application as ‘fun’
-Many teachers wanted to incorporate them in
the classroom

22. iOS application in special needs
classrooms (Study)
-Analysis of iPod Touch and iPhone devices in classroom
Results
• MyVoicee positively affects attention and motivation
in students
Students were excited to use those devices which
keep them engaged in class. However, the application
does not allow the users to be spontaneous because
users have to pictures and add them to the vocabulary
item that does not already have a picture. It can also be
a challenge for teachers to integrate the application
into their daily classroom routine.

23. Using iPods and iPads in Teaching Programs for
Individuals with Developmental Disabilities (Study)
• Study focuses on 5 domains:
-Academic
-Communication
-Employment
-Leisure
-Transitioning across school settings.
• 47 participants
• 4 to 27 years of age
• had a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
and/or intellectual disability.
 involved the use of iPods or iPads

24. Using iPods and iPads in Teaching Programs for
Individuals with Developmental Disabilities (Study)
Studies on Academic skills
- 2 Participants (one with Asperger syndrome and
another one with ADHD) were given an iPad.
- There was a video clip on the iPad to show students
how to use the spell-check function on word
processing application
- Results showed that both participants had an
increase in the correct use of the spell function
(eventually having 100% on their performance)

25. Using iPods and iPads in Teaching Programs for
Individuals with Developmental Disabilities (Study)
Studies on communication skills
-iPod Touch with Proloquo2Go software given to 3
people with developmental disabilities in order to
request snacks +toys.
-Person was guiding the participants’ hands to
touch the correct application on the iPod Touch
-This application makes it easier for people with
disabilities to communicate with other what they
want to say or what they may need.
-Using those devices give positive results in
classrooms.

26. Using iPods and iPads in Teaching Programs for
Individuals with Developmental Disabilities (Study)
• The studies showed that people with
disabilities can use those devices for different
purposes
• In the study, people were diagnosed with
severe disabilities. This shows that even if a
student has a serious impairment they can still
learn to use technological devices.

27. References
• Campigotto, R., McEwen, R., and Epp, D. C. (2013). Especially Social:
Exploring the Use of an iOS Application in Special Needs Classrooms.
Computer & Education. 60(1), 74-86.
• Kagohar, M.D., Meer, V. D. L., Ramdoss, S., O’Reilly F. M., Lancioni E. G.,
Davis, N. T., Rispoli, M., Lang, R., Marschilk, B. P., Sutherland, D., Green, A.
V., Sigafoos, J. (2013). Using iPods and iPads in Teaching Programs for
Individuals with Developmental Disabilities: A Systematic Review. Research
in Developmental Disabilities. 34(1), 147-156.
• http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-004-x/2006005/9588-eng.htm
• http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/adhd/DS00275/DSECTION=symptoms
• http://www.ldac-acta.ca/en/learn-more/ld-defined.html
• http://www.learningrx.com/history-of-special-education.htm

28. References
• http://www.brighthubeducation.com/special-ed-inclusion-
strategies/125659-a-teachers-guide-to-assistive-technologies-in-the-
classroom/
• http://www.edutopia.org/assistive-technology-young-children-special-
education
• http://www.disabilityservices.nscc.ca/en/home/disabilitiesinformation/se
nsorydisabilities/default.aspx
• http://www.aacandautism.com/why-aac/why-use-aac
• http://atclassroom.blogspot.ca/2011/02/interactive-whiteboards-with-
special.html
• http://www.nuance.com/dragon/index.htm
• http://speechrecsolutions.com/specialneeds.html