The Family Center on Technology and Disability
Assistive Technology Works
Assistive Technology in Support of High Incidence Disabilities Related Resources
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| Assistive Technology for Children with Learning Difficulties http://www.schwablearning.org/pdfs/7610_tech_guide.pdf This extensive guide was prepared by the Frostig Center in Pasadena, California. It identifies the various types of AT, broken up among the following skills: writing, reading, listening, organization/memory, and math. Under each type, there is a list of specific devices with descriptions on how it can help people with learning disabilities. Next, they discuss how to select the best AT for your child and the importance of knowing the intended purpose for it. They stress the importance of understanding the environment the AT will be used in and how it can be utilized in the most efficient way to help the child. Funding AT is also discussed. The resource concludes with four quick overviews of the important topics discussed. There is a list of “Steps to Success” for selecting AT, frequently-asked-questions, and additional Internet Resources. Finally, the last page is a table, Technologies by Area of Difficulty, which shows which technology can help with each learning difficulty. Assistive Technology for Students with Mild Disabilities: Update 2002 http://ericec.org/digests/e623.html This short article, published by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education (ERIC EC), identifies six areas of instruction in which assistive technology (AT) can assist students with mild disabilities. These areas include organization, note taking, writing, academic productivity, access to reference and general educational materials, and cognitive assistance. Under each area, they provide examples of both low-tech and high-tech solutions that can aid in the various tasks. The article focuses on the fact that students with mild disabilities can use AT to help balance weak areas of learning with strong areas to result in educational success. Assistive Technology Service Delivery Models: Scalable to Meet the Needs of Students with High Incidence Disabilities? http://www.connsensebulletin.com/edyburnv4n5.html This article, written by Dave. L. Edyburn, Ph.D., discusses the need to reform the assistive technology (AT) service delivery model so that AT can be acquired more efficiently by students with high incidence disabilities. It focuses on the issues regarding the current system in relation to getting AT to students with high incidence disabilities. In a self-response to the issues discussed, Edyburn provides possible ways to fix the problems. He lists five steps that he believes need to be considered for the overall improvement of the AT Service Delivery System. Attention Deficit Disorder Disability http://www.atstar.org/info_disabilities_add.html This brief information sheet discusses various aspects of Attention Deficit Disorders (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD). In addition to providing the definition of ADD and ADHD as described in IDEA, it describes how these disabilities can affect a child’s educational performance. AT can aid in minimizing the negative effects of ADD/ADHD in the classroom. This info-sheet lists twelve suggestive technologies for students and adults with ADD/ADHD. Finally, the info-sheet ends with a list of Internet resources for further information. Behavioral/Emotional Disability http://www.atstar.org/info_disabilities_behavioral.html This short resource gives an overview of behavioral/emotional disabilities. It provides the specific definition of these disabilities as portrayed in the IDEA regulations. The resource discusses how many children are affected by these disabilities and the effects these disabilities have on their educational careers. There is no specific AT to help a child with behavioral/emotional disabilities, but it can be useful in helping a child deal with the effects of the disability on a particular functional life skill. The resource provides a list of possible trouble areas for a child with this disability, and that links to a page that gives various AT options that will help in that area. At the end, five Internet resources are listed for more information. Communication Impairments http://www.atstar.org/info_disabilities_comm.html This information sheet focuses on Communication Impairments and what exactly constitutes a communication impairment according to the IDEA regulations. The resource gives eight AT options that may help students with communication impairments further their education. This resource concludes with a list of six Internet resources for further research on Communication Impairments. Learning Disabilities and Assistive Technology: An Emerging Way to Touch the Future http://www.gatfl.org/ldguide/documents/AT%20Resource%207-00.pdf This resource packet, developed by the Georgia Assistive Technology Project, provides an in-depth look at every aspect of AT in relation to learning disabilities. The packet begins by illustrating some of the daily problems a person with a learning disability might face. The most important thing when choosing AT is to know what the purpose of that device will be. The guide provides multiple checklists for the reader to go trough to identify particular areas of difficulty. Next, the guide takes each possible area of difficulty and outlines the problem, provides a variety of strategies to go about overcoming the problem, exact places to go for help, and lists of specific AT along with contact information for acquiring that AT. The resource packet ends with two short resources: a three page chart identifying the instructional area of difficulty, modifications of that task’s expectations, standard tools, and assistive technology solutions; and a list of additional resources. Learning Disability http://www.atstar.org/info_disabilities_learning.html This three page information guide discusses various aspects of learning disabilities in relation to assistive technology (AT). The first thing mentioned is how IDEA defines a learning disability and what the most common categories for learning disabilities are. This guide provides a list of AT devices that can help with different tasks, which include mechanics of writing, composing written material, reading, math, studying, and learning. The AT they list ranges from simple, low-tech devices to more costly, high-tech devices. The guide ends with a list of five Internet resources for further information. Project ACCESS: Field Testing an Assistive Technology Toolkit for Students with Mild Disabilities http://jset.unlv.edu/19.2/puckett/puckett.pdf This article, published by the Journal of Special Education Technology and written by Kathleen S. Puckett from the University of Tennessee discusses an experimental project that’s purpose was to make AT more readily available for student with high incidence disabilities. Because of the difficulties in acquiring AT for these students, Edyburn designed a toolkit for general education classrooms that would be stocked with various AT devices that could help with general curriculum and would also be readily available for students with high incidence disabilities so that they could avoid the lengthy evaluation process, or at least have some support until that process was carried out. The article focuses on an experiment performed to test the effectiveness/usefulness of these toolkits in classrooms. Setting the Stage for Success: Building Success through Effective Selection and Use of Assistive Technology Systems http://www.ldonline.org/article/5874 This article was written by Joy Zabala, M.ED, ATP and was published by LD Online. It is a good resource for anyone wanting to know more about the SETT Framework, which is used to make effective assistive technology decisions by focusing on the Student, the Environments, the Tasks, and the Tools. It is estimated that 75% of children with disabilities could remain in regular classes if supplied with the appropriate AT. The majority of these students are students with mild disabilities. By implementing the SETT Framework, these students would be able to receive the AT they need. What Happens When Students Use Text-to-Speech and Word Predict Programs to Compose Text? http://www.ldonline.org/article/5762 This article, written by Diane Demott Painter, Ph.D. and published by LD Online, is about how two fifth grade students with learning disabilities became successful in writing through the use of computer technology. The two pieces of computer technology used for this article were both text-to-speech programs, Talking Text Writer and IntelliTalk. Both programs provided the students with the opportunity to see and hear the sounds that make up the spelling of the words they were writing, and helped them with the sound sequence. The programs were very successful in helping the students with writing on the computer. |