ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

ROSA D. NOLESED 505

Definition

Assistive technology is any device or service that helps disabled students reach their individualized education plan (IEP) goals while participating in regular education classes as much as possible (Assistive Technology Module).

Law regarding Assistive Technology

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA ‘04) guarantees that teachers and school personnel should provide students with disabilities access to assistive technology devices and services if they are imperative to fulfill the student’s rights of access to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) (Assistive Technology Module).

Hearing Impaired Resource

FM systems transfer sound to the student through the use of radio signals. The teacher wears a microphone attached to a transmitter and the student wears the receiver. FM systems are capable of transmitting amplified sound up to 300 feet (Assistive Devices, 2014).

Vision Impaired Resource

Braille Lite gives students the ability to type notes in class using a special keyboard. A Braille display enables students to check what they have written, and the unit provides the option of having the text read aloud. Students can connect the Braille Lite to a computer and print an enlarged version of their notes (Ring, 2008).

Learning Disabled Resource

Talking calculators provide visual and auditory feedback. The calculators speak the number, operation, and symbol keys as they are pressed by the student. Earphone jacks are available on some models (Nielsen, 2011).

Electronic worksheets aid students who struggle in lining up numbers and equations. Some versions offer text-to-speech recognition capabilities (Nielsen, 2011).

Physically Disabled Resource

The oversize trackball mouse has the trackball located on top making it easier for the student to control movement on the computer screen (GMC, 2015).

Adaptive keyboards utilize various key size, letter size, and hand placement to accommodate students with special needs (Gateway, 2015).

ResourcesAssistive Devices for People with Hearing, Voice, Speech, or Language Disorders. (2014, July 3). Retrieved January 25, 2015, from http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/assistive-devices.aspx#2

Assistive Technology: An Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2015, from http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/at/

Assistive technologies for people with physical impairments. (2015, January 1). Retrieved January 25, 2015, from http://www.gmc-uk.org/accessibility/assistive_technologies/physical_impairments.asp

Gateway - Assistive Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2015, from http://www.gateway2at.org/page.php?page_ID=3&gen_ID=12&mensub_ID=4&submen_ID=1&AtDet_ID=20

LightSPEED Technologies. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2015, from http://catalogs.infocommiq.com/avcat/CTL8899/index.cfm?manufacturer=lightspeed-technologies&product=les-370

Nielsen, L. (2011, September 5). Assistive Technology Tools, Tips and Tricks. Retrieved January 25, 2015, from http://www.nsnet.org/atc/tools/math.html

Ring, S. (2008, July 23). Out of Sight: Technology Helps Visually Impaired Students Thrive. Retrieved January 25, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/edward-r-murrow-technology-visually-impaired

Schou, H. (2001, November 1). Programming in the dark. Retrieved January 25, 2015, from http://www.sslug.dk/~chlor/brltty-logtext/progindark.html

Talking Calculator. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2015, from http://www.lssproducts.com/product/10-digit-talking-calculator-and-alarm/talking-calculators