Prompt # 4: People of all ages, abilities, and needs may be able to benefit from assistive technology.

From http://kleeuwe7.wordpress.com/2010/02/07/prompt-4-people-of-all-ages-abilities-and-needs-may-be-able-to-benefit-from-assistive-technology-everyones-needs-are-different-understanding-and-meeting-the-needs-of-the-individual-are-critic/

Prompt # 4: People of all ages, abilities, and needs may be able to benefit from assistive technology. Everyone’s needs are different. Understanding and meeting the needs of the individual are critical. There are many technology solutions available.

Technology has great potential in providing access for all learners. Through the use of a variety of assistive technologies, students with disabilities can have the ability to access the general curriculum. When assistive technology is appropriately integrated into the regular classroom, students are provided with multiple means to complete their work.

Technology helps students with disabilities on many different levels. It can help them accomplish tasks like:

Master grade-level content. Technology presents the material in different forms (visually, auditorily, etc.)
Improve writing and organizational skills. Technology can enable students with learning disabilities or autism to do such things as develop a concept map for a research paper and write using grade-level vocabulary words they wouldn’t use without a computer due to poor spelling skills.
“Read” grade-level text. The computer either reads the text digitally or presents it at a lower grade level for students with reading disabilities or visual impairments.
Take notes. Many students with disabilities have difficulty taking notes in longhand because of poor spelling, writing, and/or eye-hand coordination skills.
Master educational concepts that would have been beyond their reach. Students can experience abstract concepts such as the metamorphosis of a flower through 3-D simulations.
By making a student more independent, assistive technology allows teachers to spend more time on group activities and one-to-one with students. Assistive technology can provide a teacher more options in addressing different learning styles for individual students, using visual, auditory and tactile approaches. A student who is more fully integrated into the classroom is less of a distraction to other students. A student who is fully included into the classroom can interact with and help other students, facilitating a more positive classroom atmosphere. Being in a classroom with a special needs student who is fully included and using assistive technology effectively is an educational experience in itself, for other students.

When reviewing the Americans with Disabilities Act I have found examples of assistive technology that helps individuals with everyday tasks that many without disabilities fail to recognize:

Toilets and showers equipped with grab bars for persons who may fall easily or require supports
A computer that can be programmed to talk for individuals who cannot speak
Wheelchairs, both manual and power, for individuals who cannot walk due to paralysis or weakness in their legs
Hearing aids and other amplification devices for individuals with hearing loss
Large screen computers for individuals with visual problems
Devices that operate lamps, radios and other appliances through a remote control switching device, that might be attached to a person’s wheelchair
These are just some examples, and I am sure that many people think that assistive technology only refers to those educational devices for learning. Assistive technology also includes devices that help those with disabilities to function in society, their own lives, and ensure independence. As I have been walking around my school and public places I find myself more aware of the entrances, bathrooms, counters, and tables for those that have disabilities. Can an individual with disabilities access these areas independently? This is a question that I have asked myself quite frequently since our last class. I find that many places are not under compliance. There have been doors in public places that are difficult for me to open independently, and I could only imagine the stress and frustration for someone that cannot physically complete these everyday tasks independently. Looking at my school and my classroom I have found that an individual with disabilities cannot attend. There are not elevators to each floor, they cannot access the lunch room, they cannot get to my classroom, there are no ramps, and there is no access to special subject classrooms.