Assistive Technology makes dreams come true

Assistive Technology can make dreams come true

At the start of the 21^st century, the educational community which includes; State education agencies, regional resource centers, and technical assistance centers along with the U.S. Department of Education, is making leaps and bounds to help students with disabilities. Before technology can be utilized as a tool in both the classroom and at the students home, it must be evaluated on the capacity in which it could help scholastic advancement. Once technology is introduced to the student with a disability, minus a learning curb on how to work that particular device, it should enhance the students performance, facilitate participation, aid in completing school work and activities, and enhance achievement.

 
But the thing that changed everything was the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA '97). This act requires every state to ensures  that all children with disabilities are entitled to a free appropriate public education to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living. To read more about IDEA please go to http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/nonpublic/idea1.html

Its important to introduce and include technology to students with disabilities when they are in pre school. This will help them get up to speed using the various types of electronics and once they are enter the classroom, they will strictly be allowed to focus on their curriculum.

As a teacher it is important to make accommodations and modifications to help students with their special needs. Some of the ways I could help accommodate students would be to on the way I would present a lesson, make instructional strategies, change the students response procedures, scheduling, visual schedule, classroom environment and the way it is laid out, using special equipment that might be needed, assignments structured differently, use braille, audio version of book assigned in class, use a sign a language interpreter, sensory items to help the students focus on a lesson and to allow more time to teach, take a test, finish assignment and to complete an activity.  

In addition ways to modify a classroom with students with special needs would be set alternative goals, use the curriculum but change the outcome expectation, modify the test, Think about the student friendly material and handouts that are given inside the class. Modify the Instruction level, content, performance criteria and have students replace posters and pictures with an written essay paper. 

In the 2005 video, How Assistive Technology Enables Dreams, (Youtube link http://www.edutopia.org/assistive-technology-enabling-dreams-video)  features two students that use assistive technology, the first is a young woman named Susan Sweeney Martini who is in her sophomore year at the University of Washington and the second is a Lukas Bratcher from Mead High School. 

Photo: Susan uses the computer to do her homework.

Susan has cerebral palsy, is bound to a wheel chair, but didn’t let her disability get in her way. She is a referee for local soccer games. She mentioned she needed a computer and laptop to help her progress in the classroom. She claims her mother, who is also named Susan, is a teacher and lawyer fought for her daughter rights to get a laptop and computer. (read more about Susan Sweeny - http://m.spokesman.com/stories/1995/dec/03/discovering-new-hope-mother-and-daughter-want/. ) A special device enables her to operate the computer along with a voice-activated system to eliminate typing and to answer prompts. Susan would like to be a TV news anchor when she completes college.
 

Photo: Lukas practices playing the Euphonium.

 Lukas Bratcher loved to play a euphonium but was only able to play one note. He would patiently wait while the rest of the orchestra would play until his note would come. After moving to Spokane, Washington, before 6th grade, Bratcher’s new middle school band director introduced him to Robin Amend, a local music store owner.





Amend was inspired by his grandfather named Bert Amend
who was a musician who had lost his right
arm during a logging accident.

Photo: Bert Mead (right) helps a student missing his left hand.

 

Determined to help Lukas, Amend invented the assistive technology device that Bratcher uses today. Through technology, a group of people designed and came up with a solution, a joystick that is very similar to the ones used in video games. The joystick controlled the amount of air that went into each valve thus causing Lukas to hit many notes which helped him play the euphonium. He hopes to earn a college scholarship by performing the euphonium. Through an interview in the video, Robin Amend the owner of Amend Music Center was impressed on how far we have come through efforts of helping people with disabilities. 

To read more about Bert Amend please visit: http://www.harpguitars.net/knutsen/amend.htm

10 Accommodations for students with special needs would be

* The way a teacher would present a lesson

* Instructional strategies to help the students learn

* Changing the student response procedures

* Allow more time to teach, take a test, finish an assignment, learn a concept or compete an activity

* Allow more time to get to and from class.

* Scheduling

* Visual schedules

* Classroom environment and the way the classroom is laid out

* Special equipment that might be needed.

* Assignments may need to be structured differently if the student has issues with paper and pencil.

* Sensory items to help the students focus on the lesson.

* Have material with enlarged text

* If possible have a sign language interpreter

* Use Braille

* Audio version of book assigned in class.

10 Modifications for students

* Output – the way students respond  to instruction.

* Alternate goals

* Quantity

* Use the curriculum, but change the outcome expectation

* Modify the test

* Think about the material and handouts that are given inside the class. It needs to be student friendly

* Instructional level

* Content

* Performance criteria

* Have students find or make posters , replacing it with an essay paper. 

References: 

  

U.S. Department of Education. (2001, October). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 1997/ Services to Parentally Placed Private School Students with Disabilities. Retrieved  June 26, 2015, from http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/nonpublic/idea1.html

   

Curtis, D. (2005, February 2). Disabled Bodies, Able Minds: Giving Voice, Movement, and               Independence to the Physically Challenged. Retrieved June 26, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/assistive-technology-class-school-participation

Edutopia.Org. (2005, Febuary  2). Assisstive Technology: Enabling Dreams. [Youtube Video]. 

Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXxdxck8Gic   

Hall, J. (2008, May 9). Communication Options Chart for Deaf Children - Sound Advice.Retrieved June 26, 2015, from http://sound-advice.ie/communication-options-chart-for-deaf-children/