Qualifying students receive an individualized education program (IEP), which defines learning needs, sets goals, and describes how teachers will help the student learn. To be eligible for special assistance, students must be evaluated by a team of professionals who assess their disability. Not all students with disabilities require or are eligible for assistive technology, but the prevalence and variety of disabilities underscores the importance of such learning aids. Other major categories of disability are wide ranging: * Autism spectrum disorder * Developmental delay * Emotional disturbance (anxiety and depression, for example) * Intellectual disability * Hearing impairment * Orthopedic impairment * Speech or language impairment * Other health impairments (a broad category that encompasses many conditions that limit a student’s strength, energy, or alertness) A third of those students have a specific learning disability, such as dyslexia. More than 7 million students ages 3-21, or 14 percent of all public school students, receive special education services in the United States, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Text-to-speech software helps students with speech disabilities, impaired vision, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and various learning disabilities.Speech-to-text software lets students with speech disabilities communicate.Special keyboards address a range of learning needs, from braille for the visually impaired to alternative layouts that address physical and cognitive disabilities.Personal listening devices capture teachers’ voices more clearly with microphones that connect to a personal speaker or earpiece via FM radio waves, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.Pencil grips enable students with fine motor skill problems to use writing utensils.Graphic organizers, including paper and digital versions, help students with learning disabilities and executive function disorder.Flexible furniture, including standing desks and adjustable seating, can help students with mobility issues.Color overlays and line readers, including basic physical objects and software-based tools, can help students with attention deficit disorder and the visually impaired.Closed captioning allows students with auditory disabilities to learn from video-based lessons. ![]() Audio recorders can be used to capture lectures and discussions that students with auditory processing disorder might miss. ![]() The following tools are some of the more common examples of assistive technology: ![]() Advanced and emerging technologies such as virtual reality also serve assistive learning purposes. Many household items-timers, calculators, and magnifiers, for example-can help address specific disabilities. Ranging from simple mechanical devices to sophisticated hardware and software, assistive technologies address a wide range of disabilities. What Is Assistive Technology?Īssistive technology can be any product or tool that helps people with disabilities learn, work, and live more productive lives. Exploring how students with learning disabilities and other impairments use assistive technology in virtual and physical classrooms illuminates its vital role. Assistive technology helps schools and teachers deliver on the promise of educational equity. Assistive technology in the classroom helps to ensure students with disabilities have the same opportunity for education as students who do not have disabilities.
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