Assistive technology is technology used by individuals with disabilities to perform functions that might otherwise be difficult or impossible without the use of it. There are many types of assistive technology that are available for individuals with disabilities. We can learn more about the different forms of assistive technology by visiting http://auto.buffalo.edu/ Below are some resources and websites that are useful when trying to find assistive technology for individuals with disabilities.
Mild Disabilities- Learning disabilities, mental retardation, and emotional/ behavioral disorders . Students with cognitive difficulties have issues with memory, attention, and thinking. Students can use Penfriend that will help predict the next word that they would write. Kurzweil can also be used to read scanned text out loud. It helps the students who struggle with reading or writing text. It is also helpful for ELL students. Visit http://schwablearning.org/ and http://www.idonline.org/ for more information on assistive technology for student with mild disablilities.
Moderate and Severe Disabilities - Students have problems learning and functioning. Students can use a binder that is filled with directions done in pictures to help an individual complete a task. Here are two websites that help us to better understand our students who are intellectually disabled. http://www.cdc.gov/ and http://www.education.com/.
Physical Disabilities - Quick Glance is a mouse replacement. The mouse is controlled by eye movement and the mouse is clicked by blinking. Other examples of assistive technology for students with physical disabilities include: word prediction, voices recognition systems, page turners, and mouth sticks or mouth operated joysticks. Some websites that will give more information on AT for individuals with physical disabilities are http://www.optionsind.org/ and http://www.arecil.org/.
Sensory Disabilities - Students could use Intellikeys keyboard which is a progarammable keyboard with different keypad overlays. The overlays can be color coded and programmed for the individual needs of the student. This device can help with writing papers, answer questions or vocabulary, use the internet to research information as well as doing tutorials. Sound Field Systems could be used with students with a disability with hearing. It will amplify the instructions and responses. This will help the student be able to hear and participate in discussions in the classroom. Websites for the students with sensory disabilities are http://www.aisquared.com/, http://www.ngtvoice.com/, and http://www.magnifiers.org/.
At-Risk Behaviors/Situations - Many students who are at-risk get frustrated and drop out of school. Online classes are beneficial to them. They work at their own pace and are free from judgement of others. At-risk students can be placed on RTI and progress monitoring done to measure student achievement of goals and objectives that have been set for the student. At risk students could receive extra practice and remediation by using http://www.brainpop.com/ and http://www.compasslearning.com/.
Gifts and Talents - Gifted students perform at very high levels. These students need to be challenged or they may become bored or disinterested. Inspiration software is a good tool to help gifted students with creative writing skills, comprehension, and higher order thinking. WebQuest is also an iquiry activity website where teachers can tailor activities to match the topics that are being taught in class. Some websites that may be helpful when teaching gifted students are http://www.davidongifted.org/ and http://www.reacheverychild.com/.
