Wednesday, June 25, 2014

The Value of Assistive Technology


            I think that the video does a good job in presenting the issue of students’ need for assistive technology. One of the key points I agree with most is the correlation between how early a student is introduced to assistive technology to how successful that student becomes in the future. In the video, at around 3:20, elementary students are depicted with assistive technology. The main types of technologies being depicted are speech production equipment. I believe this type of technology is very important to introduce to younger students who need it as early as possible. According to the Utah Parent Center, “Research shows that assistive technology (AT) can help young children with disabilities to learn developmental skills. Its use may help infants and toddlers to improve in many areas” (www.utahparentcenter.org). These areas include:
  • Social skills including sharing and taking turns
  • Communication skills
  • Attention Span
  • Fine and gross motor skills
  • Self-confidence and independence”

This means that the earlier a student with disabilities is introduced to assistive technology, the faster they can work on skills that will help them improve the quality of their own lives. So, constructing lesson plans with this in mind will greatly benefit the students. It could be as simple as modifying regular class lesson plans to accommodate students with disabilities. For example, instead of having the class all raise their hands at the same time to give an answer, a teacher could call students one by one so that the student with assistive technology has the time to create a response.
            Least restrictive environments is the issue that the video got me contemplating most because it does not really elaborate on the environments in which students are allowed into. This is why I was contemplating it the most. According to the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities the least restrictive environment is “a setting where a child with a disability can receive an appropriate education designed to meet his or her educational needs, alongside peers without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate” (www.nichcy.org). In the video below, a specific case study is highlighted and focuses on a student who relies on assistive technology, but is allowed into an LRE. 
            In conclusion, I believe that assistive technology is extremely important to students who have disabilities. It’s really the most effective means to helping students with disabilities live as normal of a life as possible and more importantly it aides them in creating a future career. However, though assistive technology itself is important, how early it is introduced and what type of learning environments students with disabilities learn in is just as important.
References
Nichcy.org,. (2014). Considering LRE in Placement Decisions — National Dissemination Center
            for Children with Disabilities. Retrieved 24 June 2014, from
            http://nichcy.org/schoolage/placement/placement-lre


Osteopathic.org,. (2014). Cyber-Bullying and its Effect on our Youth. Retrieved 24 June 2014,
            from http://www.osteopathic.org/osteopathic-health/about-your-health/health-conditions-
            library/general-health/Pages/cyber-bullying.aspx

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