"Assistive technology is a set of adaptive tools that support students with disabilities in learning activities and daily life task, and it is having a particularly important impact on these students" (Eggen & Kauchak, 2010). It also provides resources to overcome barriers that
the disability has created. For students with special needs like Susanna
Sweeney-Martini, she says, “Assistive technology is the major foundation of my
life. Without it, I could not exist as I am today” (Ken, 2005). In order for
Susanna to successfully participate, she needs accommodations that
incorporated assistive technology into the curriculum such as a wheelchair,
laptop, and speech recognition devices. The problem is the lack of awareness in
the teachers to implement these assistive technologies in the classroom. Also under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), students with disability are required to have these tools.
When implementing an assistive technology in the classroom, it is important to personalize the tools for an individual. Students who are under IDEA have an Individualized Education Program (IEP), which the school must abide to. Not a single student has the same IEP, because students have different disabilities and needs. I am in favor of collaboration of assistive technology, because I understand how these tools impact student's academic and functioning skills. But for general education teachers, they may disregard implementing assistive technology in their classroom, because they do not understand. With the current movement of mainstreaming and inclusion, general education teachers are bound to have a student with disability. So teachers must incorporate these tools into the lesson plan for students with disability to actively
participate in the least restricted environment (LRE).
I have a cousin, named Kouta in Japan.
Until few years ago, I did not know he had severe intellectual disability. In comparison to the American culture, the Japanese culture is not as open. My father's side of the family cares about opinions, so they tend hide bits of information from us, "children." It is unfortunate, but it is the truth. Kouta is 8 years old. He is unable to communicate and often lost in his own
world. In Japan, students with disability are often segregated from regular school and instead attend specialized school. His parent gave up on the idea of Kouta being able to talk and act like his twin brother. I could sense hopelessness that his parent was experiencing. I wish I could share some success stories with assistive technology, but I cannot. Because it did not happen yet.
Instead, I want to share a remakable story about a girl named Carly Fleischmann and how technology helped enable her dreams. Carly has severe autism and moderate
intellectual disability. Her disability disabled her from communicating and connecting with the people around her. Being diagnosed with autism at the age of 2, her parent did not believe she would be like her twin sister, who does not have a disability. "Therapists say the key lesson from Carly's story is for families to never
give up and to be ever creative in helping children with autism find their
voice" (McKenzie, 2008). After a decade of intensive therapy
sessions, she found her inner voice with the help of technology. She is now able to communicate with others.
I believe that every student has the potential to blossom with some help from the community. Although assistive
technology is a valuable resources, it also depends on the people who work closely with the students. They are teachers, therapists, psychologists, and mostly importantly parents. Carly's story illustrated that parental involvement is an essential factor for students to progress. As a future special education teacher, I believe we must be positive and hopeful that our students will be able to achieve anything that they desire. Although assitive technology cannot be the solution for all the disabilities, we must still continue to incorporate it in the lesson plan. The goals are for students with disability to be included in the general education classroom as much as possible and develop skills to successfully transition into the real world.
This is a short video I made using PowToon. It is intended for younger children to give them a general idea about assistive technology and how it can enable dreams.
References
Eggen, P., & Kauchak, D. (2012). Educational Psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Merrill/Prentice Hall.
Ellis, Ken. (2005). Assistive Technology: Enabling Dreams [Video File]. Retrieved from
McKenzie, John. (2008). Autism breakthrough: Girl's writings explain her behavior and
feelings. ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4311223
Hi:
ReplyDeleteYour essay was very nicely done. No date is needed within your post.
-j-