TECHNOLOGY FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

Technology plays an important role in the lives of individuals who have disabilities. As used in this article, tech­nology is defined as any item, device, or piece of equipment that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional abilities of persons with dis­abilities. These items, devices, or pieces of equipment may be commercially available or customized. They are available for a variety of age and grade levels ranging from infants and toddlers to adults.

The devices that are available are as diverse as the needs and characteristics of the people who benefit from them. Augmentative communication aids are available for persons who are unable to speak that allow them to communicate their needs to others. Motorized wheel­chairs are available for those who are unable to walk that allow them to move about in the environment. For infants and young children with disabilities, microswitches are used with adaptive toys to help them manipulate objects in their environment and learn about cause and effect. Talking alarm clocks and calculators are used by individuals with visual problems, allowing them to access important information that sighted people often take for granted. These and many other technological advancements are greatly improving the quality of life for individuals with disabilities. More specifically, these tech­nologies enhance their independence and productivity and increase their abil­ity to participate in the mainstream of society.

Most schools have had some experi­ence in providing devices and equip­ment to students with disabilities. Both EL. 94-142, the Education for All Hand­icapped Children Act of 1975, and EL. 99-457, the Education of the Handi­capped Amendments of 1986, provided school systems with the flexibility to fund assistive devices and other related services as indicated in the child's indi­vidualized education program (IEP). However, since technology was not specifically defined in either legislation, considerable variation existed across the country regarding the provision of devices and equipment to students in educational settings.

With the recent reauthorization of EL. 94-142, now known as the Individu­als with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA (EL. 101-476), assistive technology devices were finally defined using the earlier language of EL. 100-407. This places schools in the position of having even greater responsibility for provid­ing devices and equipment to students in special education settings. Addition­ally, school districts must provide "assis­tive technology services" to eligible students with disabilities. These services are defined by the IDEA as "any service that directly assists an individual with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device". Thus, schools are now responsible for helping stu­dents select and acquire devices and equipment as well as instructing them in their use.

The increasingly expanding possibil­ities of technologies to help children in academic settings will require educa­tional and related services personnel to rethink the scope of instructional opportunities for students with disabil­ities. In the past, many instructional activities may have been viewed from an administrative perspective to be impractical due to cost constraints or the degree of the student's disability. Unfortunately, while it is clearly a violation of IDEA, it has been suggested that in the past the limited resources of school systems have, on occasion, played a role in the decisions made about technology provided for children with disabilities.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 682