Assistive Technology 

Five Assistive Technologies 

Assistive technologies are devices or software that help people with disabilities. There are many different types of assistive technologies for students with disabilities to use. Here are a useful assistive technologies that help students with their daily learning. First we have the screen enlarger, which enlarges the screen so that students and other people with vision impairments can see the words on the screen.  Then we have voice output or speech output, which reads whatever is on the screen for the student. There is also a scanner that can be combined with speech output for people that are blind. With this scanner combination people that are blind can read printed materials. A different type of assistive technology similar to the speech output but for students or people that are hard of hearing or deaf, are captions. Captions are words on the screen that appear when someone is talking in a video. There are also communication devices, such as a keyboard with pictures for people that have speech impairments or are unable to speak. The keyboard helps them communicate with their friends, families, teachers, or other people that they may run into.

Definitions 

1. Assistive Technology are adaptive devices or software that help people with disabilities. 

2. Learning Disabilities are disorders that affect the ability to understand spoken or written language.

3. Universal Design for Learning gives every student the same chance to succeed. Eliminating any external impediments is the first step in designing a computer lab that adheres to the Universal Design principles. Next, check that the essentials—adjustable computer tables, level papers, and the appropriate software—are present. Ensure that your staff is also familiar with the fundamentals of using the software.

4. Web Accessibility for students with disabilities are websites, tools, and technologies that are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them. 

Web Accessibility 

When guiding kids with disabilities onto the internet, teachers and site designers need to keep in mind that accessibility's fundamental goal is that everyone who visits their page should be able to access the same material, regardless of whether they have a handicap or not.

Technology Tools for Students with Disabilities 

Students are given a way to move around their environments thanks to mobility aids. Usually, they are walking aids like canes, crutches, wheelchairs, or scooters. For children with physical limitations, mobility aids make it easier for them to move around the classroom and the rest of the school. Additionally, they support those with neurological, circulatory, pulmonary, or movement impairments. Mobility aids enable equitable access to assistive technology solutions, which is necessary for students to excel in the classroom.

Students with physical limitations can use environmental aids to help them operate electronic products at home or in the classroom. These gadgets enable the student to operate one or more electronic equipment, such as lights, televisions, and electronically controlled doors, using an alternative input method, such as a switch.

Instructional Strategies for Helping Students with Disabilities

Dyslexia:

Teachers could post visual schedules and read them aloud daily. This could be part of their daily classroom routine in the mornings. You could also provide colored bookmarks to help with reading. They could use the bookmark to cover up above or beneath where they are reading to keep track. Lastly you can give the student a lot of opportunities to read passages. 

ADHD: 

Teachers can establish and practice classroom rules and procedures with the students as apart of their routine and classroom tasks. Instead of constantly punishing them for bad behavior, the teacher could reward them more often for what they are doing good, like positive reinforcement. You could also give them feedback to let them know that they are doing great and that they should keep it up. Last but not least, the teacher could have the student sit where there are less distractions, which could be by the teachers desk, so that they could keep an eye on them. 

Special Education Legislation 

"Can Do! Kids!" is a website that I can find myself using in my future classroom. This website allows and helps kids realize and appreciate their abilities as they try to accomplish their goals. It is a peer help peer website, it focuses on what the kid can do instead of what they can't. 

IDEA gives rights and protections to students with disabilities. It is the United States' special education law, it stands for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It covers kids from birth through high school graduation. Their parents and legal guardians also have rights under this law. IDEA guarentees that all kids with disabilites are given special education and other assistance to meet their unique requirements.