According to Picciano, over the past three decades, American schools have been trying to improve the education of children with special needs. The following pieces of legislation including, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, and the Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2004-prodded education policy makers to reexamine special education in schools.
Technology is now being used by children who have difficulty learning through conventional means. Regardless of their challenges whether it be a learning disability, fine gross motor skill delay, hearing or vision loss- assistive technology is being provided to bridge the gap to students learning- which have been unavailable to children with special needs in the past. Technology today provides input and output devices that allow students with visual impairments to hear and respond to text that is stored on DVDs or CD-ROMS rather than printed on pages in book. E-readers are more readily available as opposed to physically turning a book. We now have countless Internet based software for both reading and mathematics. Additionally, for those with Autism and ADHD- technology based learning has been proven to be a more effective channel for delivery of instruction. Computers can be a primary means for some students with disabilities to communicate with the world in which they live- and for many within the inclusion setting.
What are some other ways technology can meet the needs of our special needs students?
Thoughts?? Comments???
Take a look at the following websites for more information:
The National Center to Improve Practice in Special Education Through Technology, Media and Materials
http://cecp.air.org/teams/stratpart/ncip.asp
R.J. Cooper & Associates-Software and Hardware for Persons with Special Needs
http://rjcooper.com/
Picciano, Anhony. (2010). Educational Leadership and Planning for Technology. Fifth ed. Pearson.
Upper Saddle River: New Jersey.
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