Special+needs

According to the Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-407), an **assistive technology** means any item, piece of equipment, or product system, modified or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. **Assistive technology service** is any service that directly assists an individual with a disability in the selection, inquiry, or use of an assistive technology device. As a result, the potential range of AT devices is incredibly large with both "high-tech" and "low-tech" devices. High-tech devices may be computers, electronic equipment, or software. Low-tech devices are manually, not electronically, operated. This group includes devices such as pencil grips, mouth sticks, and mechanical hoists. //The Education for All Handicapped Children Act// (P.L. 94-142) was based on the Supreme Court's 1954 //Brown vs. Board of Education//decision that separate education was not equal education under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. At the time the law was passed by Congress in 1975, nearly 2 million children were excluded from schools in the United States. Subsequent legislation passed by Congress encouraged states to develop services designed to provide assistive technology to all persons with disabilities and required provision of AT as a special education service (trained special education teachers in special classes), related service (occupational, physical, speech therapies, and other services needed to access education) or supplemental service (services necessary to maintain a child in regular education classes).

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Any item, piece of equipment, or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a student with disabilities and which the IEP team specifies is necessary for the student to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE).
 * What kinds of devices qualify as assistive technology?**

The student’s IEP team determines that an assistive technology device or service is educationally necessary for a student to benefit from his or her education program.
 * How is the determination made that an assistive technology device or service is educationally necessary for a student?**

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**//WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY?//**

**SoundBeam** This is one of the most advanced tools out there. Take a look: [|Soundbeam]

The movement of the student is picked up by the tool, which translates it to sound and notes. Generally prescribed for children with higher needs and disabilities, the SoundBeam truly is a tool that takes children beyond the boundaries their disability may create: "profoundly physically or learning impaired individuals can become expressive and communicative using music and sound" (SoundBeam home website). This is an expensive tool, but a very rewarding one. This kind of electronic technology provides students with access to music across curriculums, not just in special needs classrooms.

**Talking Calculators** Talking calculators provide a variety of functions for students of varying disabilities. These calculators come equipped with a variety of options for students, including enlarged buttons, multiple colors for easy identification, multiple display areas, memory storage, and the option to read what's on the screen, as well as what is being entered, out loud. Through the use of these calculators, students can perform basic math functions with the ability to see, hear, and clarify what operations are taking place. This would be a great assistive device for students who suffer from dyslexia, who are blind, deaf or hard of hearing, and who require the comfort of knowing that their calculations are correct. In brief, talking calculators can help make math easier.



**Alternative keyboards (enablemart)** Computers can do so many great things for students with disabilities, but the keyboard has proven to be a tough challenge for many disabled students to overcome. Alternative keyboards have been designed to cater to a variety of students, and they can come in many different styles and variations, depending on the condition of the user. For example, the //Maltron Single Finger/Mouth Stick Keyboard// is designed to match the natural movement of the head and decrease the amount of finger movements, which increases speed and decreases frustration. The //Orbitouch// keyboard is fingerless and allows for the user to use their whole hand or arm to type instead of their fingers. Again, this decreases finger action, and also wrist action, which can cause many disabled students pain or discomfort. These are just two of a myriad of alternative keyboards out there. What they all have in common is a unique design that strives to decrease or eliminate finger and wrist motion while adjusting the positions of letter and function keys to make typing easier.

Sip and puff systems---sip and puff switch
The Sip/Puff technoloy is asstive technolgy for people who have limited or no motor capability to operate switch activated devices, including computers, augmentative communication devices, adapted toys, and/or environmental control systems. For people effected with severe motor disabilities, manipulating a standard switch can be difficult or impossible. Instruments such as the Sip/Puff offers users an easy way to activate and have control over devices through a simple "sip" and/or "puff" into a mouth tube. The device that turns the sips and puffs into electrical signals for a computer or AAC device. Iphone sip and puff system []

//**Augmentative Communication Devices**//
Augmentative communication devices are for individuals who are unable to produce speech. By spelling out words the device speaks the words that are spelled. It is a great tool for students whole lack communicastion skills due to LD, Austism, or for those who have no ability to communcaite thurough speech at all. Overall this device give those with no voice a voice.

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**Boardmaker® with Speaking Dynamically Pro v.6**
The Boardmaker is designed for individuals challenged by significant speech or language disabilities, Boardmaker® with Speaking Dynamically Pro transforms any computer into a speech output device and powerful student learning tool. This program includes symbols in 44 languages, and takes them up a notch by adding natural sounding voices, word prediction and abbreviation expansion to support augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) for students challenged by speech. **Conversa™ Touch Screen Tablet** The Words+ Conversa™ is a complete augmentative communication device that is funded by Medicare. This device give indibiduals the ablibity to comunicate by typing out what needs to be said, and letting the device speak for you. Indivuals can either spells out words on tablet or on a keyboard. The Conversa™ is also a fully functioning Windows XP touch tablet, so users can also go on the intenert, write up documents, and communicate through this device.



IPad: Proloquo2go program
Uses pictures in stead of writing out text to make a sentence. In an article entitled “Finding New solutions for ELL Assessments” they show how the iPad might become a revolutionary technology to assist children with special needs. “It’s a multisensory product. Kids who have difficulty using a mouse on a computer can use their fingers to touch and drag things and get immersed in the application”.

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Speech to text devices word processors
People with learning disabilities like dyslexia or dysgraphia can find text-to-speech (TTS) software useful for reading and spelling programs useful when writing texts. Speech recognition is also very useful for people who have difficulty using their hands, ranging from mild repetitive stress injuries to involved disabilities that preclude using conventional computer input devices. Speech to text devices take away the use of the keyboard and allow the user to talk through a microphone to either control the computer, or write an email, essay, or searching for something on the web.

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=Products: =

Dragon Natural Speaking
Dragon speech recognition software makes it easier for anyone to use a computer. You talk, and it types. Use your voice to create and edit documents or emails, launch applications, open files, control your mouse, and more. Quickly and easily capture your thoughts and ideas while Dragon helps you get more done faster.The program can be used on both mac and pc. The user only needs a headset. []



IListen
This program allows users to use their voice to utlimalety control you computer, and write documents. This program is usefu; for students who are unablle to write due to physical dialbitles and/or learning diabilties.

Class Activity: Look up a type of assistive technology, either one mentioned in our wiki or one you find on your own, and describe how it would fit within your classroom. How would you or your students use it? Is it a high tech or low tech AT?

websites to help you:

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