Assistive Technology
By: Megan HattonED 505
What is Assistive Technology?
• Assistive technology (AT) is any kind of service or device that helps a student with a disability participate in a general education setting.
• Assistive technology helps a student with a disability function and perform as well as possible.
The Law and Assistive Technology
• The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) states that every child with a disability has to be considered for use an assistive technology.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act requires that, if needed, the school supplies an assistive technology for a student with a disability.
What are some kinds of Assistive Technology?
• Assistive technology covers a wide array of objects that can help a student with a disability. The technology can be as complex as computer software or as simple as a calculator or pencil grip.
Hearing Impaired
• A student who has a hearing impairment might use a personal FM unit.
• When a child uses a personal FM unit, the teacher wears a small microphone. The sound is transmitted to a hearing aid that is in the students ears.
Seeing Impaired
• A student who has a visual impairment could benefit from the use or a screen reader.
• A screen reader is an application that verbalizes words from a computer screen to headphones speakers.
Learning Disability
• A student who is struggling with reading could benefit from using audio books.
• An audio book is a book that is verbally recorded. This kind of publication allows people to use CDs, MP3s, and cassettes to search for an learn information within a book.
Physical Disability
• A wheel chair could be helpful for a student who has a physical disability.
• Electric wheel chairs are often equipped with a joystick that control the movement of the wheel chair.
Reference Page
Assistive Technology for Kids with Learning Disabilities: An Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved June 8, 2015, from
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/assistive-technology-kids-learning-disabilities-overview
Bing. (n.d.). Retrieved June 8, 2015.
SC Curriculum Access through AT. (n.d.). Retrieved June 8, 2015, from
http://www.sc.edu/scatp/cdrom/atused.html
