Assistive technology refers to alternative or adaptive specialized hardware and software, including enabling input devices, voice synthesizers, and voice recognition programs (Marbler, Hadadian, & Ulman, 1999). This technology enables students with learning and physical disabilities to actively participate in inclusive classroom tasks such as writing, reading, mathematics, and the like (Lankutis, & Kennedy, 2002).
Assistive technology allows these students to independently complete assignments and examinations. Marbler, Hadadian, and Ulman (1999) noted that public schools were forced, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), to make available to all disabled pupils the assistive technology equipment and services they need. In addition, the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), the 1998 Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act required schools to provide all disabled children equal and free access to appropriate assistive technology (Lankutis, & Kennedy, 2002). As a result, child study teams were obliged to include the issue of assistive technology in students’ Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs) (Lankutis, & Kennedy, 2002; Marbler, Hadadian, & Ulman, 1999).
Wilkes (2001) reported that some school districts were successfully using assistive technology with disabled students attending all grade levels from kindergarten to twelfth grade. Lankutis and Kennedy (2002) presented a case study of how a fourth grader with Cerebral Palsy benefited from using a word prediction program called Co-Writer, a mathematics software application, and a portable keyboard. Co-Writer, along with a portable keyboard and a math program designed to help students learn math, made it easier for the student to complete language arts and math assignments and tests at a faster pace. In addition, the fourth grader could now participate in group activities instead of sitting alone in the back of the classroom. If the teacher had not made these assistive technology tools available, the student would not have excelled in his or her academic subjects and would have been socially isolated from his or her non-disabled peers.
Other physically disabled students, who could not use their hands to access a standardized keyboard and mouse, were given the option of utilizing voice recognition tools to work with the computer (Wilkes, 2001). For example, with ViaVoice installed, disabled students are able to control the computer with voice commands. Students can also operate the computer through touch control devices, alternative keyboards and mice, and speech-to-text word recognition tools.
"Today we can say that if a person can control any part of his or her body-the raising of an eyebrow, the blink of an eye, the flick of a finger, the twitch of a toe, or the nod of the head-a computerized device can be designed to use that movement to allow a disabled person to function independently in the mainstream of society” (Poole et al., 2004).
Word prediction programs, word processors, grammar checkers, scanners, compact disc recording (CD-R and CD-RW) drives, MIDI-compatible musical instruments, and spell checkers are other different kinds of assistive technologies discussed (Marbler, Hadadian, & Ulman, 1999).
Elkind (2004) recommended that educators K-12, before purchasing and utilizing assistive technology products, should evaluate them based on the criteria of flexibility, usable, and supportable. Educators should also evaluate these items by downloading various demos and/or requesting free CDs via the Internet from the companies that market the assistive technologies (Anderson, 2004).
During the last three decades, there has been a significant increase in the number of disabled high school students attending colleges (Roach, 2002). As this segment of the population has grown, the demand for utilizing assistive technology has flourished. White, Wepner, and Wetzel (2003) noted that assistive technology had a significant positive effect on 8.5 million college students with learning and physically disabilities.
Roach (2002) and White, Wepner, and Wetzel (2003) stated that the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1998 enforced schools to include assistive technology in their curriculums. This meant that trained staff members needed to work with disabled students, and school campuses had to be physically accessible (Roach, 2002).
However, many postsecondary institutions have failed to make their computer technology accessible to pupils with disabilities due to disability issues not being a top concern. Some disabled students have had to depend on other resources, such as disability organizations, to receive assistive technology and support services. Colleges claim that they accommodate every student with assistive devices such as portable and desktop computers, web-oriented applications and information, operating systems and software applications, multimedia products, and information appliances.
Although the laws demand that schools modify technology so that disabled students can use it, Roach found no such improvements. For example, universities had a low supply of software programs, did not have standardized policies on providing students with assistive technology, failed to integrate assistive technology in the classroom, did not contact vocational rehabilitation for funding purposes, and did not train faculty members in how to use assistive technology (White, Wepner, & Wetzel, 2003).
What, then, are some of the more readily available, tried-and-true accessibility tools available today?
OS-Based Accessibility Options
a. The Sticky Keys accessibility option
When a physically-disabled student has limited ability to use the regular computer keyboard and is only able to press one key at a time, teachers should make the StickyKeys option available. Here are the steps required to use the Sticky Keys:
It is worthwhile to show all students, no matter what the age group, how these various accessibility options work so that everyone can become aware of the needs of those who are in some ways less able than themselves. Moreover, if everyone in the class knows how to use these accessibility options, there is more likelihood that the students will share this knowledge with their friends and relatives at home.
The StickyKeys accessibility option is essential for those students who can depress only one key on the keyboard at a time. For example, StickyKeys enables a student to type a capital letter by first pressing the Shift key and subsequently (rather than simultaneously) an alphabetical key. The same works for any double key sequence, such as Control or Alt key sequences.
b. The MouseKeys Accessibility Option
Here are the steps required to use the MouseKeys accessibility option:
Quite obviously, fast is not a desirable option for those who are either too slow to react or too quick to respond. The ability to tweak the pointer speed is critical for such folks.
The figure below ("Mouse Keys", 2005) illustrates the directional movement of the mouse pointer when the respective key on the numeric keypad is held down.
Now, using the MouseKeys accessibility option, the students are able to control the mouse pointer through the Mouse Keys located on the numeric key pad (standardized keyboard) or embedded numeric key pad (laptop keyboard). The illustration below shows which keys on the standardized keyboard’s numeric keypad control which directional movement of the mouse pointer on the screen.
Application-Based Accessibility Options
Word Prediction Software
Word prediction software such as Co:Writer http://www.donjohnston.com/products/cowriter/index.html is designed to facilitate writing by suggesting words in response to one or two letters typed by the user. For example, if a student types the letter "d", the program will generate a list of words that begin with d (dog, dress, etc.) from which the student can select the target word. Typing a second letter (e.g., "du") generates another list of words beginning with du (Marbler, Hadadian, & Ulman, p. 116, 1999).
The beauty of an application such as Co:Writer is that the program was not originally designed for the disabled. Rather, it was designed to help students in general improve their language arts skills. Only subsequently did the physically disabled discover that such programs could help those who previously could not write at all without assistance!
This introduces the concept of Universal Design, which has as its guiding principle that the best design accommodates all users, regardless of size, shape, sex, physical and intellectual ability, and so forth. It is beyond the scope of this paper to further discuss Universal Design, but readers interested in doing so may like to visit http://design.ncsu.edu/cud/ (The Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University or http://www.cast.org/udl/ (The Center for Applied Special Technology - CAST).
Other applications now commonly used by the disabled include screen readers such as JAWS http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/software_jaws.asp, which uses the Windows or Mac internal speech synthesizer to read aloud the information on the computer screen.
Hardware-based accessibility applications include IntelliKeys and DynaVox.
"IntelliKeys keyboard is a versatile enlarged keyboard that plugs into any Macintosh or Windows computer with only the change of a cable. It enables users with physical, visual, or cognitive disabilities to easily type, enter numbers, navigate on-screen displays, and execute menu commands. Overlays for numbers, mouse movement, and alphabetical and QWERTY key layouts can be slid into the IntelliKeys for instant use. Customized overlays can also be created and printed with the Overlay Maker Program. Many children's software programs now include ready-to-use custom IntelliKeys overlays."
DynaVox Systems provide speech capability for the speech impaired. A broad range of DynaVox augmentative and alternative communication tools improve the quality of life for adults and children with severe speech disabilities caused by conditions such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease), stroke, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, autism, developmental disabilities, Parkinson's Disease and Muscular Dystrophy.
Conclusion
Studies show that assistive technology significantly helps disabled students to excel in inclusive classrooms. Assistive technologies comprise numerous products (a wide variety of software applications, input devices, and hardware) that allow disabled children to perform difficult tasks by themselves.
Although the Americans with Disability Act and other laws state that all secondary and post-secondary institutions must accommodate students who have assistive technology needs, the actual number of caring institutions who go beyond more than merely fulfilling the letter of the law is still sadly small. Individual teachers/professors may do what they can, but ultimately it is the INSTITUTION-school district, university-that must "buy in" to the concept that ALL students, no matter what the individual need, must be accommodated as regards their willingness to learn.
References
"DynaVox - Facts at a Glance." DynaVox Systems: Communications Systems for Life. Dynavox Systems. 01 Jan. 2005 http://www.dynavoxtech.com/.
Anderson, G. H. (2004, October). Freeware, Shareware, and Demos on the Internet. ConnSENSE Bulletin. 52-58.
Elkind, K. (2004). Choosing Assistive Technology for Teaching Reading and Writing. Media & Methods, 40(6). 20-21.
"JAWS for Windows." Freedom Scientific. Freedom Scientific. 01 Jan. 2005 http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/software_jawsinfo.asp.
"IntelliTools: IntelliKeys." IntelliKeys - The Alternative Programmable Keyboard. IntelliTools. 01 Jan. 2005 http://store.cambiumlearning.com/ProgramPage.aspx?parentId=074003405&functionID=009000008&site=itc.
Lankutis, T., & Kennedy, K. (2002). Assistive Technology and the Multiage Classroom. Technology & Media, 22(8). 38-43.
Marbler, J. B., Hadadian, A., & Ulman, J. (1999). Using Assistive Technology in the Inclusive Classroom. Preventing School Failure, 43(7). 113-120.
"Mouse Keys." Mouse Keys. Docu+Design Daube, Zurich. 01 Jan. 2005 http://www.daube.ch/share/win02.html.
Poole, B.J., McIlvain, E., & Jackson, L. (2004). Education for an Information Age: Teaching in the Computerized Classroom, 5th ed. Available on the web where the book is self-published at http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/InfoAge5frame.html.
Roach, R. (2002). Assistive Technology Comes Into Focus. Black Issues In Higher Education, 19(11). 20-24.
White, E. A., Wepner, S. B., & Wetzel, D. C. (2003). Accessible Education Through Assistive Technology. T H E Journal, 30(7). 24-27.
Wilkes, D. (2001). Assistive Technology. Media & Methods, 37(5). 36-38.
