Do You Wonder How Assistive Technology Can Help Your Child
Technology can play a major role in how a child with a disability can succeed in school. Children once thought incapable of reading and writing are using switches, alternative keyboards and mice to communicate, write, read and do math. The IDEA law (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) mandates the public schools to provide Assistive Technology if it is determined that the student requires any adaptive hardware, software or augmentative communication in order to meet IEP goals. In Georgia, the lottery helps fund these devices. In addition, the use of computers in homes has risen dramatically in the last decade. All these changes make it imperative that we learn to use and program appropriately the software and hardware our children with disabilities need to be successful. These children should have training geared to their learning styles in order to learn to use the Assistive Technology in a meaningful and productive way.
Children with severe disabilities can often achieve success and control on a computer when they frequently have fewer abilities to manipulate their environment in other ways. Children with milder disabilities can have more success with learning new skills because the computer’s feedback can be very motivating. The visual feedback helps retain interest and the auditory feedback can help train better receptive language skills. Adaptations are readily available which allow access for even the most physically involved child. Adapted keyboards can simplify the choices for a child who can physically manipulate a keyboard but cognitively is overwhelmed by all keys and their functions. Although there are many off the shelf educational children's games that hold attention and teach academic and problem solving skills there are also many adapted applications designed to help with specific skills and provide higher levels of feedback to children with special needs.
Special education software companies recognize the need to individualize programs for each student. A program such as Intellipics allows the user to input pictures and sounds relevant to the student/child. Auditory word processors read the characters typed by the user (or copied from other sources) by letter, word, and/or sentence. Word Prediction programs can be useful for children who need help with spelling and motivation to write more. Math programs such as MathPad and Access to Math allow a user to complete arithmetic problems on onscreen grids and have auditory feedback. Many of the adapted programs are based on universal design and come ready to use with an alternative keyboard, scanning switch input, increased auditory output for persons with visual impairments or through regular means. Settings can be changed and saved for each user. Even off the shelf software frequently has the ability to change settings which allow for greater access. Teachers and parents may not be aware that their educational software can be modified.
Access is the first step to making a computer a useful tool for a child. A child with the physical ability to use a mouse and keyboard, but who is not connecting the movement of the mouse with the movement of the cursor needs the task to be broken down into many small steps. With a switch adapted mouse the click can be put into a switch and controlled by the instructor. This way the child does not get lots of false clicks before the cursor is on the correct spot. Another technique is to put the mouse on an inclined surface in front of the screen thus having the mouse and the monitor in the same visual plane. Now “move the mouse up” truly means move the mouse up. Some software programs are designed to teach mouse movement such as Reader Rabbit Toddler and are helpful even for older children who are learning cursor control. Keyboard use can be a daunting task for children who don’t have good perceptual skills. What sense does a QWERTY keyboard make? An alternative keyboard such as Intellikeys can be arranged in ABC order with fewer keys for children who can’t understand the QWERTY layout or need a less complicated arrangement. For children with physical impairments finding alternative access is the key. Trackballs, switch scanning, head mice, and joysticks are some of the alternatives to explore depending on the child’s control of his/her body and extremities.
Teaching the child to use the software and hardware can be the most challenging issue. The child may only be able to learn new tasks if given visual cues or have difficulty understanding a sequence of tasks needed to execute a program. This is when an understanding of the child’s learning style is imperative. Often in learning situations I have observed instructors repeating directions over and over and never allowing the child to quietly process the request and have time to respond. How often has a child with language difficulties repeated a line he/she has heard or responded to a request 2-3 days after the incident? Could this be how long it takes to sort out the incoming stimulus and then gather a response? A technique I teach in trainings is called the 15-second rule. When giving a child with learning problems a verbal request allow 15 seconds for a response. Be quiet and time yourself for 15 seconds. You will be amazed how long the time takes to pass. Some children may need more physical input from an instructor to execute a task. Some children are confused if you talk to them and show them at the same time. Knowing how a child processes information is imperative to the success of the task.
Children with disabilities seem to learn computer skills faster than us aging baby boomers! Two year olds use VCR’s and can pick out their favorite video even though they can’t read. Technology is a part of our society and can greatly enhance ones’ life. But having a computer in the classroom or home is not the final answer for getting a child to learn. Instead problem solving with a team approach, patience, trial periods and pairing appropriate assistive technology with children’s learning styles is the way for children to learn new skills and add to already learned skills.
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