AT for Sensory Impairments

Sensory Impairments

Sensory impairments can include limited or lack of ability to use three senses: sight, touch, and hearing. The most common of these are blindness, deafness, and deaf-blindness. 

Deafness is something I was interested in a while ago and still would love to learn more about. I watch a TV show that focuses around the Deaf community. It is funny because sometimes I'll be distracted while watching it and then I'll realize that there are Deaf people on the screen signing to each other. It gave me a tiny glimpse of what it is like to be Deaf. You have to pay close attention to everything and everyone around you or else you miss out on a lot. 

The tool this post will focus on is captioning. Closed-captioning is often offered for every TV show or movie. It is simply the words being shown on the screen as they are being said as well as any background events/sounds happening. YouTube even has a feature to turn on captions for a good amount of their videos. Although those are hit-or-miss with their accuracy, it is still more than the Deaf community had even five years ago and I think YouTube will improve their captioning service with time. 

AT for Positioning

Positioning/Mobility

Students with physical disabilities are still ABLE. They do not let their disability get in the way. This is all thanks to assistive technology that gives them more control over their body. 

The limitations that students with physical disabilities face can range anywhere from limited leg movement to hand movement to finger movement. The tool this post will focus on can help with all three of those: The EyeGaze Edge Tablet. 

This device allows the user to communicate through the use of their eyes. They simply move their eyes to the area on the screen they so choose in order to write, select an option, etc. This is an excellent resource both in the classroom and at home. Students are able to communicate their wants and needs through a simple eye gaze. They can even begin to write out what they want to say. There is word processing software that predicts and helps speed along the process as well. 

You can buy the EyeGaze Edge Tablet at logantech.com. It is quite expensive (a little bit over $10,500) but being able to communicate with someone who otherwise cannot, at least not in the capacity that they can with this device, is priceless. 

AT for Behavior

Behavior in the Classroom

Behavior of our students can be very unpredictable. Although behavior might be one of your prepatory classes, you can never been completely prepared for behavior in the classroom, even day-to-day.

ESE students who seem to display noticeable behaviors the most are those with autism and those with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD).

The most common way to manage their behaviors are through behavior charts. These charts often reward children for good behavior in increments of time. The AT tool this post will focus on is a timer. 

Timers can be implemented into the classroom in a variety of ways. You can establish a system of time increments in which the student is expected to maintain good behavior throughout the entire time period. If they misbehave once, the timer starts over again. Once the student makes it until the bell rings, then they can either receive a token in token reward system or are able to have 'Student Choice' where they can choose to either play a game on the computer, iPad, go for a walk, etc. I have seen both methods done in the classroom and they are quite effective. Students like having a choice and if they have something to look forward to, they are more conscious of their behavior. It helps develop self-control.

Timers can be bought at many retail stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart, etc. The great thing about them is that they can be used for multiple purposes in the classroom!

AT for Reading

READING! 

Reading plays such a pivotal role in education. It is simply the foundation for everything else! That's why it is important for us as educators to ensure that our students learn how to read efficiently. 

Often with students who have disabilities, reading is an area of weakness. Not to fear, there are PLENTY of assistive technology tools out there to aid our students in the learning process. It can be anything from highlighters (low tech) to electronic page turners (high tech), This post will focus on a simple one: HIGHLIGHTERS! 

Highlighters can greatly help students with learning disabilities. LD students sometimes have difficulties not only reading but also comprehending. Highlighters can help them highlight the main ideas. This will take the pressure off of them to remember every single detail and instead focus on the important details. 

Highlighters can be bought at many places such as Walmart, Target, Dollar Tree, etc. They come in different shapes and sizes. Our student who may not necessarily like the grip of a thick marker can use the thin one. They come in many different colors as well. This can help our students organize their thinking while they are reading. They might use yellow for main ideas, pink for character names, and blue for settings.