For children with disabilities

Technology plays an important role in the lives of individuals who have disabilities. As used in this article, tech­nology is defined as any item, device, or piece of i equipment that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional abilities of persons with dis­abilities. These items, devices, or pieces of equipment may be commercially available or customized. They are available for a variety of age and grade levels ranging from infants and toddlers to adults.

The devices that are available are as diverse as the needs and characteristics of the people who benefit from them. Augmentative communication aids are available for persons who are unable to speak that allow them to communicate their needs to others. Motorized wheel­chairs are available for those who are unable to walk that allow them to move about in the environment. For infants and young children with disabilities, microswitches are used with adaptive toys to help them manipulate objects in their environment and learn about cause and effect. Talking alarm clocks and calculators are used by individuals with visual problems, allowing them to access important information that sighted people often take for granted. These and many other technological advancements are greatly improving the quality of life for individuals with disabilities. More specifically, these tech­nologies enhance their independence and productivity and increase their abil­ity to participate in the mainstream of society.

Most schools have had some experi­ence in providing devices and equip­ment to students with disabilities. Both EL. 94-142, the Education for All Hand­icapped Children Act of 1975, and EL. 99-457, the Education of the Handi­capped Amendments of 1986, provided school systems with the flexibility to fund assistive devices and other related services as indicated in the child's indi­vidualized education program (IEP). However, since technology was not specifically defined in either legislation, considerable variation existed across the country regarding the provision of devices and equipment to students in educational settings.

With the recent reauthorization of EL. 94-142, now known as the Individu­als with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, assistive technology devices were finally defined using the earlier language of PL. 100-407. This places schools in the position of having even greater responsibility for provid­ing devices and equipment to students in special education settings. Addition­ally, school districts must provide "assis­tive technology services" to eligible students with disabilities. These services are defined by the IDEA as "any service that directly assists an individual with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device". Thus, schools are now responsible for helping stu­dents select and acquire devices and equipment as well as instructing them in their use.

The increasingly expanding possibil­ities of technologies to help children in academic settings will require educa­tional and related services personnel to rethink the scope of instructional opportunities for students with disabil­ities. In the past, many instructional activities may have been viewed from an administrative perspective to be impractical due to cost constraints or the degree of the student's disability. Unfortunately, while it is clearly a violation of IDEA, it has been suggested that in the past the limited resources of school systems have, on occasion, played a role in the decisions made about technology provided for children with disabilities.

In the future, devices and equipment will become easier to obtain as the costs of producing them decline. With decreases in the costs associated with technologies that can help children to benefit from special education, a wider variety of devices and equipment is likely to be provided with greater frequency. Already, many schools have acknowl­edged a willingness to invest in more sophisticated technologies such as com­puters for children with special needs. Since infor­mation about and instruction in the use of the many different types of technolo­gies used in school settings is an often-cited need of teachers, teachers will increasingly be encouraged to acquire more informa­tion about devices and assume more skills in technology service provision. As they acquire these skills, teachers must, in turn, use them to assist in the selec­tion and use of equipment in the schools.

Team Approach

Within the public schools, the design and application of adaptations and tech­nological devices are usually accom­plished through a multidisciplinary IEP team of professionals and other inter­ested parties including occupational, physical, and speech/language thera­pists; special and regular education teachers; and parents. Part of the assignment of the team is to ensure that all dimensions of a child's present level of performance are considered. This team approach is most effective when persons who have expertise in instruc­tional programming—including tech­nology and its applications—work cooperatively with parents and professionals who are involved in day-to-day instruction of students.

Special education teachers who par­ticipate in such team processes may be called upon to assume important responsibilities as team members. Unfortunately, many teachers have had inadequate training and/or experience with technology and its applications. When teachers are not prepared for the responsibility of selecting devices for students and using them in classroom settings, they may rely too heavily on the judgment of other professionals (e.g., the occupational, physical, or speech/language therapist). These pro­fessionals may see the child and his or her needs from a very different (and more limited) perspective than does the teacher.

It is important for the teacher, as well as all other team members, to develop a philosophical base around which decisions will be made when selecting appropriate technology for children with disabilities. It is also important to remember that the concept of "appropriateness" takes on several dimensions. P L. 94-142 was drafted to encompass any need the child has related to learning and/or development, including the need to learn basic self-help skills, have appropriate adaptive equipment, develop appropriate social integration skills, acquire basic prevoca-tional skills, and receive therapy ser­vices. In each of these areas, devices and equipment can play critical roles in ensuring the provision of appropriate learning experiences for children with disabilities in public school settings.

From a more traditional perspective, a technology is appropriate when its application meets one of three criteria. First, it should be in response to (or in anticipation of) specific and clearly defined goals that result in enhanced skills for the student. Second, it should be compatible with practical constraints such as the available resources or amount of instruction required for the student and the teacher to use the tech­nology. Third, it should result in desir able and sufficient outcomes.

To match tech­nology most ef­fectively with any given stu­dent, the teacher and other team mem­bers must keep in mind two parallel considerations: characteristics of the student and characteristics of the technology.

Student Characteristics

The characteristics of the child are of the utmost importance and must be consid­ered first. The comprehensive assess­ment procedures that determine the child's present levels of functioning and precede the actual program develop­ment process provide the initial basis for selection of any devices or equipment. In addition to the obvious selection implications of such characteristics as the child's academic skills, intellectual level, behavioral and social skills, and physical abilities, the teacher and other team members must consider the child's preferences for certain types of technol­ogy. An assistive device that appears excellent on paper but remains unused because the child is uncomfortable with it is the equivalent of no assistance at all. Since the development of the IEP is a joint effort of a team that includes the child (when appropriate), the child can express his or her preferences dur­ing the decision-making process. Inter­views with the parent and child can yield significant information that is not otherwise obtainable. For example, a girl may be uncomfortable using an augmentative communication system that employs a male adult voice. Alter­natively, the IEP team may wish to determine which devices and equip­ment the child has had successful pre­vious experiences with at school or at home. Once this information is ac­quired, the team may wish to purchase a similar technology for use in the school setting with appropriate mod­ifications being made to meet the needs of the child. For example, a par­ticular type of adaptive spoon may have made it possible for the child to feed himself or herself at home.

PRESCHOOL CLASSROOM