Running head: Assistive Technology Research Pinto 1

Within the field of special education, there are specific services that must be provided to

students according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Included with

these specific services of the law is the provision of assistive technology of students in need. The

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 refers to assistive technology as “any item,

piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or

customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of children

with disabilities” as a stand-alone device (Georgia Dept. of Edu, 2014). With the growth and

development of technology today, there is easier accessibility to devices which aid with

disabilities. Along with this, the expansion of technology also allows for many different forms of

assistive technology to be on the market and costs to be manageable. Assistive technology is a

broad idea which branches off into many different categories as there are many forms for many

different, unique disabilities. The use of assistive technology today can be very individualized

which is beneficial because no single student is exactly the same.

In reference to the 2017 Disability Statistics Annual Report, A Publication of the

Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Statistics and Demographics, The

American Community Survey indicated that the overall rate of the United States population with

disabilities was over 12.8% in 2016 (Disability Compendium, 2017). Furthermore, as these rates

show the overall population, the estimated number of children in the United States with

disabilities in 2016 was around 6.5 million (Lynch, 2016). This large number of prevalence of

disability in the United States among children demonstrates the outstanding need of services to

be provided in school systems. Every student within the school system of America deserves a

proper education with necessary tools in order to achieve their potential. With this prevalence of

disabilities among children, assistive technology through services will allow for students to
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increase, maintain, or improve their functional ability to reach their potential. As the number of

individuals in need of assistive technology is considered, the availability of assistive

technologies must also be taken into consideration when evaluating its factors. As there are

different disabilities among the student body of schools, there is a need for differing forms of

assistive products, devices, and services. These assistive products, devices, and online accessible

platforms will enable these students with disabilities in the United States to improve their

abilities and therefore achieve their potential in the classroom.

Prior to the use of assistive technology in the classroom, a student may obtain funding to

help with the costs of their devices, products, subscriptions, etc. As accessibility to new online

sources are emerging at lower costs, assistive technologies can be costly for the user and their

family. There are many online website and subscription sources available to users, however

some assistive technologies are given in the form of actual high-tech devices at much higher

costs that can be unaffordable for families to purchase. Especially for disabilities concerning

visual or hearing issues, aiding devices that may be issued usually come with the average

expense of thousands of dollars. According to Eric Duffy, director of the assistive technology

team at the National Federation of the Blind, he uses a tablet with features such as a braille

keyboard and verbal speech of information to help him with his functions every single day. This

tablet however comes with the cost of $5,500 (Radu, 2017). This cost of over five thousand

dollars is much higher than the cost of the average Apple IPad tablet which usually costs around

six hundred dollars. When searching for data regarding the average earned monthly salary in

America, the Chron article, The Average American Monthly Salary, reports it to be $3,714 in

2017. (Luther 2018). In other words, the cost of Eric Duffy’s assistive tablet is more than the
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average income for the entire month in America. This causes another aspect of life for

individuals with disabilities to have to consider.

Moreover, funding for the costs of these devices can be discussed with the school district

of the student or other sources of funding, including Medicaid-funded services case managers,

private insurance providers, and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation services. However, if

“a non-educational public agency fails to provide or pay for these services, the school district

developing the student’s IEP must provide or pay for the service in a timely manner, but the

school district can seek repayment from the other agency” (Disability Rights Washington, 2018).

By assessing possible funding sources, a family for an individual in need of assistive services

will be able to afford these advanced technologies. Without payment of the services, students

might not be able to access needed equipment and devices and therefore this will come at the

expense of a proper education.

The largest special education category based on prevalence in the United States is

learning disability (LD). According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2016 the

data collected showed that “34 percent of all students receiving special education services had

specific learning disabilities” (NCES, 2018). For this category within special education, different

forms of assistive technology can be used to help improve the ability of students whether it be

with reading, writing, or mathematics. When dealing with learning disabilities in the area of

reading and writing for students, it is important to focus on phonological awareness, letter

fluency, and beginning sounds. Assistive technology can help with these three things with the

use of different software online as well as adjustments made to commonly used sites. A phonetic

spelling software could help to convert a student’s spelling to a word which they meant to type

out. Every day sites such as google allow users to add this feature on in the settings. The Apple
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IPhone imessaging also uses this feature if “autocorrect” is enabled. This simple feature could

help students with spelling so that they can not only have it correct it for them, but they can also

view how the world should be spelled. An audiobook can also be utilized by students so that they

can listen to information rather than reading it visually; which can ultimately cause them

difficulties. Rather than buying a textbook, a student can purchase the audiobook. A kindle can

use an audiobook feature and will even highlight each word as it is read aloud to be followed.

With this, students will not be afraid of falling behind in the classroom as a result of a reading

and/or writing disability. In terms of mathematics, technology exists to help with the counting,

reading, and executive functions of numbers. In order to help with mathematics, electronic

worksheets may be used as well as talking/audio calculators. Electronic worksheets can be used

to help students line up equations or words when completing an assignment. A talking calculator

also works like an audiobook, because it helps students read numbers and perform equations and

tasks loud out. The reading of numbers out loud will help them follow along and avoid

confusion. Furthermore, the presence learning disabilities in the classroom can lead to social skill

deficient amidst students due to relationships among learning disabilities, language impairments,

pragmatics, and social competence (Kiel, 2019). To achieve improved social skills, “videotaped

social interactions can help [students] learn important life skills and social behavior without

accidentally offending someone. In addition to interpersonal skills, these videos can work for

self-help, linguistic, academic and emotional problems as well” (Masters in Special Education,

2019).

Additionally, assistive technology also helps students in the classroom with physical

disabilities as well. Physical disabilities such as auditory and visual impairment can hinder

educational experiences and learning. Students who lack hearing and/or sight might not be able
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to receive information in the same ways that their general education peers do. Fortunately,

devices and sources online exist to help students with information they might be missing. For

individuals with auditory impairments, there are many different options for the classroom. Visual

slides or subtitles can help students follow along with the verbal lesson. FM systems can be used

as a form of wireless assistive technology that can be paired with hearing aids so that speech

from a person can be transmitted to another while reducing background noise (Mroz, 2018).

When looking at visual impairments in the classroom, audiobooks are again a very useful tool as

they can provide information read aloud which might not be able to be read visually. Assistive

technology is very interesting because it can overlap for the needs of different disabilities and

provide benefits to not only one specific need.

In conclusion, through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), services

such as assistive technology are required to be provided to students in the classroom to enhance

their educational experience. Many forms of assistive technology exist in order to help students

with their unique disabilities since no single person is the same. Many emerging forms of

technology accessible online allow for affordable costs to even no cost to the user. High-tech

forms of technology which come at much higher prices can be paid for by the school district or

other sources of funding by the state. With the present and continuously developing forms of

assistive technology, students with disabilities will be able to achieve their potential in the

classroom by increasing, maintaining, or improving their abilities. Assistive technologies and

services allow for students to learn inside the classroom as their general education peers do

without their disabilities hindering this process. One of the most useful and interesting aspects of

assistive technology available today is the extensive nature of it as well as its ability to be

individualized. The special education field emphasizes the importance of individualization for
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every student in the classroom. With this emphasis, assistive technology can be adjusted and

chosen based on each student’s overall needs. In addition, many forms of assistive technologies

can overlap for the needs of students with differing disabilities.

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References

Assistive Technology for Special Education Students. (2018). Retrieved April 29, 2019, from

https://www.disabilityrightswa.org/publications/assistive-technology-special-education-

students/

Children and youth with disabilities. (2018, April). Retrieved April 29, 2019, from

https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgg.asp

Luther, C. (2018, July 01). The Average American Monthly Salary. Retrieved April 29, 2019,

from https://work.chron.com/average-american-monthly-salary-8614.html

Lynch, M. (2018, July 22). Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities. Retrieved April

29, 2019, from https://www.thetechedvocate.org/assistive-technology-students-

disabilities/

Mroz, M. (2018, February 12). All about personal FM systems and hearing loss. Retrieved April

29, 2019, from https://www.healthyhearing.com/help/assistive-listening-devices/fm-

systems

Radu, S. (2017, December 1). Who's Paying for Assistive Technology? Retrieved April 29,

2019, from https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2017-12-01/assistive-

technology-keeps-growing-but-paying-for-it-is-next-challenge

Woods, R. (2014). Legal mandates for assistive technology. Retrieved April 29, 2019, from

http://www.gpat.org/Georgia-Project-for-Assistive-Technology/Pages/Legal-Mandates-

for-Assistive-Technology.aspx
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2017 Disability statistics annual report. (2017). Retrieved April 29, 2019, from

https://disabilitycompendium.org/sites/default/files/user-

uploads/2017_AnnualReport_2017_FINAL.pdf

5 Examples of Assistive Technology in the Classroom. (2019). Retrieved April 29, 2019, from

https://www.masters-in-special-education.com/lists/5-examples-of-assistive-technology-

in-the-classroom/

Slides provided by Professor Kiel.