Overview of Assistive Technology and UDL
What is Assistive Technology?
Assistive technology is any tool or device that a student with
a disability uses to do a task that he or she could not otherwise do without it
or any tool the student uses to do a task more easily, faster, or in a better
way. It can be a commercial product or something someone makes. It can be a
simple "low tech" device such as a pencil grip or an expensive
"high tech" device such as a computer.
The legal definition of
assistive technology is, ".. 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 a child with a
disability." (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1401(1))
Why
is it important for all educators to be aware of assistive technology?
Assistive technology has the
powerful potential of impacting significantly upon a student with disabilities
by contributing to his or her learning, independence, self-esteem,
and quality of life.
Who
benefits from assistive technology?
Any student with a disability
from mild to severe may benefit from the use of assistive technology. There is
assistive technology to help an individual with reading, writing, remembering,
walking, sitting, seeing, hearing, and communicating. Any student who needs
help with any of these life functions may benefit significantly from the use of
assistive technology.
What
are some of the things assistive technology can do for students?
How does a student receive assistive
technology?
The
need for assistive technology must be considered at every student’s IEP
meeting.
That
means that at least one person on the IEP team needs to know something about
assistive technology. Ideally, all members of the team would have at least
general knowledge about assistive technology and how it can benefit a student
with a disability.
Many
school districts have written procedures that include assistive technology and
outline specific steps to follow to obtain it for a student with disabilities.
If the IEP team decides to try assistive technology with a student, they will
need to borrow it first to make sure that the assistive technology works as
intended, before they purchase it. If the IEP team isn’t sure about the child’s
need for assistive technology or feels that they do not have the necessary
knowledge to make a decision, then they need to bring in a consultant to help
them or refer the child for an AT assessment. In some districts there is a
system in place for someone from the district level to provide technical
assistance to the IEP team. In other districts there is not. Generally, when an
AT assessment is deemed necessary, the procedure is to assess the student’s
abilities and needs, determine goals, identify assistive technology devices to
try, obtain loaned equipment, and document the effectiveness of the trial use.
We recommend that any AT assessment be completed by a team, not an individual.
The team should include individuals from different disciplines with different
perspectives and should always include the parent. When the student is able to
understand and contribute to the assessment, he or she should also be an active
participant in the decision-making.
The Law Regarding
Assistive Technology
What is the school district’s
responsibility in regard to assistive technology?
The
school district is mandated by state and federal law (the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act) to provide assistive technology to all students
with disabilities if it is required for them to receive a free appropriate
public education (FAPE). Each IEP team must determine if assistive technology
is needed by that student. If assistive technology is deemed necessary, it will
be written into the student’s Individualized Educational Program.
The
law says,
Each public agency shall
ensure that assistive technology devices or assistive technology services, or
both, as those terms are defined in §§300.5-300.6, are made available to a
child with a disability if required as a part of the child's -
(1)
Special education;
(2)
Related services; or
(3)
Supplementary aids and services.
How does the IEP team know if assistive
technology is "needed" or "required"?
The
only way to truly know whether assistive technology will make a significant
difference for a student is try it out. For instance if a student is struggling
with getting meaning from printed text, the IEP team may think that the student
will benefit from having text scanned into a computer and spoken. The only way
to determine if this will work is to try it. If the student has never tried the
assistive technology, the IEP team should write the trial use of the technology
into the IEP, rather than the purchase or permanent acquisition of the
assistive technology.
What are assistive technology services?
They
are any service that is needed to help the student acquire or use the assistive
technology. Assistive technology services include:
Does the school district have to buy the
assistive technology?
The
school district is required to "provide" the assistive technology.
They may borrow or rent a device or seek donated funds to purchase it, in
addition to school district funds. Some children receive Medical Assistance
(MA) and MA may approve the purchase of some assistive technology. When MA
purchases the technology, it is the property of the family.
Does the district have to send the
assistive technology home?
The
IEP team must decide if the assistive technology is needed at home. The law
states:
"On
a case-by-case basis, the use of school-purchased assistive technology devices
in a child's home or in other settings is required if the child's IEP team
determines that the child needs access to those devices in order to receive
FAPE. (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(12)(B)(i))
UDL
(Universal Design for Learning )
-The design of products and
environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent
possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.
In terms of learning, universal design
means the design of instructional materials and activities that allows the
learning goals to be achievable by individuals with wide differences in their
abilities to see, hear, speak, move, read, write, understand English, attend,
organize, engage, and remember. Universal design for learning is achieved by
means of flexible curricular materials and activities that provide alternatives
for students with disparities in abilities and backgrounds. These alternatives
should be built into the instructional design and operating systems of
educational materials—they should not have to be added on later. As with
architectural adaptations that are designed into a structure, universal design
for learning is more efficient and economical—for instance, if a publisher
produces a textbook that accommodates a broad range of cognitive and sensory
abilities, that publisher can reach a wider market with a single product.
Teachers can use the text without having to plan to adapt it for the special
needs of their students. Using universally designed materials, both print and
electronic, teachers only need to teach one flexible curriculum and become
familiar with its variations in order to reach all their students.
Examples:
By applying this broader design
standard, classroom technology can be used by all children in more invisible
and normalized ways. Students with and without disabilities can benefit from
classroom products that incorporate these design principles. Let's consider the
benefits of a Sound
Field system in a primary classroom: