The Power of Assistive Technology
The world as we know it works relatively well right? You are able to travel around your town easily, make use of the facilities it has to offer, and follow education and eventually start working. But what is this world like for people with disabilities? A seemingly normal trip to the supermarket or a day at school suddenly becomes a challenge in and of itself. Luckily, through innovation a lot of possibilities have been created for people with such disabilities.
These innovations are referred to as ‘assistive technologies (AT)’. They are designed to help the functioning of people with both physical, as well as mental disabilities. A couple of common examples of assistive technologies are wheelchairs and screen readers. Through the use of a wheelchair, a person with impaired mobility can still get around and participate in everyday life as much as possible. Through screen readers, devices that translate text into synthesised speech, people with visual impairments can navigate important government websites for example.
A field where assistive technologies are often implemented is special education. As the name implies, special education requires a bit more effort and tailoring than normal education as the students attending special education have some sort of impairment, condition and/or diagnosis. Assistive technologies have many benefits in these environments. First and foremost, ATs help tailor lessons to the specific needs of the students. Take for example a student who got into a car crash and damaged nerves in his arm and hand and sustained a brain injury that caused them to have learning difficulties. This student is placed in special education because of their learning deficit and physical impairments, and can be helped by providing them with an adjusted pen and mouse so that it has the same functionality as a typical pen and mouse, but then adjusted to the movements the student can still make.
Innovations like these give the student such a boost in confidence, independence, and in turn motivation to learn. Assistive technologies help even out the playing field between regular education and special education. Another example to illustrate this benefit is about a student born with problems to the muscles in his entire body. He sits in a wheelchair as he cant move anything. Only his head he can slightly move to the left and the right, and he can raise his eyebrows. This sounds like there is not much of a future for him unfortunately. However, his wheelchair is equipped with a speech tablet that allows him to communicate with others. Through eye-tracking he can ‘type’ on the screen in front him. He can also select words related to what he already ‘typed’ with the use of speech recognition and suggestions based on frequently used words. Once what he wants to say is ready, he looks at the enter button and the tablet will read it out. It is wonderful how much possibility this technology brings to his life, because although there is not much possible (yet) physically for him, there is nothing wrong with his mental state.
In short, assistive technologies are just the beginning of a whole new world for students with disabilities. The technologies empower them and help them thrive in ways they never expected they could.
