Assistive technology is where two of my favorite subjects meet and work hand in hand. Assistive technology is a device that is intended to help lessen the hardships put on a person with a disability. Assistive Technology can range all the way from a low tech device such as a simple magnifying glass, all the way up to a high tech, self contained, unit. Notice that I used the word “lessen.” I did this intentionally, because I believe that sometimes it is not possible to completely remove all hardships placed on a person by their disability. Consider a child that wears a hearing aid. Even if it gives the child great hearing after it is on, they may have issues with feedback (a high pitched whistling noise) being emitted from the hearing aid in certain situation, such as when putting a phone up to their ear. Also, if their class is swimming as part of physical education, they would most likely need to remove the hearing aid, and would not be able to hear instructions, or be audibly aware of their surroundings. I only point this out as a caution to consider such things when determining what technologies might be helpful for a student. In spite of how the previous few sentences sound, I do believe that technology can be an incredible help in the lives of people with many disabilities. I personally can attest to that fact. Technology has helped me in many ways with my vision. In fact, technology has had a drastic positive impact on my life. My goal on this page is to give you a glimpse of some of the things that are out there.
Selecting what technology to use:
A good way to figure out what technology would be useful for
a student is to use the SETT framework.
SETT stands for considering the Student, their Environments,
required Tasks, and the Tools.
More information on using SETT can be found at the
Some examples of Assistive Technology:
The V-touch is a device that allows people with a deaf-blind impairment use a telephone. It can also be used for in person conversations with an additional keyboad.
There are amplification systems that can help a person with a hearing impairment be able to hear the world around them better. These look like portable radios, but have a microphone and headphones. I had a small tape recorder that I discovered I could accomplish the same goal with by simply plugging in a pair of headphones.
Above is pictured an alarm clock with a vibrating disc that can be placed under a mattress or pillow to wake some with a hearing impairment up in the morning.
Above is a picture of the Head Mouse Extreme. This is a product that allows a person who is unable to use a standard mouse to point on the screen by simply pointing with their head.
Pvoice is a software program that emulates a hardware sound board. The person simply clicks on an icon that represents what they want to say. For instance, they might click on a glass of water and the computer will verbalize the request for them. The man who created the program for his daughter to use offers it for free, and only requests donations.
