Dana R. BarnesITEC 7530June 20, 2011

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

Overview•Working with students with special needs involves providing accommodations for some of them and modifications for others. • Providing for the needs of students diagnosed with ADHD, an auditory disability and mild learning disabilities involves assistive technology as well as strategies that do not require technology. • Additional time and patience will be required when I am working with these students. • Specialized learning instructional strategies in a structured classroom environment that supports and enhances their learning potential is imperative. (“Teaching Students with Special Needs,” 2011).

What is ADHD?• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a condition that becomes apparent in some children in the preschool and early school years. It is estimated that between 3 and 5 percent of children have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or approximately 2 million children in the United States • The principle characteristics of ADHD are inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. • There are three subtypes of ADHD recognized by professionals. These are the predominately hyperactive / impulsive type (that does not show significant inattention); The predominately inattention type (that does not show significant hyperactive-impulsive behavior) and the combined type (that displays both inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms). (“Attention Deficit Disorder/ Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,” 2004).

What are signs and symptoms of ADHD?

• Some of the signs and symptoms of ADHD are the following: • Fails to give close attention to

details or makes careless mistakes• May have poorly formed letters

or words or messy writing• Has difficulty sustaining attention

in tasks or play activities• Does not follow through on

instructions and fails to finish schoolwork or chores• Loses things necessary for tasks

or activities (pencils, assignments, tools) (“Attention Deficit Disorder/ Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,” 2004).

Strategies for Helping Students with ADHD

• Allow a child to change work sites frequently while completing homework or studying • Vary tone of voice: loud, soft,

whisper• Stage assignments and

divide work into smaller chunks with frequent breaks• Teach students to verbalize a

plan before solving problems or undertaking a task• Employ multi-sensory

strategies when directions are given and lessons presented

Technology and ADHD• Technology can have a

profound, positive impact on students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

• It is designed to improve learning and productivity.

• An Invisible Clock is a small device that looks a lot like a pager. It is designed to send vibrations or beep at specific intervals to help keep a person on task.

• A Motivator can also be programmed to sound when movement occurs, which can help students stay focused on a task (‘

Technology and ADHD (continued)• Writing aids such as voice-

recognition technology help turn dictation directly into notes. • Computer-Aided Instruction can help facilitate learning. It includes animation, which activates visual learning and allows a student to see a process / concept in motion, and games, which present information in a way that more engaging than reading from a textbook (Rusk, n.d.).

What is an auditory disability?• An auditory disability is also

known as a central auditory processing disorder (CAPD).

• The “disorder” part of the auditory processing disorder means that something is adversely affecting the processing or interpretation of the information (“Auditory Processing,” 2010).

• Children with this disorder experience difficulty processing and remembering language-related tasks.

Signs and Symptoms of CAPD• The student misspells and

mispronounces similar-sounding words or omits syllables and confuses similar-sounding words• Has difficulty comprehending

complex sentence structure or rapid speech. • Says “What?” a lot, even

when has heard much of what was said

Strategies for Assisting Students with CAPD

• Show rather than explain.• Vary pitch and tone of voice,

alter pace, stress key words.• Ask specific questions as you

teach to find out if students understand what is being said.• Allow them 5-6 seconds to

respond (“think time”)• Avoid asking the child to

listen and write at the same time (“Central Auditory Processing Disorder,” 2004).

Assistive Technology for Students with CAPD• Accommodations and

assistive devices are required by students with hearing impairment to access the educational programming in a classroom setting.• The following assistive

technology devices and services can help students with hearing loss:• Personal hearing aids• Assistive listening devices• Head phones• Cochlear implants• Amplification systems

What is a mild learning disability?• Students with mild learning

disabilities are those who demonstrate a significant discrepancy, which is not the result of some other handicap, between academic achievement and intellectual abilities in one or more of the areas of oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skills, reading comprehension, mathematical calculation, mathematics reasoning, or spelling (“Teaching Students with Special Needs,” 2011).

What is a mild learning disability (continued)

• The main problem of people with mild learning disabilities stem from their challenges in reading, writing, and mathematical logic (“Mild Learning Disability,” 2010).

Signs and Symptoms of Mild Learning Disabilities

• Has poor auditory memory – both short term and long term• Has a low tolerance level and

high frustration level• Has a weak or poor self-

esteem• Is easily distracted• Finds it difficult to stay on

task for extended periods of time• Has poor handwriting skills• Has a poor concept of time

(Working with Students with Special Needs, 2011).

Strategies for Working with Students with Mild Learning Disabilities

• Provide oral instruction for students with reading disabilities. Present tests and reading materials in an oral format so the assessment is not influenced by lack of reading ability.• Make activities concise and short, whenever possible. Long, drawn-out projects are particularly frustrating for a learning disabled child.• Learning disabled students have difficulty learning abstract terms and concepts. Whenever possible, provide them with concrete objects and events – items they can touch, hear, smell, etc. • Encourage cooperative learning activities when possible (“Working with Special Needs Students,” 2011).• Break learning into small steps.• Use diagrams, graphics and pictures to augment what they were saying in words (“Successful Strategies,” 2011).

Assistive Technology for Students with Mild Disabilities

• The following are types of assistive technology that are helpful for students with mild disabilities:• Organizing thoughts or work using flow charting, task analysis, webbing, or networking ideas, and outlining.• Utilizing microcassette recorders for note taking.•Word processing may be the important application of assistive technology for students with mild disabilities.• Multimedia CD-ROM-based application programs offer another tool for assisted technology.

Conclusion• Teaching students with special needs requires modifying learning activities to address their different learning styles. Dedicating time and patience is important because these students need differentiated instruction. Assistive technology and utilizing strategies will help them to have a positive learning experience. These students need positive reinforcement often. Clear and simple instructions should be provided to them.

References• Attention Deficit Disorder / Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ ADHD). (2004). Retrieved June 16, 2011 from http://www.ldanatl.org/aboutld/teachers/understanding/print _adhd.asp • Auditory Processing Disorder in Children. (2010). Retrieved June 16, 2011 from http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/auditory.html • Helping Students with Auditory / Hearing Loss. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2011 from http://www.uatpat.org/resources/educ_sheets/hearing.pdf • Mild Learning Disability. (2010). Retrieved June 20, 2011 from http://www.dyslexiaconsultants.com/mildlearningdisability.

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References (continued)• Rusk, S. (n.d.). Technology and ADHD. Retrieved June 16, 2011 from http://www.ehow.com/print/facts_6320346_technology-adhd.html • Successful Strategies for Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities. (2011). Retrieved June 16, 2011 from http://www.ldanatl.org/aboutld/teachers/understanding/

strategies.asp• Teaching Students with Special Needs. (2011).

Retrieved June 20, 2011 from http://www.teachervision.fen.com/spec -education/new-teacher/48460.html