For parents of school-aged children, fall means back to school, spending uncounted hours finding and purchasing the clothes and supplies your child(ren) will need. For the parent of a child with a disability, there is the additional concern: that their child's education will be appropriate and accessible.
Inclusion, as a policy and as a practice, is reducing the physical and social isolation encountered by individuals and families, broadening expectations, reducing limits, and expanding choices. As educational and social service systems have stopped segregating children with disabilities, these children are freed to participate in the learning and growth opportunities other children routinely experience.
Technology and inclusion go hand in hand. Without technological supports and accommodations, many students cannot take full advantage of education. There are two ways to provide a child with a disability needs to benefit from his or her education: through mandated physical accessibility and through the inclusion of technology in your child's Individual Educational Plan (IEP).
General Accessibility Issues to Consider
Depending on the nature of his or her disability, a child may not require an IEP, but have very limited, or even no access to school programs or buildings. Two pieces of civil rights legislation stipulate that basic accessibility should be provided to all individuals with disabilities, including children, engaged in publicly-funded educational activities. The first law is Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which requires that any entity receiving federal money must make all buildings, programs, and services accessible and non-discriminatory. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) expands 504 by requiring the same accommodations from all other public entities. Various aspects of accessibility must be considered when evaluating your child's educational program.
Transportation
All children with disabilities must receive safe, accessible, and adequate transportation to and from school, and to school-related events that include all other children. There are several questions to ask yourself. Can your child ride the school bus? What technology would make the bus more accessible? Does the restraint system comply with the most current safety standards? Do the drivers and aides receive training that is adequate and appropriate to your child's needs? Does your child have a way to communicate with the other children on the bus, the driver, or an aide?
Physical Access
After the child gets off the bus, physical access includes a variety of different areas. Accessible programs and services are of little help if your child cannot get into the building. This access should include classrooms, resource rooms, the library and lunch room, the playground, the gym, and bathrooms.
Can your child get into the classroom? If not, can the class be moved? Can he hear the teacher? Can she see the blackboard? These are basic questions any parent may ask, but when a child has a disability, there may be more to accommodation than just moving the child to the front of the room. You should also evaluate planning for emergencies. Are the fire alarms, emergency routes, and exits adequate, and do staff have a plan to assist your child? Does your child have access to the front office? The nurse?
Equipment
A variety of equipment is used in schools these days, from preschool to high school. There may be adapted equipment in the science lab, the shop, the life skills (home economics) room, and the library, in addition to the regular classrooms. These aren't physical changes in the structure of the rooms, but modifications in the equipment, such as projectors, overheads, kitchen appliances, work stations, and computer desks that make them easier for students with various disabilities to use. What about driver's training? Can the school obtain use of a modified vehicle for your child's use?
Curriculum, Supplies, Books
A child will use many different types of materials during a school day. Are large print books available? Are books available on audio tape? Can your child turn the pages of the book? The school also needs to consider all hand-out materials. Are work sheets available in large print or Braille? If the child is unable to write out answers, modifications might include a typewriter or computer, a tape recorder, or a personal assistant.
Basically, you and the school staff must examine every aspect of your child's daily school routine. Ideally, this will be more than questions dealt with in isolation with teachers, counselors, or the principal. Does the school have an overall system to evaluate your child's needs? If no system is in place, work with the school officials and teachers to create a systematic process.
AT and Your Child's Education
Many times, for education to be accessible, the child will need to use assistive technology. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 (IDEA), which is the reauthorization of Public Law 94-142 the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA), specifically addresses the provision of AT devices and services. The federal regulations implementing IDEA includes definitions of AT and AT services.
Assistive technology devices are 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.
An assistive technology service is any service that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device. Service includes (a) evaluation; (b) purchase, lease, or otherwise provision for the acquisition of AT; (c) selection, design, fit, modification, adaptation, application, repair, or replacement of AT; (d) coordination of other therapies; (e) training or technical assistance for the child with the disability and the child's family; (f) training or technical assistance for the professional who will interact with that child.
AT and the IEP
For technology to be a part of the child's daily school routine, that technology must be listed in the child's Individual Education Plan (IEP). It is mandatory for a child receiving special education to have an IEP. Any child demonstrating delay in educational and developmental areas should be evaluated. Usually a parent or a teacher is the first to notice a problem, and they should then ask the AEA for an evaluation. If the evaluation shows a need as outlined under specific objectives in the law, the child is eligible for special education services. An IEP is then developed by a team which includes the parents, describing all of the services and assistance the child will receive to reach educational goals for the school year. The child will continue to have an IEP as long as a delay is noted.
What Types of AT to Consider
There are a variety of different technologies available for as many different accessibility solutions. There are also a variety of existing options for addressing assistive technology during the IEP process. After the evaluation has considered any assistive technology needs, appropriate devices and/or services may be included in IEP goals and objectives. These proposed IEP objectives include: reading, writing, math, behavior, speech/language, leisure, motor, self-care, and classroom participation.
The technology can include low and high tech devices. Some examples are:
Reading: Closed circuit television for enlarging text, Braille, augmentative communication devices.
Writing: Electronic spell checkers, word processing programs, screen-readers, speech output devices, simple writing aids, alternative input devices.
Math: Calculator, abacus, Braille clock face.
Behavior: Electronic organizer
Speech/Language: Assistive listening system, augmentative communication devices, word boards
Leisure: Auditory output, bowling aids, adapted games, large print books, audio cassette tapes
Motor: Walkers, crutches, wheelchairs
Self-Care: Buttoning devices, sock aids, personal hygiene devices, feeding adaptations.
Classroom: Audio loops, interpreter, augmentative communication, computers, word processing, adapted educational software, screen-reading, manual or automatic page turners, book holders, magnification devices
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