Assistive Technology and the Reading and Writing Disabled Student By Kathy Wolter

Who can use assistive technology? A child who is entitled to special education, or who qualifies as disabled under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is also entitled to assistive technology as part of the free and appropriate special education plan.

What is Assistive Technology? Assistive technology device means 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.

What devices work best? Tape recorders work very well for students who have a hard time taking notes, organizing, or reading. Spell checkers are good for students who struggle with spelling, grammar, and punctuation

Helpful Hardware

The SuperPen The SuperPen combines an electronic highlighter that lets you copy, clip and store printed text, Internet links, tables, charts, newspapers, books, and documents, then transfer the data to your computer.

Kurzweil 3000 Kurzweil 3000 Color Scan/Read System is an innovative Pentium PC-based reading tool that helps people with learning and reading disabilities improve speed and comprehension.

Spell-A-Word An early academic program that works on identification, spelling and word recognition.

SOFTWARE

KIDSPIRATION Designed for emerging readers and writers, Kidspiration helps students develop confidence as they learn to organize information, understand concepts and connections, create stories and express and share their thoughts.

HELP Read HELP Read is FREE software that reads along with you while you do the reading. Whether you’re younger or older, new to reading or have your own library, HELP Read should be able to help you read more and understand more of what you read.

Other Ideas

Picture Me Reading! A visual-conceptual approach for beginning/struggling readers to learn the Dolch sight words. Children like to play. It takes two to play checkers.

Help for Teachers Remedia Publications was founded in 1979 by two special education teachers with many years of classroom experience. They specialized in working with students whose skill levels were significantly below grade level. Both teachers felt there was great need for teaching materials that addressed the needs of this population, and so they began to develop educational materials. Today Remedia Publications publishes over 500 reproducible activity books.