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Handbook of Special Education Technology Research and Practice - Section 4

Margaret Kardos, MS, OTR/L, ATP
Editor, ConnSENSE Bulletin
muncie@connsensebulletin.com

Handbook of Special Education Technology Research and Practice. Dave Edyburn, Kyle Hig gins, & Randall Boone, Editors. Knowledge by Design, Inc. Whitefish Bay, WI.

Section 4: Disability-Specific Technology Applications

Not surprisingly, this is the largest section in the book, containing nine chapters.  Each chapter is devoted to a specific type or range of disability and discusses the impact that assistive technology may have on an individual with that particular diagnosis.  The first chapter looks at assistive technology in early intervention, specifically children ages birth through five. Here the focus is not only on using assistive technology to improve the life of the child, but also to use technology to facilitate the care givers role. Highlights from this informative chapter include the variety of uses for assistive technology with young children, identification of barriers to using AT with this population, a list of the various types of AT that can be beneficial to young children as well as a framework for assessment and implementation of AT services.   A definite must-read for anyone involved in early intervention from parent to provider.

The next chapter looks at the use of AT with students who have an intellectual disability.  Here a review of the literature reveals that little has been done to study the efficacy of assistive technology on the functional capabilities of individuals with cognitive impairments.  The authors point a need for further research to go beyond looking at whether or not something works for a particular population and to examine the many factors that impact technology use such as the environment, the individual and the design of the technology itself.  One compelling point of the chapter speaks to redefining the meaning of an intellectual disability by moving away from viewing it as a personal deficit and instead regarding it as the result of limitations in functional capacity and adaptive skills relative to the context, environment and types of supports. The chapter emphasizes the need for principles of Universal Design in education to promote the use of AT by individuals with intellectual disability.

There are five chapters in this section devoted to the use of AT and specific disabilities: learning disabilities, emotional/behavioral disabilities, visual impairments, hearing impairments and autism.  Each chapter contains a thorough review of the literature examining the role of AT in supporting individuals with these disabilities, followed by a discussion of the types of technology that is most commonly used to address access issues associated with the respective disability.  The chapters end with questions to be answered through research necessary to substantiate the efficacy of AT with various populations.  These chapters offer a wealth of information that will be worth coming back to again and again, particularly for practitioners who have limited exposure to a variety of disabilities in their practice.

The remaining chapters in the section address physical access and augmentative and alternative communication.  The chapter on physical access provides a detailed list of factors to be considered when determining access needs that goes beyond the classroom and proposes a door-to-door-inside-outside look at the student’s needs across the day.   The chapter on AAC contains a comprehensive model to use when delineating staff and family roles in supporting the AAC user.  In addition the chapter contains a detailed chart for enhancing the development of literacy skills in AAC users ands reviews the  research exposing the lack of literacy instruction provided to students who use AAC. 

Overrall, this section on disability specific technology applications contains a comprehensive review of the literature and poses essential questions that need to be addressed in order to advance the field.  Additionally, it contains a great deal of “hands-on” information that will prove invaluable to people working in the field.  Tune in next time for a review of “Instructional Design”.

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© 2005 ConnSENSE Bulletin