Week 1

One of the biggest myths about assistive technology is that it involves only high tech items and that it is always costly…

The above statement describes many people’s beliefs about assistive technology (AT); to many AT does mean high tech items that are costly. Of course, this is a misperception of AT because anything that helps a student perform better can be considered assistive technology. It is easy to see that the reason people believe it only contains high tech devices is because they are more glamorous than a no or low tech device. No or low tech devices do not catch people’s attention in the same way that high tech devices do and therefore they are not always remembered.

Along with no or low-tech devices not always being remembered, the term technology in AT could also be what misleads people. The term technology to many means that there has to be power involved and a computer chip. This assumption is often wrong and today we tend to forget that in 1879 the light bulb was considered the newest, greatest piece of technology. The term technology changes, for the mass public, with every new invention and many of us forget about the most basic forms of it. For the vast majority of students who need to use a form of assistive technology it will be something that their teachers, and aids can create and build with little to no effort. Some students, for whom no or low tech devices have not worked, may require the use of high tech equipment, but it is by no means the only form of AT available.

One summer during my undergraduate studies, I worked in a preschool that mainly serviced students with Autism and while I was there I witnessed the use of many no to low tech assistive devices. At the school many of the students had picture boards to help them communicate with the adults in the building. Most of the students were nonverbal and had no other way of communicating but to point to a picture of an item they wanted or an activity they wanted to perform. Before that experience I could have been categorized as one of the people who believed in the myth. I had never thought of something as simple as a picture, laminated with Velcro on the back as AT. These picture boards provided enough communication for the students and the situation did not call for a costly high tech device even though one could have been used (ex. M³ http://www.dynavoxtech.com/products/m3/.) In the world of education and helping people with special needs money is often very scarce and the myth that AT is expensive probably turns many people away from it. The no or low tech solutions should always be explored before the high tech, costly ones.

In the article entitled “Edtech and AT: Two Technologies Converge” the author demonstrates that anything can be used as AT. Many of the high tech devices that are already in the classroom are considered AT. For example, most schools already own computers by the hundreds and an AT device can be created out of them. High tech AT can be created with little additional cost. One feature standard on Macintosh computers is that text on the screen can be read to the user. This built in feature can be used to help students with vision or literacy problems. An example of additional hardware available to alter the average computer into an AT device is an adaptive keyboard (http://www.rjcooper.com/keys-u-see/index.html.) The Keys-U-See keyboard is much larger than the typical keyboard found in a classroom. It can provide students with fine motor skills and vision difficulties just the adaptations they need. This keyboard gives students a larger typing area and provides larger print on each key for easier use for the small fee of $129. These are just two examples of accessible solutions that remind us that even high tech AT does not always need to equal costly.

The myth of AT being only high tech items and expensive is just that, a myth. After a simple Google search and some creative thought anyone can see that there are endless options of no, low and high tech items available to help students in the classroom. Some students may truly be in need of high tech costly items, but not all are and there are many cheap and easy solutions out there for those who try.