Special Technologies for Special Needs

One of the student populations that can be best served by the application of the proper technologies is the special needs student. In the past, due to the niche nature of this market, an unfortunate reality was that, although the benefits for the individual student could be very high, so were the associated technology costs. Thankfully, there are some dedicated companies out there focused to addressing the needs of these special students, and they are coming up with cost-effective ways to serve this group. For me, the a-ha moment with these technologies was when I worked for the Franklin County Department of Education and worked with one of our teachers to program a Boardmaker device (covered in the hardware post) for one of his students so she could call her dog. That simple act so delighted her that, according to her parents, the dog was worn out by the end of the day. As a result of that single incident, I couldn't avoid including a post on some special student technologies.


Bookshare.org is an online resource providing access to thousands of digital textbooks, general literature, periodicals, and newspapers made available for free qualifying students and teachers through funding from the Office of Special Education.
Qualified special needs students can apply for an individual account, or districts can gain access for all qualified students and teachers through a single district-level application. You are required to agree to a detailed usage agreement to ensure copyrights are not violated by non-qualified students and staff accessing and using the site.



Almost everyone agrees that computers are wonderful tools that can increase learning and productivity options for everyone. Everyone, that is, who is physically able to interact with the computer's keyboard, mouse, and other human interface devices (HIDs). For those with difficulties in this area, there are a wide range of options available, including a very clever device called Magic Touch that is affixed to any standard CRT so that it can be used as a touchscreen. For many students who have difficulty controlling a mouse, or have cognitive issues that make it difficult for them to understand how the movement of a mouse on a table surface relates to the pointer moving on the screen, this device is a much less expensive solution than a specifically engineered touchscreen monitor.




The USB Mouse Mover by Tash uses 6 individual switches, or a multiple switch, to control all functions of a computer mouse, allowing computer access to many students who can not control the mouse itself.



You can also buy a mouse specifically engineered to allow the attachment of two standard 1/8" plug switches to be used for left and right mouse clicks. The mouse pictured here is by Infogrip.



Another option for students who have trouble with using a standard mouse are large trackballs that require less fine motor skills to successfully operate. The BIGtrack offers a 3" trackball that the manufacturer claims is the largest available.



Technology also offers solutions for the student with visual challenges. Technology leader companies like Microsoft should be recognized by taking complaints that they did not do enough for our special needs population to heart, and in many cares are integrating more accessibility features into their products. Microsoft, for instance, now includes some interesting text-to-speech and speech-to-text features in Windows XP and Vista, and other companies produce solutions for screen magnification. Microsoft itself offers a very nice magnifying mouse that uses software to magnify sections of the screen when a special button is clicked with the left thumb. A simple, but effective, solution for under $40.00.