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Lily Wiesler

Professor Rodrick

English 115

September 26 2018

Helpful Technology for Students with Disabilities

Kevin O’Brien is a seventh grader who heavily relies on assistive technology to function

throughout the school day because he is mentally handicapped. Thanks to Tobii Technologies

eye-gaze device, Kevin is able to do things a neurotypical student does like communicate, type

papers, and participate in class. Brian Butterworth is a professor at the Institute of Cognitive

Neuroscience located at University College London. In his article, “Understanding

Neurocognitive Developmental Disorders Can Improve Education for All” Butterworth explains

the importance of understanding disabilities so that people who have them are able to have a

successful scholastic career. In the article he writes,“​SLDs are thought to affect approximately

10% of the population and have a profound effect on educational outcomes” (Butterworth).

Butterworth is stating the fact that education is a prevalent issue for people with SLDs (special

learning disabilities) and that it truly does affect their school careers. ​Although people say

technology may be too distracting, it is making education easier for those who are handicapped

while also giving them an identity.

Communication is a major key to success in the classroom, so how is someone who isn’t

able to communicate expected to do succeed? The answer; technology. Depending on the

disability they have, kids are either afraid to talk, refuse to talk, or don't understand how to write

and spell. Heather B. Hayes explains in her article “How Technology Is Helping Special-Needs
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Students Excel” that technology is a very helpful resource for students with disabilities since it

helps them do things that they wouldn't be able to do on their own. Hayes states, “​Students with

motor and mobility disabilities also can use speech recognition tools to turn speech into

shareable text, e-books to eliminate page turning and portable eye-gaze devices that are powered

by blinks” (Hayes). She is saying that students who experience problems with communication,

whether it is speaking or writing, now have a plethora of softwares to choose from to asist them.

Without these softwares, school would be very difficult for these specific children. One software

in particular is called Nuance’s Dragon NaturallySpeaking that assists students by typing out

whatever they say. This makes it more convenient for them to communicate by texting and

emailing fellow students and teachers. Another company, that specifically focuses on tools for

those who cannot speak, is called VocaliD. This company is basically an online “voicebank”,

meaning it provides multiple unique voices to choose from for this demographic. The student

using it types out what they want to say, and VocaliD translates it for them. The fact that those

who don’t have a voice can choose from different realistic voices is truly giving them an identity.

Normally, they would be stuck with monotoned, robot voice which has zero personality.

VocalID solves that problem, giving people with personalities their own voice while helping

them communicate and be able to ask and answer questions in a classroom. As technology

continues to advance, more software, companies and websites will continue to impact the lives of

those who need them.

There are some disabilities that affect a person's ability to socialize, which then affects

their ability to do well in a school setting. Take Autism for example; while some kids on the

spectrum can socialize just fine, others have a very hard time with it. As Ann Griswold, an
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acclaimed health and biotechnology writer for ​The Spectrum​ states, “In 2011, researchers

reported that children with autism tend to linger on the edges of social groups at school and have

fewer friendships than those without the condition” (Griswold). Her article “Support helps some

children with autism socialize at school” connects the dots between success at school with

socialization. Kids with autism who feel as though they don’t belong or feel as though they’re

too different don’t do as well as the kids who are more confident and social. Autistic children

usually tend to not have as many friends, therefore correlating with how they do in a school

setting. School is so much harder when you aren’t having fun and making friends which is why it

is more difficult for anti-social kids on the spectrum to succeed. Not understanding basic social

skills can make it hard for kids with autism to properly learn since it stops them from gaining

relationships with classmates and other teachers. That’s where technology steps in.

Google Glass, for example, is a headset that pairs with a mobile app to help kids with

autism socialize. After a trial run, they had significant improvement on their social skills. The

headset looks like a pair of glasses but has a camera on it to record

other people. When interacting with someone, the headset pairs with

the app to help determine what emotion they’re expressing at the

time using emoticons. On the left is a picture of Alex wearing the

Google Glasses who is now a 9 year old with autism and was part of

the Google Glass trial when he was just 7 years old. Steve Fisch

wrote about Alex’s story in an article called “Google Glass Could

Help Children with Autism Socialize with Others”. When asking his

mom what improvements were made, she answered that she,

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“noticed within a few weeks that Alex, who was 7 years old at the time, was meeting her eyes

more often — a behavior change that’s stuck since treatment ended” (Fisch). She had noticed an

immediate difference thanks to the use of technology. Nonetheless, autism isn't the only

disability that struggles with socialization. Social communication disorder often don't want to

talk to other people simply because they don’t understand the basic concepts of interaction.

Google Glass would help people with SCD (Social communication disorder) determine emotions

of others they’re talking to which helps them know how to react. In school, where emotions are

very high and all over the place, it can be really hard for students with disabilities to properly

function and socialize. With this kind of technology assisting them, students would truly be on

the path to success.

Learning how to become independent is yet another huge struggle for kids with

disabilities. While in elementary and middle school, disabled children have parents, teachers, and

special helpers with them in their classes. Granted, as they get older, becoming independent gets

harder and harder since they won’t have anyone with them when or if they go to college.

Independence is an important trait to acquire before they’re done with highschool so that they

can successfully continue their education further, which technology can help with. There are so

many programs out there that are used to help disabled students with time management,

organization and self identification. Memo To Me is a program that helps with basic reminders

throughout the day while Plan Plus is a time management program. Using programs such as this

teaches students with disabilities how they can do things themselves versus someone else doing

it for them. It gives them a sense of responsibility and helps them identify with themselves and

what they’re capable of. Another way to obtain independence and confidence is self
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identification. For a disabled student to understand his or her own strengths and weaknesses

means they know what they need to do to compensate for that. If they know they struggle with

math, they can then use the right softwares to help them with it. Or, if they know it’s hard for

them to be around loud noises, they know to keep noise cancelling headphones with them at all

times. When they know what their weakness is, then they know there’s a possible solution.

Technology holds much importance when it comes to independence.

Some people may say that technology is actually hindering students with disabilities

rather than helping them. Technology can definitely be distracting, especially for someone who

is on the spectrum or has ADHD. Plus, if students are using ipads or other softwares to socialize,

maybe that could possibly hinder their ability to socialize with humans even more. Here’s the

thing, there’s too much improvement happening with technologic advances to say that it’s a bad

thing. As Great Schools Staff puts it, “over the past decade, a number of studies have

demonstrated the efficacy of AT for individuals with LD” (Assistive technology for kids with

LD: An overview). Assistive Technology (AT) will continue to develop and help those who truly

rely on it. While you cannot cure a disability, technology is there to help cope and make the

education system that much easier for them to conquer. In conclusion, technology is giving

students with disabilities a chance to communicate, socialize and become independent.

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Works Cited

Butterworth, Brian, and Yulia Kovas. "Understanding Neurocognitive Developmental Disorders

Can Improve Education for All." ​Science Mag,​ vol. 340, no. 6130, 19 Apr. 2013, pp.

300-05, science.sciencemag.org/content/340/6130/300. Accessed 25 Sept. 2018.

Fisch, Steve. ​Savvy Specs​. JPEG file, 2 Aug. 2018. Accessed 25 Sept. 2018.

GreatSchool Staff. "Assistive Technology for Kids with LD: An Overview." ​Great Schools​, 19

Dec. 2016,

www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/assistive-technology-for-kids-with-learning-disabilities

-an-overview/. Accessed 25 Sept. 2018.

Hayes, Heather B. "How Technology Is Helping Special-Needs Students Excel." ​EdTech

Magazine,​ 28 Mar. 2013,

edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2013/03/how-technology-helping-special-needs-students

-excel. Accessed 25 Sept. 2018.

Temming, Maria. "Google Glass Could Help Children with Autism Socialize with Others."

Science News​, 2 Aug. 2018,

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www.sciencenews.org/article/google-glass-could-help-children-autism-socialize-others​.

Accessed 25 Sept. 2018.