Why AT Is Important
Why Assistive Technology Is Important
For students with a disability, assistive technology can be the key that unlocks the door to their future, not only in the classroom but as they transition into adulthood, too.
Unfortunately, AT can be labeled as a tool for “cheating” or a “crutch” that doesn’t help students achieve their highest potential. Let’s address a few of the most common myths.
Myth 1: Using AT is cheating.
You would never claim that a student using a wheelchair to navigate is “cheating” in how they access their environment. It’s a piece of equipment that fits their specific needs in order to be able to participate equitably and safely.
Assistive technologies reduce the barriers to learning and independence that are a result of a disability. IEP teams are required, by law, to analyze the effects of the disability on the entire child and consider what items, tools, or devices can be used to minimize those effects. This doesn’t give them an advantage — it is instead an effort towards leveling the playing field.
In addition, many tools that may be assistive technology for students with disabilities can be provided to all students through a Universal Design for Learning framework.
There is a significant achievement gap between students with disabilities and typical peers. This gap would not exist if students with disabilities were getting an unfair advantage.
Myth 2: Using assistive technology provides an unfair advantage.
Perhaps the most prevalent misunderstanding involving AT is that it gives students with disabilities an unfair advantage. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, all it does is provide equal access to the same learning experiences.
Assistive technology does not control the brains of students with learning disabilities. It does not generate thoughtful responses to essay questions. And it does not conduct science experiments while students sit back and watch. It does read text aloud to students with reading challenges. It does provide spelling assistance for students with encoding deficits. And it does help non-linear, visual thinkers organize ideas and projects.
The educational outcomes of all students are affected by intellectual capacity and effort. Since students with learning disabilities can have equal intelligence and exert (at least) the same amount of effort as students without learning disabilities, the notion that AT can provide an advantage is purely myth.
Myth 3: Students with AT lose motivation and become overly dependent on it.
The point of assistive technology is to give students the tools they need to be able to do tasks on their own as much as possible. Denying them those tools increases dependency on peers, educators, parents, and society in general.
All of us depend on tools every day. We depend on mobile devices, we depend on the Internet, we depend on appliances in our homes, at work, in the community. Students with disabilities need additional tools. Identifying the tools that can increase their independence — in doing school work, in working with others, in social integration — is a primary part of providing a Free and Public Education (FAPE).
Related AT Topics
Documenting AT in the IEP
Proper documentation of a student’s AT needs in their IEP plan is critical for their success.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Universal Design for Learning is a framework for teaching and learning that aims to make education accessible to all. It was developed using scientific insights into how people learn.