Evaluating Assistive Technology

In his article “Evaluating Assistive Technology,” Andrew Beigel, Ph.D. suggests a different approach to linking students with learning disabilities with assistive technologies. Traditionally technology is matched to children. Beigel says kids should be matched to technology. He believes this approach is more appropriate because it is more likely to find technology for children “that’s developmentally and age-appropriate” (Beigel, 2004, para 1).

Beigel is a former assistant professor of education and coordinator of the inclusion program at the State University of New York. His article begins with the quote: “Assistive technology is more than the device” (para 1). In order to insure that children are being coupled with assistive technology that is right for them, Beigel offers a three step process. He believes that if IEP teams should conduct full-scale assessments, assess the environments the student is in, and make an effort to determine the kinds of technology that match a student’s interest so that they are more likely to find technology that the child will use (para 3). When IEP teams simply pick assistive technology because they know it is designed to work with a specific learning disability they run the risk of picking something that is too cumbersome, too complicated for comfortable use, or something that a child might be embarrassed to use.

I like Beigel’s approach. It would be difficult to overstate the importance of assistive technology. It has provided classroom learning opportunities for many children who would not have been able to do so otherwise. Yet to do so without seeing the child could send the wrong message. It is the child that is of value, not the disability, and to consider what he or she would like as a part of the decision making process is empowering and thoughtful.

Beigel, A. (February, 2004). Evaluating Assistive Technology. Scholastic Instructor. Retrieved from http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=215&FullBreadCrumb=%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww2.scholastic.com%2Fbrowse%2Fsearch%2F%3Fquery%3Dtechnology%26Ntt%3Dtechnology%26Ntk%3DSCHL30_SI%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchallpartial%26N%3D0%26_N%3Dfff%22+class%3D%22endecaAll%22%3EAll+Results%3C%2Fa%3E