Assistive Technologies for Reading by Hasselbring and Bausch

I. Brian Pautzke bpautzke@yahoo.com 5/5/08

Assistive Technologies for Reading by Hasselbring and Bausch

II. Hasselbring and Bausch advocate new technology options for students with learning disabilities. Approximately 44% of students with learning disabilities spend 80% of their time in inclusive classrooms, as a result they are not getting the specialized attention they need. If teachers are able to use assistive technology then these students can be getting help from the computer while in the inclusive classroom. Literacy skills are one area in particular which technology can be very helpful; new software works with the student, helping them read and checking for comprehension before the lesson moves on.

III.

• Digital technology can be a lifeline for students with learning disabilities.
• Assistive technology (AT) has made great difference for students with severe physical impairments but has great potential to help out students receiving special services because of learning disabilities.
• AT is being used more often in special ed classes but can be a great help in regular ed classes as well.
• AT increases literacy in two ways:
  1. Provides reading support. Technology can help student’s access grade level text as they read.
  2. Provides reading intervention. Technology can help strengthen and improve student’s overall reading skills.
• Text-Reader Software: uses synthetic speech to read text aloud simultaneously highlighting it on the screen.
• Word prediction technology can dramatically speed up the composition process for students.
• The ability to have the computer read back what students have written is especially useful for students who commonly skip words in their composition.
  

IV.
The usefulness of this article lies in my ability to bring this software into the classroom and integrate it with my instruction. This is not easy. My class does not have computers so I would have to take the students to the computer lab if I wanted to use this technology. And since this software benefits students with learning disabilities the most I would be taking my students to the lab for the benefit of a few. It is really important to know about alternative technology so that I can take advantage if the opportunity presents itself to have it in my classroom.