Assistive Technology

The disability I chose was visual impairment. According to nichy.org we learn so much visually and when a child experiences visual impairment it can impair their world of learning. While other children may be able to read books, look at pictures in the books, or follow along during story time the visually impaired child can not do the same. Depending on the severity of the visual impaired they may need help moving around the classroom and doing the simplest of task such as picking up a cup. According to The University of British Columbia some struggles of visually impaired children are:

1. Delayed motor skills
2. Difficulties with language and communication
3. Adaptive development: such as tying their own shoes, seeing if their socks are matching, and etc.
4.Social and emotional issues

The first assistive technology that can be used is a screen reader, which the American Foundation for the Blind describes as a software program that allows the blind or visually impaired users to read the text that is displayed on the computer screen with a speech synthesizer. More information can be located here: http://www.afb.org/prodbrowsecatresults.asp?catid=49Basically the visually impaired students are listening to software on the computer system that the educator is relaying and inputting. Instead of trying to read things from the white board or chalk board.

The second assistive technology that can be used is a magnifier which enlarges the print of text for students with low vision. More information can be found here: http://www.familyconnect.org/parentsite.aspx?FolderID=21&SectionID=77&TopicID=356&DocumentID=3872
I believe the future of assistive technology for visually impaired students will increase with the digital age and the way that technology is continuously advancing. There is a story about a young man named Sina Bahram who is developing an app called TIKISI (touch it, key it, speak it) which essentially allows visually impaired people to use the internet without looking as the computer will read everything back to you. There is more about the story here: https://www.learningally.org/blind-researcher-helps-define-the-future-of-accessible-tech/








Resources:
nichy.org
blog.ubc.ca
afb.org
familyconnect.org
learningally.org