Using Assistive Technology to Serve as a Reasonable Accommodation for Students with Disabilities in College

Throughout this blog we have primarily focused on using assistive technology to remove learning barriers for students with disabilities. Most of my posts have focused on school aged children, but I think it is important that we take some time to think about these students when they move onto higher education. “Under 504 and the ADA, colleges must provide-at no cost to the student-reasonable accommodations to make their programs more accessible to students with disabilities” (Dell, Newton, & Petroff, 2012). This is very important as there are no IEPs in higher education. Assistive technology can help college students in the same ways I have talked about in previous posts: completing writing assignments, reading text, removing learning barriers, increasing their ability to communicate, as well as maximizing their independence. In the text, “Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Enhancing the School Experience of Students with Disabilities, it was stressed that AT may be helpful to college students if the tools meet the following criteria:

·         Easy to use and easy to customize

·         Age appropriate

·         AT must be the student’s choice

·         Matches the task (note taking) and the environment (is there power source available, can it be done quickly enough while professor is speaking during a lecture?)

·         Easily accessed by the student

·         Training and technical support must be provided to the student and staff

After reading that the employment rate is significantly higher for students with disabilities who go onto higher education, I think it is very important that they are provided with AT to make learning as accessible as possible while attending college. This will ensure that they can learn to the best of their ability in the most least restrictive environment.

REFERENCE

Dell, A. G., Newton, D. A., & Petroff, J. G. (2012). Assistive technology in the classroom: Enhancing the school experiences of students with disabilities. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.