Assistive Technology for Young Children With Disabilities

Introduction

With advances in technology touching virtually every field, education has been no exception. Assistive technology has emerged as both a powerful equalizer and a valuable motivational tool for young children with specialized needs. What was once unavailable is now increasingly present at all levels of education, allowing educators and students alike to make participation possible for children who might otherwise be left behind. As technology continues to enter classrooms, it has enabled these children to feel capable and included alongside their peers.

This paper discusses the availability and value of using assistive technology with young children. It addresses the educational learning standards of individual learning differences (CEC 3) and instructional strategies (CEC 4), as well as procedures for preparing and organizing lesson plans that include remedial lessons (Outcome 23). As the discussion illustrates, CEC 3 and CEC 4 call for specialized skills from educators to ensure they effectively serve disadvantaged young students (Council for Exceptional Children, 2010). For a successful Outcome 23, the strategic organization of planning, implementation, and monitoring is crucial to ensure that assistive technology fulfills its expected role — making disabled children, if not fully equal to their typical peers, better positioned as valued members of their communities. Though there are shortcomings in the use of assistive technology, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages (Axistive, 2007). Assistive technology remains a great motivator for teachers to empower children.

Benefits of Assistive Technology for Young Children

Whenever young students experience success using technology devices to accomplish what they could not achieve without them, their instinct directs them toward greater interest in continuing to use those devices and accomplishing even more. They begin to feel like capable members of society — a recognition shared by those who are involved in assistive technology learning for disadvantaged children (Izumi-Taylor & Blake, 2009, p. 114).

A significant number of benefits of assistive technology exist for disabled young children. These include cognitive development that supports both academic and social lives, helping children develop motor, perceptual/visual, social/emotional, and cognitive/language skills (Wilds, 1996). Regardless of varying capabilities — psychological, emotional, and physical — children share the desire to belong and to feel important. Assistive technology helps children explore their abilities and directly experience success in both curricular and extracurricular activities. In curriculum activities specifically, it helps children master realistic goals in their tasks and thus become important participants in their institutions, enriching their social and emotional abilities beyond measurable levels and contributing to their general development and fulfillment (Izumi-Taylor & Blake, 2009, p. 115).

Although these skills may seem broad for young children, they appear in the majority of preschool checklists and are practiced through a variety of approaches. Because play is widely recognized as essential to childhood development, assistive technology can enhance play for children who would otherwise be sidelined as their able-bodied peers explore freely. Disabled children often face limits in exploring their surroundings, and assistive technology offers them the chance to engage with their environments more interactively — an experience that eventually supports the development of cognitive abilities. Toys, for example, serve as crucial play companions for young children, and they warrant careful examination to ensure they deliver the expected benefits for disadvantaged children. This responsibility falls not only on teachers but also on parents and guardians (Wilds, 1996). Various types of assistive technology produce different outcomes. Photography involving cameras, for instance, provides teachers with a means of creating visual supports to encourage positive behaviors, while behavioral picture stories are especially beneficial for children with developmental disorders (Izumi-Taylor & Blake, 2009).

A further social benefit of assistive technology is that it helps disabled children develop an appreciation for their own capabilities by enabling them to participate in ways comparable to their typical peers. Through interactive communication with toys and devices, they are able to explore their surroundings, build positive self-perceptions, and develop a sense of independence and agency.

Conclusion

Assistive technology remains a great motivator for teachers to empower children. It helps young children — especially those with disabilities — to develop interest in achieving more and to feel as capable members of society, just like their typical peers. For this to be successful, the educational learning standards involving individual learning differences (CEC 3) call for educators to possess the required skills to strategize for both short- and long-term benefits. The instructional strategies outlined in CEC 4 require procedures that reflect a complete understanding of the child. All of these elements contribute to an expected beneficial outcome that employs a well-organized structure for identifying the best methods to plan lessons and remedial instruction from start to finish (Outcome 23). Thus, assistive technology is a meaningful support in educating children with disabilities, enabling them to achieve more than they could without it.