The proliferation of the Internet, computers, and mobile devices means that students of all ages, socioeconomic statuses, geographical locations, and abilities have access to higher education institutions that were previously unavailable. As the population of the United States ages and the number of students with diagnosed disabilities grows,…

Assistive technologies are often promoted to schools, parents and educators as tools to assist students with special needs by providing a compensatory value, to remediate learning problems and to promote personal independence. These technologies range from simple spellcheckers to more complex speech recognition systems and educational software.…

This synthesis examined the research literature from 1965 to 2009 on the assistive technology that is used by individuals with visual impairments. The authors located and reviewed 256 articles for evidence-based research on assistive technology that had a positive impact on educational performance. Of the 256 studies, only 2 provided promising…

While it is difficult to identify an exact number of children with hearing impairments, the General Accountability Office and IDEAData.org report that the incidence of children who are deaf or hard of hearing is small, representing about 1% of all identified students with disabilities (GAO, May 2011; IDEAData.org, 2009). Variability in the…

In recent years effective instruction in reading for learners with physical and educational disabilities has received great attention in the schools. However, instruction in the corollary skill of writing has received considerably less emphasis. This review paper notes that through the use of assistive technology, students with a variety of…

Educators in today's classroom face increasing challenges which include the changing complexities of student needs, the intricacies of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the demands of high stakes standardized state assessments and the continuous and often widely publicized issues associated with budget constraints. With all of these challenges,…

This article will give music educators some practical tools and information for helping students with visual impairments enjoy the ensemble experience. The author has used these tools as music director at the California School for the Blind (CSB) and as a musician who is visually impaired. All observations and techniques mentioned here come out of…

Research shows that assistive technology (AT) can help young children with disabilities to learn developmental skills. Its use may help infants and toddlers to improve in many areas: (1) social skills including sharing and taking turns; (2) communication skills; (3) attention span; (4) fine and gross motor skills; and (5) self confidence and…

Standards-based reform efforts are highly dependent on accurate assessment of all students, including those with disabilities. The accuracy of current large-scale assessments is undermined by construct-irrelevant factors including access barriers, a particular problem for students with disabilities. Testing accommodations such as the read-aloud…