Mobile technologies, including apps, have become increasingly popular, and are being used to support daily activities among a variety of individuals. While the use of mobile technologies will not eliminate barriers often faced by individuals with disabilities, these systems have the potential to help minimize some of these barriers. As the…

Objectives: To investigate the effectiveness of accommodation policies and teaching practices for secondary students with mild intellectual disabilities, the present study compared the probability that the secondary school accommodated students- if they received assistive technology, computer, and various combinations of accommodations for the…

Since the passing of the Higher Education Opportunity Act in 2008, more students with intellectual disability are being admitted to inclusive postsecondary education programs at U.S. colleges and universities. One of the challenges many students with intellectual disability face when arriving on a college campus is learning to navigate their new…

Online higher education has the potential to offer extra benefits for students with disabilities in comparison with campus-based universities, but it can also cause them some challenges. This case study addresses why students with disabilities choose online studies and how a fully online educational model fits their expectations and needs.…

Since its inception, special education has historically been an underfunded federal mandate leaving states and school districts unable to offer more than a basic level of support for individuals with disabilities. The amount and frequency of time allotted for special services including Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Physical Therapy is…

Assistive technology (AT) is a critical in providing students with visual impairments (VI) access to classroom information. However, little is known about how the fluid and diverse experiences across core-content classrooms that impact the nature of AT use among students with VI. We conducted three classroom observations of 10 secondary-age (i.e.,…

With emphasis placed on the least restrictive learning environments under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), students with disabilities are often placed in general education classrooms. As a result, the discussion of inclusion strategies has increased in special education. The rise in 1:1 device initiatives offers the…

We report results of a national survey of secondary teachers who teach special education and/or English language arts in the United States. A total of 50 teachers from 27 different states completed the survey. In the survey, we asked teachers about their experience delivering distance and in-person instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. We…

In the process of evaluating online learning products for accessibility, researchers in the Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities concluded that most often consultation guides and assessment tools were useful in determining sensory accessibility but did not extend to critical aspects of learning within the Universal Design for…

This study examined state education technology plans and technology accessibility statutes to attempt to answer the question--is K-12 instructional technology accessibility discussed in state-level technology accessibility statutes and education technology plans across the 50 United States? When a K-12 school district is planning the construction…

The purpose of this study was to improve access to general education curricula, through the use of an iPad, for students with intellectual disabilities (IDs). The participants were 72 students (kindergarten through eighth grade) identified as having an ID. During the 6-week study, the 41 students in the experimental iPad group received academic…

Americans with disabilities are underemployed in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at higher rates than their nondisabled peers. This article provides an overview of the National science Foundation's Research in Disabilities Education (RDE) program, of technology use by students with disabilities (SWD) in STEM, and of…

Two studies of 300 elementary schools in 52 California school districts (all schools had computers for instructional use) found that two-thirds allowed learning handicapped (LH) students access, that only half provided computer instruction to LH students, but that the more microcomputers a school had the more access LH students had. (Author/DB)

This status report on instructional software accessibility for individuals with disabilities notes current initiatives to further instructional technology accessibility and reports on a survey of 19 major companies producing instructional software. Only two responses reflected awareness of accessibility considerations and all the remaining…

This article discusses the adaptation of single switch technology and activities, found in a wide range of battery-operated toys, electrical devices, and/or computer software, for children with disabilities. Incorporation of multiple toys in the individualized education program (IEP) to enhance the rate of skill acquisition and generalization,…