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…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the learning that takes place when people with disabilities interact in a rehabilitation context. Data were generated through in-depth interviews and close observations in a 2 one-half week-long rehabilitation program, where the participants learned both wheelchair skills and adapted physical…

Demographic projections indicate that the population of the Western world is aging, and evidence suggests an increase in the incidence of conditions, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), that produce visual impairments and result in low vision (Maberley et al., 2006). It is expected that in the United States and Canada, the annual…

This study investigated the perspectives of teachers in an early childhood center concerning their thoughts and feelings about the implementation of a school wide assistive technology (AT) program designed to enhance emergent literacy skills for children identified as being at-risk or having special needs. Qualitative methodology was used to gain…

Student-directed IEPs are quickly gaining momentum in schools across the country--the proven benefits include higher academic achievement, enhanced student motivation, and increased communication and self-advocacy skills for students with disabilities. Now for the first time, there's a book that gives elementary and high school educators in-depth…

This discussion of assistive technology for children with AIDS considers management in the school setting, functional limitations related to HIV/AIDS, and the use of assistive technology to address HIV/AIDS- related bodily, mental, sensory, and speech and language impairments. (Contains references.) (DB)

Searching the Web with Google to find information about technology and learning disabilities produces more than a thousand links. This creates a dilemma for educators who want to learn about current technology-based ideas for use with students with special needs. You may be a technology coordinator, staff developer, or administrator looking for…

This study documented that blind pedestrians have considerable difficulty locating crosswalks, aligning to cross, determining the onset of the walk interval, maintaining a straight crossing path, and completing crossings before the onset of perpendicular traffic at complex signalized intersections. Revised techniques and strategies are suggested…

In addition to their restricted peripheral fields, persons with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) report significant problems seeing in low levels of illumination, which causes difficulty with night travel. Several devices have been developed to support the visual needs of persons who have night blindness. These devices include wide-angle flashlights,…

Collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) hold great potential for people with autism. An exploratory empirical study was conducted to determine if children and youth with autism could understand basic emotions as represented by a humanoid avatar. Thirty-four participants (ages 7.8-16 years) reported to have autism interacted with a software…

Language skills were investigated in a multicultural sample of 13 prelingually deaf children (11 profoundly deaf from birth) who received cochlear implants between 14 and 38 months of age; average duration of implant use was 49 months. Individual post-implant language skills ranged from extremely delayed to age appropriate. On average, skills…

The present study has three purposes: (a) to determine who disseminates information on cochlear implants on the Web; (b) to describe a representative sample of Web sites that disseminate information on cochlear implants, with a focus on the content topics and their relevance to parents of deaf children; and (c) to discuss the practical issues of…

The Achievements of Deaf Pupils in Scotland (ADPS) project has been tracking the educational attainment of deaf pupils in Scotland's schools since 2000. At the time of writing, the database contains records for 1,752 deaf pupils (2000--2005). Here 4-year aggregate educational attainment data are reported for a subset of 152 school-aged deaf pupils…

Five cases of non-use of cochlear implants by children were investigated through semi-structured interviews with the children and their carers. The children were interviewed at school by a researcher who is deaf, and the carers, all of whom were hearing, were interviewed at home by a hearing researcher when the children were not present. The…

Background: People with aphasia may experience difficulties that prevent them from demonstrating in writing what they know and can produce orally. Voice recognition systems that allow the user to speak into a microphone and see their words appear on a computer screen have the potential to assist written communication. Aim: This study investigated…