Go to previous article
Go to next article
Return to 2005 Table of Contents
Presenter(s)
Edith C. Thayer, MA-SLP
Vineland High School South
2880 East Chestnut Ave.
Vineland, NJ 08361
USA
(856) 696-5884
Email: edie@tomthayer.com
We live in society where technology developments occur at an exceedingly rapid rate. Undoubtedly, providing meaningful opportunities to experience such developments prior to high school graduation falls squarely on the shoulders of today's educator. These technological developments not only have thrown open the doors to opportunities for students with disabilities within the school system, but also for employment opportunities when their academic programs are completed. These developments challenge the way education has been provided in the past, and call on educators to devise new and effective ways of providing these experiences to all students, in both regular and special education programs.
With the reauthorization of PL 94-142, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act;, passed by Congress in 1991, mandates that local education agencies be responsible for providing assistive technology devices and services if these are required as part of the child's educational or related services(Cook and Hussey 1995). The need for training special educators to work with students who use assistive technology has become recognized as a national priority(Behrmann, 1995, 1993; Behrmann, Morrissette& McCallen, 1992; Flippo, Inge, & Barcus, 1995).
A curriculum entitled Assistive Technology: Careers in Human Services was implemented as an option for 11th and 12th grade students in 1998. The purpose for the development of the course was to introduce students to assistive technology, including augmentative communication, to survey possible career options, and to provide experiential learning activities. The course provides students and introduction to disability awareness, practical education with regard to the application of assistive technology, and a survey of possible career options in the special education, rehabilitation, technology development and human services fields. The following objectives were established:
1. Increase understanding of peers with disabilities.
2. Increase acceptance of diversity in the school and the community.
3. Assist and enhance practical opportunities for interaction between students with disabilities and high school peers.
4. Promote the idea of inclusion of persons with disabilities within the school and the community.
5. Increase understanding of legal and governmental issues regarding the rights of persons with disabilities.
6. Increase knowledge about technology applications for persons with disabilities.
7. Survey career interests in the fields of special education, rehabilitation, technology and human services.
The course was implemented in the 1998-1999 school year as an elective for high school students and has continued through 2004-2005 with over 185 students applying for the course. It is an elective for students with and without disabilities, and the class size is approximately twenty students in each of four class periods. Access to computers is provided for all students, as the course is taught in a room with Macintosh and PC computers. The yearlong course is divided into ten units, and emphasizes cooperative learning activities and interactive projects as instructional strategies. The course has grown from two classes to four. Natural support for the implementation of technology within the high school setting has been developed as high school students assist their peers with disabilities in using technology in the classroom. Several students have served as advocates for friends and family members with disabilities by contacting local agencies or requesting services or equipment related to the disabling conditions. Students have completed presentations to school and community members in which they discuss legal issues regarding persons with disabilities.. The experiences the students share will definitely enhance the inclusion of all persons in the community well into the future.
The assistive technology classes have collected money through fund raisers and projects and offered eight, eight hundred dollars scholarships to graduating seniors who will either go into the field of assistive technology or promote and encourage the rights of the disabled. Input received from students, parents, teachers, administrators and guests who observed or participated in the class indicated that this type of educational situation is a comprehensive and successful means of meeting the goal to increase student awareness and knowledge of persons with disabilities.
The following quotes are taken from "People with Disabilities" magazine, which sent a writer to visit the class and subsequently featured it in two articles.
Student: "People with disabilities can do anything I can do, as long as the assistive technology is made available. Other schools are missing out on a lot."
Writer- "It is remarkable to think of the changes (this) class has worked in the hearts and minds of (its) students. Changed attitudes changed goals, changed ways of understanding these are the framework for change in society. And these are the very things (this) class is accomplishing today."
Go to previous article
Go to next article
Return to 2005 Table of Contents