And Access For All
Published: Dec 19, 2008ON THE SURFACE the change seems minor, almost imperceptible: What once read “requires” now reads “needs.” But the amending of that single word in the 2004 update of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) automatically triggered a surge in the number of students eligible for assistive technology in K-12 schools.
No longer are assistive technologies only made available to students whose “survival or success”– as Webster’s defines require– depends on their use. If, after consideration, the student shows merely a need– something “essential or very important,” to call on Webster’s again– then the technology must be provided. The change in terms may seem like hairsplitting, but it created a more generous standard for who should receive assistive technologies, increasing their availability and broadening the way they are applied in school classrooms.
“What was once a very specialized category became a very widespread category overnight,” says Karen Janowski, an independent assistive and educational technology consultant and an adjunct professor of education at Simmons College in Boston.
Assistive technologies were initially developed for students with severe learning or physical disabilities. However, a 1997 update of IDEA set a provision stating that while developing a student’s individual education program (IEP)– a written plan drawn up for any student with a disability– schools must consider whether the student requires assistive technology regardless of the degree of the disability.
Read more on The Journal
