Assistive Technology for Children with Disabilities

Abstract

Through The Rehabilitation Act, the Technology Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act (The Tech Act), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, the federal government broadened the states' roles in increasing awareness and accessibility of assistive technology (AT) devices and services to children with disabilities. As a member of the AT team, the occupational therapy practitioner plays an integral role in selecting the most appropriate device, and working with parents and other professionals to integrate the device into a child's daily routines. This literature review presents a summary of available information on AT materials and strategies that assist infants, toddlers, and school-aged children with disabilities. We begin with a brief look at legislation affecting the provision of AT. Issues concerning the use of Electronic Aides of Daily Living (EADL), and strategies for successful manipulation are presented; followed by a discussion of play and leisure, mobility, and communication devices. Finally, we conclude with a discussion concerning the importance of measuring the effectiveness of AT devices and services.

Assistive technology assessment tools for assessing switch use of children: A systematic review and descriptive analysis

“…A switch is a simple electronic device providing a user interface to electronic assistive technologies which can enable children with physical and multiple disabilities to mobilise, communicate, and ac-tively participate in play and schooling [3][4][5]. Due to their simplicity, switches are often the first type of electronic assistive technology interface a child will learn to use; therefore this paper will focus on the use of switches in the field of assistive technology.…”

“…The Human Activity Assistive Technology (HAAT) model and the Student, Environments, Tasks and Tools (SETT) model encourage a holistic perspective to assistive technology assessment, where the person/student, occupation/activity/task, assistive technology and environment/context are all considered [6,8]. Isabelle et al [4] also supports comprehensive assessment and explains that consideration is needed about the tasks the client will undertake, the environmental context such as training provided, the cognitive and physical capacities, positioning, stage of development, strength, social issues and endurance when assessing for a new assistive technology system. Burkhart [9] similarly acknowledges the complexity of switch use, but places particular emphasis on the early steps of learning to operate a switch and two-switch use.…”

Assistive devices for children with functional impairments: impact on child and caregiver function

“…There are also difficulties in conducting research with children because of changes due both to children's development and to the functional impairment over time. 2 Many studies used a single participant design, which limits the generalizability of findings. There is clearly a need for more rigorous research that includes comparison groups when evaluating the impact of assistive devices on children with disabilities.…”

“…cerebral palsy [CP], myelomeningocele, developmental communication problems, feeding difficulties), compromised participation in developmentally appropriate roles can have far-reaching consequences for overall development, independence, quality of life, and academic performance. [1][2][3] Unless the development of independence is well supported, children with functional impairments may be at risk of developing learned helplessness. 1,4 Clinicians attempt to overcome these limitations through interventions that focus on remediation, adaptation, and/or compensation.…”

Benefits of the use of ICT in school activities by students with motor, speech, visual, and hearing impairment: A literature review

“…The World Health Organization (WHO) for example stresses that ATDs are one strategy that can be used by children with disabilities to improve functioning and minimize the impact of environmental barriers to their participation in everyday life, such as school activities (19). Therefore, research into the benefits of ICT use for participation in school activities for these students is needed (20,21).…”