Assistive Technology for Postsecondary Students with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

The number of postsecondary students with learning disabilities has increased dramatically over the last several years. This increase, coupled with federal legislation mandating "academic adjustments" for students with disabilities, has prompted the development of postsecondary learning disability support service programs. One support service that has begun to attract considerable attention is assistive technology. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of assistive technology as it relates to postsecondary students with learning disabilities by (a) briefly tracing the development of assistive technology service for postsecondary students with learning disabilities; (b) identifying basic models of assistive technology service delivery and specific services; (c) providing a description of specific assistive technologies; (d) reviewing research on the effectiveness of assistive technology with postsecondary students with learning disabilities, with a focus on the authors' 3-year federally funded study; and (e) concluding with a summary and recommendations.

Evidenced Based Practices that Promote Transition to Postsecondary Education: Listening to a Decade of Expert Voices

“…In the face of this research, the field needs extensive investigation of the effectiveness of AT in postsecondary education settings. (Li & Hamel, 2003;Raskind & Higgins, 2003;Zabala & Carl, 2005). Burgstahler (2002) contended that in order for students with disabilities to pursue postsecondary education programs, they must have knowledge and skills in use of various types of technology that includes access to websites, Internet-based distance learning courses, instructional software, and scientific equipment.…”

Using an Augmented Reality Enhanced Tabletop System to Promote Learning of Mathematics: A Case Study with Students with Special Educational Needs

“…Researchers and teachers in the field of special education have made efforts to incorporate technology into math curricula for students with learning difficulties to improve their results effectively and efficiently (Anderson-Inman, Knox-Quinn, & Horney, 1996;Ferretti & Okolo, 1996, Raskind & Higgins, 1998Torgesen & Barker, 1995, Woodward & Carnine, 1993Robinson, DePascale, & Roberts, 1989). As it is expected, students' effort is also required.…”

Web text reading: what satisfy both dyslexic and normal learners?

“…This tool accesses a dyslexic's listening capability and enables him/her to gain knowledge from an auxiliary source (Shaywitz and Shaywitz 2012). Elkind et al (1993) who studied on computer-based readers found that 70 % of 28 middle school dyslexic students read with greater comprehension when using such readers and concluded (Lazar et al 2007); Leporini and Paternò (2004); Raskind and Higgins (1998) as well as Wies et al (2001) highlight the use of screen reader among people with disabilities which include learning disabilities, blind, and visually impaired. As majority of the normal participants in this study also indicated their strong preference toward this mode, the screen reader is also deemed appropriate for this group of learners.…”