Assistive Technology

Posted on March 28, 2008

I thought this was a great start to the unit! I really enjoyed exploring and watching the videos. Again Technology has come such a long way!! While I was exploring I couldn't help but have flashbacks of two of my peers that would of benefited from AT.

My best friend in high school was profoundly deaf. She had an interpretter where ever she went. She hated it!! She felt as if she couldn't be a teenager and couldn't just be like everyone else. The only time that she actually felt like a normal teenager was when she finally received a TTY at the end of our junior year. She would constantly call me (at all times of the night too!) and would be so funny. The next day after talking to her she would bring the print out of the conversation to school to show me. She couldn't believe that we talked so much! I can't help but think that if she had more access to technology that she would of had such a different experience. She still comments to me that she felt cheated in a way. Now we don't talk over the phone; we just IM and she types way too fast for me to keep up!! I have to tell her to slow down that she is dealing with a dsylexic here!!

My other experience was with a work experience job during college. I went to classes with a young woman who had sever CP and used a normal laptop to take notes and communicate with me. She would only talk to me; if she wanted to communicate with the rest of the class she would type what she wanted to say and I would then read it to the class. This was a very arduous task for her; it would take her 10 minutes to type one sentence. She felt very uncomfortable and often talked with me about dropping out. I would tell her that I would help explore some new technology to help her but she was still very discouraged. Money was also an issue for her. Eventhough I encouraged her she eventually quite. I was upset because I felt that if she had somekind of way to communicate faster she would of stayed.

I find it encouraging that there are so many options and that there is some kind of funding for our students. I also find it encouraging that it is accepted among many students peers. I still find it necesary to educate teachers on how devices are used. If teachers know how it works I feel that our students will be more accepted in the classroom.