Blog Post #12

Learning Disabilities Association of America defines a learning disability as a "neurological condition that interferes with an individual's ability to store, process, or produce information." In today's society, there are so many tools and assistive technology that allows students with learning disabilities to be almost, if not completely, included in every aspect of the learning process and the classroom in general. The types of assistive technology varies from hi-tech to low-tech depending on the student's disability. Every disability case is different so an assistive tool that worked well for one student might not work at all for another, you just have to keep trying.

While doing some research, I found a great website called, greatschools.org. This website has so much information about learning disabilities and assistive technologies. One assistive technology that I found interesting was an information/data manager. It helps people that struggle with organization and memory. They can plan, store checklists, keep a calendar and much more on this device. Some are portable and hand-held devices that can be taken home with the student each day. I think that would be great for any student, especially one's that struggle with memory and organization. Depending on the grade level, either myself or the student with my assistance, would write down things they need to bring to class each day or homework for the night. We could store it in the data manager at the beginning of the week so they can be prepared for what is coming up.

Another tool I found that would be useful in the classroom is called a Variable Speed Tape Recorder. It helps student's that struggle with listening and reading skills. The recorder allows them to record a lecture during class or instructions for a project so they can play it back later. It also allows them to slow down the speed of the voice that is recorded with out distorting the recording.