Assistive Technology Utilization: Trends, Challenges, and Implications for Special Education Teachers

Introduction

With federal legislation ensuring access to Assistive Technology (AT) and the contributions from parents, teachers, and related AT service professionals involved in developing and providing AT services to students with disabilities, the field of special education has seen an explosion of technology utilization. In addition, with the advancement of recent technology such as social media, social robots, mobile devices, and the Internet of Things (IoT), accessibility to technology is now more of the rule than the exception. Due to the enhanced functionality and affordability of AT, the educational inclusion of students with disabilities has become more achievable than ever before.

Students with disabilities have utilized AT as a technological medium for accessing information and education via computers and the Internet both at schools and at home. The extent to which individuals need AT for computers and Internet access varies depending on their residual abilities and preferences. Results from empirical studies provide evidence of the effectiveness of AT for individuals with disabilities in accessing learning and daily life activities (Edyburn, 2013; Okolo & Deidrich, 2014; Lindeblad et al., 2017; Alshurman et al., 2020; Ozdowska et al., 2021).

While a large body of studies exists on AT utilization and benefits, the use of emerging technologies such as social media, social robots, virtual reality, and IoT devices as AT are in the initial stage. Despite the Assistive Technology Act of 2004’s assurance on the continued existence of a major source of funding for AT for the education of students with disabilities, challenges remain to be resolved in this constantly changing field of technology. For example, results of a survey involving 98 special education teachers in a Midwestern metropolitan city indicate that while the majority of the teachers believe AT is beneficial, more than half of them feel that they do not have adequate knowledge to fulfill the intent of the federal legislation on providing AT services to students with special needs citing lack of time, funding, and training, respectively (Lee & Johnson, 2017).

The core intent of the federal laws including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, 1990), Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004), and Tech Act (2004) is to narrow the disparity between individuals with and without disabilities by ensuring access to technologies needed for equal employment. IDEA 2004 indicates that schools should try to use universal design principles in developing and administering any statewide assessment (IDEA, § 1411 (e) (2) (C) (v)).

Likewise, the newly reauthorized Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) acknowledges the importance of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to support learners with diverse needs (ESSA, 2015). UDL is a conceptual framework that is used to meet the learning needs of all students by removing barriers when planning lessons and the learning environment. The UDL instruction can be achieved with or without technology (Hall et al., 2012). If a particular technology device is needed, the identification and utilization of AT for students with disabilities should be based on the federal guidelines and the principles of UDL (Nelson, 2014). UDL is a highly misunderstood concept among educators, and there is little agreement related to its implementation in the classroom (Edyburn, 2021). Given the nature of the framework being inclusive of students with diverse backgrounds, professional development around the concept of UDL must be made available for teachers to implement in their classrooms.