I am on Lucy Watson’s Podcast called ” SENTogether” which is for parents, teachers and professionals. I will be recording it this week. Watch out for it on Soundcloud. Here is a link to Episode 1:-
Assistive Technology is moving at such a pace that it’s hard to keep up with it. Busy parents and teachers would find this difficult so I have always tried to give useful information about assistive technology to both parents and teachers.
At Home
Things that work at home is speech recognition if the pupil doesn’t feel self-conscious using it. It’s 50% faster using your voice and nowadays it is built into your phone, your table and your computer. Combine that with text to speech where the technology you are using reads back to you will enable those with neurodivergency to succeed. Tools in your pocket like scanning pens can help to decode most printed text and speak it back to you.
It may help not to show any anxiety to your child if you are worried about their progress and you suspect a special need. The child will pick up your anxiety and respond negatively to it. Also pushing too hard can have the same effect because you are worried for them. The best approach if you are anxious is to ….. relax! I know it’s not easy but a simple mantra might be a little and often. We still need typing skills so 15 minutes a day to practise is all that is needed for about 6 weeks to improve your typing skills.
At School
For some pupils assistive technology is essential especially if you have a disability. For those with neurodiversity is a game changer and can in some case overcome their learning barriers. The old hot potato about mobile phones in school with the latest pronouncement not to be used in school is bad news for those with neurodiversity who could benefit enormously from copying from the board and just taking a picture so that it could be read to them or have the ability to listen again – a key use of assistive technology that can help their learning. I suppose the use of tablets and laptops can compensate for this lack of ability to record.
Of course schools face a tremendous problem with the lack of funding as well as knowledge of what can make a difference especially as their are a plethora of solutions and equipment that can make a difference at a cost. So having a strategy that focuses on what can be achieved with what you have and what might be worth investing in. At the very least the use of text to speech on a browser such as ReadAloud and ReadWrite as well as Immersive Reader in Microsoft 365 products can make a big impact for those who struggle with traditional methods of decoding text.
There are hardware solutions for personal scanning and hearing text from Scanning Pens and a app that does the same thing call; Claro ScanPen. Other devices as well that do moper than just scan like ScanMaker Pro which does translation as well which I think the newer versions of Scanning Pens do. This is carrying in your pocket technology that is discreet and doesn’t pick a pupil out as being different – it’s just an aid..
Help is at hand to make sense of all this for schools. The nassen at mini guide which is freely downloadable for schools can help show how to make AT work. As well the training and inspirational films called “ The Power of Assistive Technology” can help foster a culture in a school or college setting to using asssitive technology . Links to the resources are below:-
AT Minidguide for SENCO’s and Teachers
The Power of Assistive Technology films
Reading pens from Scanning Pens
App that scan’s text – Claro ScanPen £9.99 from the AppStore- their is also an android version on Google Play.
For the Professionals.
Those who help SEN pupils and parents. Just take on board the advice above and maybe encourage schools to develop a AT culture whereby it’s the standard that all teachers take a bit of the AT rope and model the technology to the pupils. It’s important that happens as then the pupils can make up their own minds and decide which technology to take on board.
Use the links to the the AT Miniguide and The Power off AT films. Encourage Teachers to Join “Teachers for AT” which creates a discussion area for asharing good practice. There is lots that can be done without spending lots of money. Both items are free to download and use. And of course, look through my website here. I do 5 -8 min podcasts called The Smyles Podcast that spotlights the latest Assistive Technology
At the end of this article all that we want to do is empower our children/pupils to achieve the best potential and tools . Assistive technology can really help that in a way that wasn’t possible years ago. It’s a golden age for assistive technology in both homes and schools
AccessAbility Solutions 