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A timer can help students who have a hard time staying focused or knowing how long to work. Having timers in my classroom can make it easier for them to stay on task and finish their work without getting overwhelmed. Timers can also be used as a reward, like working for 20 minutes and then getting a 5-minute break, which helps keep them motivated.

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A pencil grip can help students who have trouble holding a pencil correctly because of weak fine motor skills, and those who receive occupational therapy services. Having these in my classroom can make writing easier and less frustrating for them, so they can focus on what they’re writing instead of how to hold the pencil.

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Highlighters are a type of low assistive technology because they are easy tools that help students learn better without using electronics. They can help students with ADHD, dyslexia, or reading difficulties by letting them mark important words or ideas so it's easier to focus and remember. This helps students stay organized, understand what they read, and do work more independently.

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Wiggle seats are small cushions that let kids move while they sit, which helps them stay focused. They are great for students with ADHD, autism, or sensory processing needs who have trouble sitting still. The gentle movement helps them stay calm, pay attention, and feel more comfortable during class.

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Velcro strips are a helpful tool for students with developmental delays or anxiety, as they provide a way to organize tasks and materials in a clear, manageable way. For students with anxiety, Velcro can help create visual schedules or step-by-step instructions that reduce uncertainty and promote calm. It’s also useful for students with ADHD or autism, allowing them to keep items in place or follow routines more easily.

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Speech-to-Text (Google Docs or Dragon NaturallySpeaking) 

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Speech-to-Text (Google Docs or Dragon NaturallySpeaking) 

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This app helps students who find writing difficult, including those with dysgraphia, ADHD, motor issues, or speech disabilities. It lets students speak their ideas, and the app turns their words into text, so they don’t have to worry about handwriting or typing. It's useful in the classroom for writing tasks or at home for homework. Students with speech disabilities can also benefit by using their voice to communicate and have their words transcribed easily.

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Mindfulness apps help students relax with breathing exercises and calming sounds, making them useful for students with anxiety, ADHD, or behavioral and emotional disabilities. These apps can also support Social Emotional Learning (SEL) by teaching students how to manage their feelings and stay calm. In the classroom, students can use them during breaks or when feeling overwhelmed to help refocus. They help students with emotional or behavioral challenges learn to self-regulate and handle stress better.

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ModMath is a helpful app for students with learning disabilities like dyscalculia. It lets students do math problems on a computer, which can be easier than writing things down by hand. The app helps students keep their work organized and neat, making it easier to follow steps in math. By simplifying the process, ModMath helps students stay focused and do math more on their own.

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Notebook LM is a helpful app that allows students to upload PowerPoints, documents, and other notes, which it can then turn into podcasts or auditory study guides. This is especially useful for students with learning disabilities that affect their reading abilities, like dyslexia, as they can listen to the material instead of reading it. It can also benefit auditory learners, who grasp information better by hearing it.

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NotebookLM Tutorial: How To Use NotebookLM

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TouchChat is an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) app designed to help individuals with speech and communication difficulties, such as those with autism, cerebral palsy, developmental delays, or other speech disorders. It allows users to communicate by selecting words, symbols, or pictures, which are then spoken aloud through the app. They can be used in classrooms, where students can participate in lessons and interact with peers, and at home, where it helps with communication during daily routines like mealtime or playtime.

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Microphones and Amplifiers are helpful for students with hearing impairments, auditory processing disorders, or attention difficulties. These tools amplify the teacher’s voice, making it easier for students to hear instructions clearly. They are especially useful in large classrooms or noisy environments where students might struggle to hear. Microphones ensure all students can clearly hear what’s being taught, supporting better focus and engagement in lessons.

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Ergonomic Keyboards are especially helpful for students with motor impairments, fine motor difficulties, arthritis, or repetitive strain injuries. These keyboards reduce the strain on hands and wrists, making typing more comfortable. They are useful in settings like computer labs or classrooms where students frequently type.

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Interactive Whiteboards are ideal for students with ADHD, learning disabilities, or visual impairments. These boards engage students through touch and interactive features, helping them stay focused and involved in lessons. They are effective in whole-group instruction, where students can actively participate in learning activities. Interactive whiteboards make lessons more engaging and accessible for students who benefit from visual and hands-on learning following UDL guidelines.

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Graphic Organizers support students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD), ADHD, dyslexia, or executive functioning difficulties. These tools help students break down complex information into simpler, visual parts, making it easier to understand and remember. Graphic organizers are helpful for tasks like planning essays, working through word math problems, brainstorming, and organizing ideas. They help students structure their thoughts more clearly and improve overall comprehension.

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Document Cameras are beneficial for students with visual impairments, learning disabilities, or those who struggle with following along in class. These cameras allow teachers to project written work, books, or even student projects on a screen for everyone to see clearly. They are useful in whole-class settings, where students can view materials in real time, making it easier to follow along with lessons.

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Teachers' and Students' Perspectives on the extent to which Assistive Technology maximizes independence. 

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Teachers' and Students' Perspectives on the extent to which Assistive Technology maximizes independence. 

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The article by Loveys and Butler (2023) highlights how assistive technology (AT) can help students with disabilities, especially visual impairments, become more independent. However, it also points out that many students don’t get the full benefit of AT because of limited teacher training and poor integration into the classroom. In my classroom, I will use AT tools like screen readers and magnifiers to support students with visual or learning challenges. I’ll also work with special education staff and continue learning how to use these tools effectively. I plan to involve students in choosing the tools that work best for them so they feel confident and supported. By doing this, I’ll follow Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to make sure all students can access and participate in learning in ways that work best for them.

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A scoping review on the use of speech-to-text technology for adolescents with learning difficulties in secondary education

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A scoping review on the use of speech-to-text technology for adolescents with learning difficulties in secondary education

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The article by Matre and Cameron (2024) explores how speech-to-text technology can support students with learning difficulties, especially in improving their writing and expression. It shows that while the tool is effective, challenges like inconsistent use and limited teacher training can limit its impact. Since the pandemic, many students across all grade levels have shown a decrease in reading fluency and comprehension. By using speech-to-text in my classroom, I can support students as they learn phonemic and phonological skills, helping them connect spoken language to written words. This tool allows students to focus on building language understanding without being held back by spelling or handwriting struggles. Incorporating it into my teaching can create a more inclusive environment.

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Easy Ways to Bring AT into Your Classroom

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Easy Ways to Bring AT into Your Classroom

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The article by Jennifer Sullivan emphasizes that assistive technology (AT) includes a range of tools, no-tech, low-tech, and high-tech, that I can use to support all learners in my classroom. It highlights simple, free, or low-cost tools like closed-captioning, visual timers, graphic organizers, and speech-to-text software that we can easily bring into daily lessons. It also highlights that students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLDs), including those who struggle with math (dyscalculia) and reading (dyslexia), can benefit greatly from these tools. These supports help students access content in a way that fits their needs and allows them to show what they know more confidently.

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Free or low-cost tools can help all students-with and without learning differences-better access course content.

Teachers put a lot of time and effort into designing classroom activities that encourage students to read, write, communicate, play, move, and socialize. They strive to ensure that all students have opportunities to grow and learn, but children with disabilities can face barriers to their participation in classroom activities. To lower those barriers, teachers can access a set of tools-collectively called assistive technology-that have been designed to help these students participate fully and naturally in inclusive learning environments.

Assistive technology (AT) is "any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities." AT includes a wide variety of no-tech, low-tech, and high-tech tools. Some assistive technology tools cost nothing, and others can be fairly inexpensive. Many teachers are using some tools that function as AT-even if they don't think of them that way.

Simple Ways to Incorporate Assistive Technology

Closed-captioning in videos: Adding or turning on closed-captioning in all videos, including YouTube and GoNoodle, assists students in making connections between text and audio representations of language. Captioning is an assistive technology tool that is free and easy to use: simply push the CC button underneath a video.

Closed-captioning provides missing information for individuals who have difficulty processing speech and auditory components of visual media. It is crucial for students who are hard of hearing and can support students' reading skills.

Graphic organizers: Graphic organizers are a no-tech AT tool that offers a simple, effective way to provide writing support to elementary, middle, and high school students who have dysgraphia, executive function challenges, and other learning challenges.

Students with executive function challenges who struggle with organization, for example, can benefit from the visual organization of their thoughts and ideas, and graphic organizers "clarify implicit relationships contained in the text in a way that text alone may not." Likewise, students with dysgraphia -which affects handwriting and fine motor skills, word spacing, and the general ability to put ideas and thoughts onto paper-can benefit from graphic organizers.

This tool can help struggling writers show what they know and organize their thoughts before they start to write, which can make writing less intimidating. Having printed graphic organizers available in your classroom for all students is an easy way to provide an assistive technology tool to struggling writers of all ages.

Classroom seating: To help students focus their attention in order to learn, it's helpful if teachers are able to provide a variety of seating options in the classroom. Examples of supported seating include beanbag chairs, yoga balls, wobble stools, carpet squares, and wedges for active sitting, which is "seating that naturally encourages us to stay in motion, rather than passively relaxing into a slouch or attempting to rigidly hold a 'correct' pose."

My daughter's fifth-grade classroom has a variety of seating options, and one of her favorite seats looks like an old wooden train bench with pillows. Her third-grade classroom had a reading corner with beach chairs. Metal chairs arranged in rows don't need to be the only seating choice in our classrooms, and involving students in the seating design process-by having them help arrange the room or develop the norms for using the options, for example-can create excitement and engagement.

Visual timers: Time can be abstract for students with executive function challenges or autism. Students may become anxious when a teacher says, "You have 10 minutes left to work on this test." Using a visual timer-a device that makes the concept of time easier to understand and monitor by providing a clear indication of the time remaining and elapsed for tasks-can help students prepare for transitions and ease test anxiety as they are able to see at a glance how much time is left.

Teachers can place a physical visual timer on their desk or elsewhere at the front of the classroom, or project one on their interactive whiteboard during timed class activities, projects, or tests.

Speech-to-text software: Students with print disabilities such as dyslexia can struggle when producing written assignments. However, if your classroom uses Google Docs, all of your students-those with and without disabilities-have access to an important free tool called voice typing, which is found under the Tools tab. (Dragon Dictation and VoiceNote are similar tools that are also worth trying.)

Speech-to-text is a form of assistive technology that allows students-and teachers-to dictate into their computer and watch their words appear as text on the computer screen, without typing. I've found that students with and without disabilities like using this tool.

Teachers may want to create a space for voice typing in a corner of the classroom, where classroom sounds won't be picked up by the computer microphone. If all students have the opportunity to rotate through this area, voice typing should not carry any stigma.

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Easy Ways to Bring Assistive Technology Into Your Classroom

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Free or low-cost tools can help all students-with and without learning differences-better access course content. Teachers put a lot of time and effort into designing classroom activities that encourage students to read, write, communicate, play, move, and socialize.

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The article by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) emphasizes the importance of assistive technology (AT) in creating inclusive learning environments. It highlights that AT includes a variety of tools from low-tech options like pencil grips to high-tech devices such as speech-generating devices that support students with disabilities in accessing the curriculum. I think this is especially helpful in the elementary school setting, where students receiving speech services can benefit from AT as they continue to develop their communication and language skills. The article also emphasizes the need for special education and general education teachers to collaborate with a student's team to integrate AT into their Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and Section 504 Plans. This collaboration ensures that AT is effectively used to support the student's specific needs.

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Students with communication disorders actively engage in learning alongside their peers using assistive technology—a practice that enriches the educational experience for all students.

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The article from Reading Rockets explains that assistive technology (AT) includes tools that help kids with learning disabilities (LD) by playing to their strengths and helping them with their challenges. It shows how AT can help students with tasks like reading, writing, and math by using tools like audiobooks, speech-to-text software, and talking calculators. I think this is especially helpful in the elementary school setting, where kids are learning important skills. The article also stresses that the right AT tools should match each child’s needs to be effective. It provides a link to Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which can be used as an extension to assistive technology by incorporating tech into lessons. This allows teachers to benefit the entire class, not just students with disabilities.

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1 Multiple studies: Collins, 1990; Elkind, 1993; Elkind, Black & Murray, 1996; Higgins & Raskind, 1995; Higgins & Raskind, 1997; MacArthur, 1993, 1998; MacArthur, Schwartz, & Graham, 1991; McNaughton, Hughes & Clark, 1997; Priumus, 1990; Raskind & Higgins, 1995; Raskind, Higgins & Herman, 1997.

2 Higgins, E. L. & Raskind, M. H. (2000). Speaking to Read: The Effects of Continuous vs. Discrete Speech Recognition Systems on the Reading and Spelling of Children With Learning Disabilities. Journal of Special Education Technology, 15 (1), 19-30.

3 Raskind, M. H. & Higgins, E. L. (1999). Speaking to Read: The Effects of Speech Recognition Technology on the Reading and Spelling Performance of Children With Learning Disabilities. Annals of Dyslexia, 49, 251-281.

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Assistive Technology for Kids with Learning Disabilities: An Overview

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If your child has a learning disability, he or she may benefit from assistive technology tools that play to their strengths and work around their challenges.

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After listening to this podcast episode, I now see the INDATA Project as a valuable resource for families who may face barriers in obtaining assistive technology. Devices can be expensive, and it’s not always clear which tools will work best for a specific individual’s needs. Through INDATA’s equipment lending program, families in the state of Indiana have the opportunity to borrow assistive technology, such as scan readers for individuals with visual impairments, before committing to a purchase. This helps reduce financial risk and ensures a better match between the user and the device, making assistive tech more accessible and impactful.

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ATU718 – ATIA Follow Up Show with INDATA, ATLAS and Clinical Staff Part 2

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Podcast Episode · Assistive Technology Update with Josh Anderson · 02/28/2025 · 27m

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In the TED Talk, 13-year-old Jane Velkovski shares how assistive technology has transformed her life as someone living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. She explains how her wheelchair is more than a device it gives her freedom, independence, and the ability to fully participate in life. Jane also highlights the global gap in access to assistive technology, with only 1 in 10 people who need it having access. Her powerful message calls for early and equal access to these tools, especially for children. As a future teacher, this talk not only deepened my understanding of how impactful assistive technology can be but also gave me a strong foundation to advocate for new assistive technology materials in school meetings, ensuring all students have what they need to succeed.

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Jane Velkovski: The life-changing power of assistive technologies | TED

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In the interview video, educators discuss various assistive technologies (AT) that support students with diverse learning needs. They mention tools like slanted clipboards, which help with fine and gross motor skills, reading apps, speech-to-text software, highlighters, and magnifying glasses to assist students with reading and writing challenges. The video also includes a mock IEP meeting, helping parents understand how to advocate for their child’s need for assistive technology. The SETT Framework (Student, Environment, Task, Tools) is discussed as a way to assess and choose the appropriate AT for students based on their unique needs and learning environment. As a future teacher, this video has shown me the importance of using the SETT framework and how general education teachers can suggest the right AT to help every student succeed.

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Center on Technology and Disability (CTD)

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A Teacher's View of Assistive Technology

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In this video, Saida Ahmed explains neurodiversity, focusing on conditions like autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other SLDs, and emphasizes the importance of recognizing these differences while leveraging their strengths to support individuals' success. She introduces assistive technologies (AT) such as text-to-speech software, focus apps, and visual schedules, which can help individuals with neurodiverse conditions in education and daily life. In an elementary school setting, I would apply her recommendations by using text-to-speech software to assist students with reading difficulties, introducing focus apps or tools like fidget toys for students with ADHD, and implementing visual schedules to provide structure for students with autism and other neurodiverse conditions. These tools, along with fostering an inclusive classroom environment, would enhance learning and support for all students.

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Assistive Technologies for Neurodiversity | ToHealth Wellness Webinars

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Assistive Technology to Support Positive Behavior

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Assistive Technology to Support Positive Behavior

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This presentation by Ana from FAAST and Tina, a bilingual SLP from the University of Miami, talks about how assistive technology (AT) can support behavior and communication in children. AT includes low-, mid, and high-tech tools that help children with autism or communication challenges gain independence. In an elementary school setting, AT can be paired with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) strategies, such as using high-probability requests before low-probability ones and reinforcing behaviors with praise. Visual supports like picture schedules, first/then boards, and timers help children understand routines and reduce frustration. AAC tools also allow children to express themselves more effectively through pictures, symbols, or speech-generating devices.

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Assistive Technology to Support Positive Behavior