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There are two general categories of assistive technology to help hearing impaired students. There are augmenting devices and systems which amplify sound and can increase signal to noise ration. There are also transforming devices and systems that convert speech to text.

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Autism spectrum disorder is a progressing neurodevelopmental disorder that encompasses a broad range of challenges that may affect social skills, speech, repetitive behaviors, and nonverbal communication (Sansi et al., 2021). The definition of autism has changed dramatically since the first case almost 75 years ago. This disease is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Every 1 in 44 children in the United States is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Since autism is classified as a spectrum disorder, every person diagnosed with this disorder will have different strengths and challenges. Most signs of autism typically appear at ages 2 or 3 with developmental delays, sensory sensitivities, medical issues, and mental health challenges (Hodges et al., 2020). This is a lifelong disease and there is no cure. Society does not consider this disease as an illness but simply a different way in how the brain works.

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Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is an assistive technology that has shown to benefit those with autism of all ages. It can promote independence, expanding communication. and increasing social interactions. This is also considered an high- tech assistive technology

There are low tech assistive technologies which require no electricity such as weighted vest, sensory balls, and picture boards.

Mid tech assistive technologies include battery operated sensory toys, visual timers, and social skills videos.

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This category is determined by limitations in the three areas of strength, vitality, and alertness, and these students may be cognitively intact. Three leading classifications under other health impairments include epilepsy, asthma, and diabetes. (HIP)

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Other health problems include: deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia, and Tourette syndrome; and (14DUC)

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Allow students to check in with the school nurse regularly to help them manage their health plan. Also allow naps in the nurse's room when needed. Offer simplified projects and time extensions on projects when needed

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Have the teacher record audio or video of classes so the student can watch them later when they are feeling better.

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Teaching Strategies

Allow extra time for these students to shift from one activity or environment to the next.

Allow extra time for finishing assignments or for testing.

For more complex activities, simplify steps to make them more manageable.

Post a daily and weekly schedule that clearly delineates each activity. These schedules can then be used as prompts to direct the student back on task.

Keep these schedules as consistent as possible, and keep unstructured time at a minimum. (HIP)

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14 disability categories under IDEA#2 - uom.gr. (n.d.). Retrieved August 3, 2022, from http://sinche.uom.gr/sites/default/files/14_disability_categories_under_idea.pdf

Health impairments. Project IDEAL. (n.d.). Retrieved August 2, 2022, from http://www.projectidealonline.org/v/health-impairments/

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Hodges, H., Fealko, C., & Soares, N. (2020). Autism spectrum disorder: definition, epidemiology, causes, and clinical evaluation. Transl Pediatr, 9(1), 55-65.

Sansi, A., Nalbant, S., & Ozer, D. (2021). Effects of an inclusive physical activity program on the motor skills, social skills, and attitudes of students with and without autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 51(7), 2254–2270.

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Considering where the student is sitting in the classroom is one accommodation that can be made. Ensuring the student is near the front of the class and that the room is always well lit can be very helpful.

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Low tech aids can be very useful for students who may need larger print or better lighting to improve their ability to see. Low tech aids include:
* Large print books, worksheets, vocab cards, etc.
* Markers with larger tips that enable the student to write larger font
* Nite writer pens that have built in lights to illuminate written materials
* Thick lined paper and raised line paper that provide tactile clues
* Variable intensity study lamps that can illuminate materials
* Colored transparency or acetate film over text in order to diminish page glare
* Full page writing guides placed over paper to help stay within the writing space

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Hand held magnifiers can be used by students to enlarge texts and images. Video magnifiers are a higher tech option that use a camera. The camera transmits enlarged images onto a screen for easier viewing.

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Audio books and publications enable a visually impaired or blind student to hear the written word. So many materials are now available in this form including:
* Bookshare
* Amazon Kindle
* iBook for Apple devices
* EBSCOhost
* LearningAlly
* National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped

Audio playback devices can also be a tremendous help to visually impaired or blind students. These devices include:
* Victor Reader Stream
* Milestone 312
* Kindle
* iOS Apple devices
* Android devices
* MP3 players
* CDs
* Laptops and computers

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Screen Readers and Text-to-Speech Devices

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Screen Readers and Text-to-Speech Devices

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Screen readers and text-to-speech devices translate the written word into audio form. Such assistive technology include software programs that work with speech synthesizers to read what is on the screen as well as handheld scanning devices. Some of these devices are:
* TalkingFingers
* Write:OutLoud
* Victor Reader Stream
* Dolphin ScreenReader

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Tactile keyboards (including Talking Typer and Learn Keys) allow vision impaired students to listen to the letters and words, then keystrokes are displayed as they are typed.

While tactile keyboards are helpful, many vision impaired students benefit greatly from learning touch typing along side their sighted peers. Typing Club is a popular program that is making gains in implementing audio output for students with vision issues.

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Portable note takers allow visually impaired or blind students to read books in Braille, write their class assignments and even record lectures. Some portable note taking devices include:
* BrailleNote
* PAC Mate Omni
* Braile Plus 18

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Additional Assistive Technology for Reading

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Additional Assistive Technology for Reading

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In addition to the resources listed above, other assistive technology to help reading impaired and blind students with reading include:
* Enlarged text
* Video magnifier
* Braille
* Braille Labeller
* Digital Text (This provides the widest range of options to students)

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Additional Assistive Technology for Writing

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Additional Assistive Technology for Writing

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In addition to the resources listed above, other assistive technology to help visually impaired and blind students with writing include:
* Writing tools such as felt tip markers or soft lead pencils
* Slate and stylus
* Handheld digital recorder
* Video Magnification/CCTV
* World processor, with and without specialized software
* World processor with refreshable Braille display
* Manual and electric Braillewriters
* Braille Notetaker
* Braille embosser

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Additional Assistive Technology for Math

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Additional Assistive Technology for Math

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In addition to the resources listed above, other assistive technology to help visually impaired and blind students with math include:
* Abacus
* Tactile, Braille and visually enhanced manipulatives
* Low-tech refreshable Braille cubes
* Manual and electronic Braillewriters
* Adaptive calculators
* Adaptive measurement tools
* Adaptive time pieces
* Talking money identifier
* Adaptive paper and tactile graphics
* Specialized math software

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Additional Adaptive Technology for Social Studies and Science

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Additional Adaptive Technology for Social Studies and Science

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In addition to the resources listed above, other assistive technology to help visually impaired and blind students with social studies and science include:
* Models and 3D objects
* Large print, tactile or Braille measuring tools
* Specialized STEM software
* Handheld computing device

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Additional Adaptive Technology for Computer Access

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Additional Adaptive Technology for Computer Access

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In addition to the resources listed above, other assistive technology to help visually impaired and blind students with computer access include:
* Adaptive hardware
* Operating system accessibility
* Specialized accessibility software
* Refreshable Braille display

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Additional Assistive Technology to Support Orientation and Mobility

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Additional Assistive Technology to Support Orientation and Mobility

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In addition to the resources listed above, other assistive technology to help visually impaired and blind students with orientation and mobility include:
* Low tech adaptations in environment (rearrange furniture, reduce glare, frequently used objects kept in the same place, contrast tape, tactile cues and braille labels, window/glass decals)
* Cane
* Enlarged, braille or talking compass
* Electronic travel aids
* GPS

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Additional Assistive Technology for Art, Music and PE

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Additional Assistive Technology for Art, Music and PE

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In addition to the resources listed above, other assistive technology to help visually impaired and blind students with art, music and PE include:
* Textures and materials
* Low tech adaptations for music (enlarged music, braille)
* Mid- to high-tech support for music (low vision music reading devices, specialized software allows student to create and read music with audio or braille output)
* Low teach adaptive tools for PE (tape and string to create boundaries, acoustic equipment, tether or guide rope, tapper)

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Ellsworth, April. (2016, May 25). Assistive Technology for Students with Visual Impairments. Retrieved on August 2, 2022 from https://study.com/academy/lesson/assistive-technology-for-students-with-visual-impairments.html.

Tebo, Lisa. (n.d). A Resource Guide to Assistive Technology for Students with Visual Impairment. Retrieved on August 2, 2022 from https://qiat.org/docs/resourcebank/TEBO_VI_Resource_Guide.pdf.

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An FM system allows a hearing impaired student to hear the teacher's voice directly in their hearing aid or cochlear implant. They can also do this with headphones or earbuds. The benefit of this system is that when the teacher's voice is transmitted from a wireless microphone into the receiver worn by the student, distractions are eliminated.

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Closed captioning allows a student to see printed words on a screen that is displaying audio or video.

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Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)

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Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)

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These communication devices, systems, tools and strategies help replace or support verbal communication for hearing impaired students. This is a very useful way for students with hearing impairment to communicate with their teacher and peers who do not know sign language. AAC can allow communication to take place by using pictures or symbols to represent words and phrases. Then, students and teacher can point to these pictures and symbols to communicate. AAC devices in the classroom are often on iPads and tables but can also be done using paper.

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These devices can convert spoken words into written text for hearing impaired students. There are a variety of technology devices that can do this by using a microphone to decipher what the speaker is saying and then translate that to text on a screen. The benefit of such devices for hearing impaired students is that they can pay attention to the speaker and take in as much as possible but also have a transcription of what was said. They can also use these as notes rather than having to try to listen and write the notes in class. Some examples of this technology include Google Live Transcribe and AVA.

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Cochlear implants are electronic devices implanted under the skin behind the ear. These devices use electrodes placed in the inner ear to stimulate the auditory nerve. This can help students who have significant amounts of permanent hearing loss.
Hearing aids, on the other hand, fit in or behind the ear. They can make sounds louder so a hearing impaired student can listen and communicate more fully.

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Helping a hearing impaired student in the classroom can be done in some simple ways. This can be done by keeping background noise to a minimum, projecting the voice, enunciating words, address the student by name, repeat questions, provide a written copy of notes, check in with the student regularly, give preferential seating and face the student when teaching.

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Soundfield systems can be used by more than one hearing impaired student at a time as they include one or more speakers that are set up near students who need them. If using a speaker does not allow for sufficient signal-to-noise ration for a student, an induction loop system can also be used. This system is made up of a loop of wires that encircles the listening area, which can be accessed by hearing aids or cochlear implants with T coils.

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Due to the fact that hearing loss can impact reading competency, some students may need assistive technologies such as text-to-speech or word prediction.

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These systems allow a hearing impaired student and teacher to have a back and forth conversation using two keyboards and displays. This enables the student and teacher to have a short, one-on-one conversation. Examples of such devices include Ubi-Duo and Interpretype.

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Missouri Assistive Technology Advisory Council. (n.d). Assistive Technology in the Classroom for Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Retrieved on August 2, 2022 from https://cid.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Assistive-Technology-in-the-Classroom.pdf.

National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes. (n.d) Assistive Technology. Retrieved on August 2, 2022 from https://www.nationaldeafcenter.org/topics/assistive-technology.

Santaniello, Sabrina. (November 23, 2020). Assistive Technology for Deaf/Hard of Hearing Children. Retrieved on August 2, 2022 from https://assistedtechnology.weebly.com/assistive-technology-for-deafhard-of-hearing-children-erin-turner.html.

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TBI is caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment or both.
Successful educational reintegration for students with TBI requires careful assessment of each child’s unique needs and abilities and the selection of classroom interventions designed to meet those needs.

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While 'deaf and hard of hearing' can work as a generally inclusive term to refer to all individuals with hearing loss, deafness is generally defined as having 'profound or total' hearing loss. So I am going to be focusing on technologies and methods for visual information representation and communication, as opposed to technologies to restore or improve hearing.

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Written language is an innovation several millennia old, and it is still one of the most useful tools in the classroom. Being able to visually represent language, and by extension concepts, information, and data, is helpful to all students, especially deaf students. The nature of aural language is transient, but writing down the concepts that are being aurally explained gives permanence and tangibility to those concepts.

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There are many other different sign languages across the world, some of the oldest manual alphabets being developed as early as the 1500's, with the first formalized Sign Language being French Sign Language (LSF) being created in 1755. Research has shown that using sign languages and other forms of multi-modal learning in the classroom helps learners formulate mental pictures, remember and recall sight words and spelling words, and learn to read at a faster rate.

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Clearly pronouncing your words, facing your student while speaking, making sure they are focusing on you when you speak, and ensuring that your facial hair does not obscure your mouth, are a few ways to ensure that students can clearly see the words you are speaking.

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In cases of simple information transmission, attention direction, or emergency situations, specially designed devices can be used to convey messages. Blinking lights on smoke detectors, alarm cocks, and doorbells can catch or direct the attention of students more effectively. Additionally, vibrating alarms can also help in certain cases.

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From professional classroom stenographers to simple note-taking with pencil and paper, transcription of classroom lectures, discussions, and events can significantly help deaf students retain information in the classroom. Making transcriptions available to all students also promotes language learning and development, as well as frees students from the pressures of mishearing or misunderstanding during speaking. If unable to transcribe live, making recordings of classroom teaching and then transcribing from the recording suffices, but is less effective than live transcription.

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Live captioning services can take many forms. From ensuring that films and videos used during lessons have subtitles available to speech-to-text functionality available on computers, apps, and word processing programs, this effective and widely-used tool can be used to accurately dictate your classroom discussions to text. While it may work very well for single-speaker scenarios, in conversations with the possibility of multiple speakers at once, it can be difficult to parse who is saying what.

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Texting, Emailing, and Digital Messaging

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Texting, Emailing, and Digital Messaging

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With the advent of email and the further developments of texting and instant messaging, text became more prevalent than ever in our everyday lives. Using this familiar, convenient, and prevalent technology, teachers can more easily bridge communication gaps with deaf students.

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As digital communication becomes more advanced, video chat apps have made deep communication simple to those with a bit of technological literacy. This mode of communication allows for a huge range of multi-media incorporation. Some of the communication modes encompassed by video chat include facial expressions, body language, sign language, pictures, videos, live captioning, and text can create a rich and convenient mode of communication for deaf students.

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Blinka, Danielle. “4 Ways to Teach a Deaf or Hard of Hearing Student.” wikiHow, wikiHow, 26 May 2020, www.wikihow.com/Teach-a-Deaf-or-Hard-of-Hearing-Student.

Christopher Stillwell, Brad Curabba, Kamsin Alexander, Andrew Kidd, Euna Kim, Paul Stone, Christopher Wyle, Students transcribing tasks: noticing fluency, accuracy, and complexity, ELT Journal, Volume 64, Issue 4, October 2010, Pages 445–455, https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccp081

Gallaudet University and Clerc Center. “Assistive Technologies for Individuals Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.” Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, Clerc Center, Aug. 2014, clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/national-resources/info/info-to-go/assistive-technology/assistive-technologies.html.

“Instructional Strategies for Students Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.” TTAC Online, Sept. 2019, ttaconline.org/instructional-strategies-students-deaf-hard-of-hearing.

Simpson, Andrea. “School Health Benefits of Using Sign Language in Your Classroom.” School Health, www.schoolhealth.com/benefits-of-using-sign-language-in-your-classroom. Accessed 4 Aug. 2022.

Villines, Zawn. “Hearing Impaired vs. Deaf: What’s the Difference?” WebMD, WebMD LLC,  www.webmd.com/connect-to-care/hearing-loss/hearing-loss-versus-deaf. Accessed 4 Aug. 2022.

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Students with a specific learning disability account for 43% of all students qualifying for special education services in the United States. That's some 3 million students!

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A "specific learning disability" can be any of a number of disorders that affect the usual brain processes for understanding and formulating language. While there is no sensory impairment in these students, they have difficulty with either (or both) written and spoken word.

Some common SLD's are:
- dyslexia
- dyscalclia
- developmental dysphasia

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Technology can be incredibly helpful for many students with SLD's! Here are a few you might consider:

- Text-to-speech (for any online research conducted, online articles read, standardized testing, etc.)
- Audiobooks (in place of or paired with class novels)
- Embedded dictionaries (to help access new/forgotten vocabulary)
- Speech-to-text (for any assigned writing)
- Word-processors (for any writing graded for grammar or spelling)
- Word prediction (especially for those with aphasia!)
- Graphic organizers (help with note-taking AND processing)
- Calculators (helpful with dyscalclia!)
- Computer-assisted instruction with immediate feedback (Khan Academy, NoRedInk, etc.)

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For those schools like mine that work largely out of Google Drive (and especially on Chrome books), here is a quick video tutorial of how to enable speech-to-text functionality while working in a Google Doc.

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How to Voice Type in a Google Doc! (2022)

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Also checkout Google's free text-to-speech functionality!

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Free voice over with Google Text to Speech

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In addition to these technologies, there are a number of adjustments a teacher can make to help support a student with an SLD.

- Chunking larger assignments into smaller pieces
- Providing digital copies of notes beforehand, in a format that can be read with text-to-speech
- Allowing the student the choice between typing and writing responses
- Allowing the student to dictate their written assignments to a scribe
- Providing a separate, quiet environment where a student can take assessments
- Privately administering assessments in a 1:1 environment and reading the entirety aloud
- Allowing the student to take more breaks during standardized testing

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Avella, F. (2017, October 1). Specific learning disability: Categories of students with disabilities. YouTube. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcuXaZGHIDg

Howtoos. (2021, May 19). Free voice over with google text to speech. YouTube. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI5K9Jz2woI

Moore, C. (2022, May 26). How to voice type in a google doc! (2022). YouTube. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juPIrdemR2M

Young, G., & MacCormack, J. (2018, May 4). Assistive technology for students with learning disabilities. LD@school. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://www.ldatschool.ca/assistive-technology/

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A developmental delay is when a child does not achieve developmental milestones within a typical age range. These developmental delays can be in one or more of the following areas:

Physical Development

Cognitive Development

Communication or Speech Development

Social or Emotional Development

Adaptive Development

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Under IDEA, orthopedic impairment is defined as a disability relating to a bone, joint, or muscle, that is severe enough to directly affect the child’s educational performance. Orthopedic Impairments generally fall into 3 categories: Neuromotor (ex.  cerebral palsy), Degenerative Diseases (ex. muscular dystrophy), or Musculoskeletal Disorders (ex. limb deficiency)  In addition to congenital conditions, injuries resulting in loss of limb, strokes resulting in loss of mobility, and severe burns could also place a child within the bounds of Orthopedic Impairment.

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Mobility devices are devices that can assist a student in traversal of school grounds. These devices can range from no to high-tech. Canes, crutches, and walkers are simple apparatuses that a student can easily manipulate and require no power source to operate. Wheelchairs can also be considered low tech, however there are wheelchairs that can be operated via electric or motor interface. Either motorized wheelchairs with joysticks, or more advanced devices that can drive with body weight shifting or head tilting, or in the most advanced cases devices that can interface with a students thoughts.

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This solution involves the repositioning of classroom items and furniture in a way that ensures the ease of reach and mobility of all students within it. Keeping desks far apart to create aisles wide enough for wheelchairs, keeping all class materials within reach of students, ensuring that there are ramps or elevators available for students who need them, and wide enough doorways are a few considerations that must be kept in mind when designing an inclusive classroom.

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Here are some assistive technologies (no-tech, low-tech, and high-tech options) that may help a child with a developmental delay:
Physical

Long-Handled Grasping Tool

Pencil Grip

Balance Boards

Cognitive

Visual Schedules

Recording Device

Audiobooks

Graphic Organizers

Visual Timer

Communication

Communication Books/Boards/Cards

Text to Speech

Echo Microphones

Social/Emotional

Social Stories

Guided Meditations

Provide Calming Tools (Fidget Spinner/Squeeze Ball)

Adaptive

Adapted Eating Utensils

Dressing Aid

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Simplify and give students directions in multiple ways (written/pictures/spoken etc.)

Include visuals as much as possible (charts, pictures, color coding)

Allow additional time as needed

Give several opportunities for students to practice skills and allow them to show knowledge in multiple ways

Designate a calming area in the classroom that students can take breaks

Use manipulative and sensory materials that are developmentally appropriate

Offer choices so students can follow interests and strengths

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Hope, R. (2015a, February 21). Assistive Technology for Developmental Delays - Part 2 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FauUZhQXNNo&ab_channel=RachaelHope

Hope, R. (2015b, February 21). Assistive Technology for Developmental Delays, Part 1 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Zosc8dEBf8&ab_channel=RachaelHope

Lynch, M. (2019, January 18). Assistive Technology to Help Students with Developmental Delays Succeed Academically. The Tech Edvocate. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://www.thetechedvocate.org/assistive-technology-to-help-students-with-developmental-delays-succeed-academically/

NYC Department of Education. (n.d.). List of Accommodations and Modifications. The New York City Department of Education. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://infohub.nyced.org/working-with-the-doe/special-education-providers/preschool-providers/list-of-accommodations-and-modifications

Sec. 300.8 (b). (2017, May 3). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/a/300.8/b

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Ensuring that all workstations in the classroom are adjustable greatly increases the accessibility and comfort of students with orthopedic impairment, and all students. Examples of adjustable workstations include desks and chairs with easily adjustable height and tilt, tables with adequate cutouts for wheelchair comfort and accessibility, adjustable screen/monitor arms that allow for swivel, tilt, and height adjustment, and keyboard trays that allow for height, tilt, and positioning adjustments. Adjustable furniture can range from electric and motorized desks and chairs to using wood blocks and cardboard boxes to customize placement.

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Keyboards, being integral to the learning and communication of many people, are a point of pain for many students with orthopedic impairment. There are many solutions for this problem though, with a range of technological intervention. Using pointers held in the mouth or on the forehead, specialized gloves with pointer attachments, keyboards positioned on the floor, or keyguards designed to prevent accidental pressing of multiple keys are some simple and helpful solutions. There are more complex solutions tailored to a student's specific disability that involve specialized technology, such as smaller sized keyboards for students with limited mobility, large-keyed keyboards for students with fine motor control issues, or on-screen keyboards to help students more comfortable with using mice.

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In addition to keyboards, mice are often crucial to operate in a predominantly digital world. In the event that traditional mice are inoperable by a student with orthopedic impairment, trackball mice are a decent alternative, requiring less arm movement and having a more easily manipulable control surface. There are more advanced interfaces available, including those with breath controlled clicking and eye-controlled cursor control.

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A comprehensive solution for students with orthopedic impairments that are unable to easily type is the in-built speech to text software available in nearly all devices and word processing softwares. This solution sidesteps the need for possibly expensive customized peripherals. One of the shortcomings of this solution is that it requires a relatively quiet environment free from other conversation or noise to accurately pickup speech.

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For some students with orthopedic impairment, holding a book or turning pages might be an arduous and tiring process. In this case, several solutions are available. There are small devices such as clips or specialized page turning pointers for turning pages. There are also adjustable book stands and holders to assist students in positioning and holding the book comfortably. Alternatively, there are scanners and software that can digitize text on paper, which then makes the test readable on computers via text-to-speech functionality.

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Hefley, William. “What Is an Orthopedic Impairment?” Bowen Hefley Orthopedics, 26 June 2020, www.drbillhefley.com/what-is-an-orthopedic-impairment.

Heller, K.W., & Swinehart-Jones, D. (2003). Supporting the Educational Needs of Students with Orthopedic Impairments. Physical Disabilities: Education and Related Services, 22(1), 3–24. from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ678650.pdf

Lombardi, P. (2019). Understanding and Supporting Learners with Disabilities, [eBook]. (CC- BY-NC-SA)

TheDOIT Center, (2019) Our Technology for Equal Access: Mobility Impairments, from https://youtu.be/HYz5kZgmLkE

University of Washington. “Working Together: Computers and People With Mobility Impairments | DO-IT.” Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology, University of Washington, www.washington.edu/doit/working-together-computers-and-people-mobility-impairments. Accessed 5 Aug. 2022.

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According to DLDandme.org, approximately 17% or 1.1 million of school-age students in the US receiving special education qualify under the category of speech or language impaired.

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Students with Down and William's Syndrome have difficulty with fine motor skills. Useful resources include:

Safety scissors
Text-to-speech
Special keyboards
Page flutters (foam attached to edges of page)

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Kids with William's Syndrome have sensitive ears.

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Children with William's Syndrome have strong auditory language with a wide concrete vocabulary, but they struggle with relational concepts (left vs right). Audiobooks play to these student's strengths while helping their comprehension of the text.

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Students with intellectual disabilities benefit from a word Bank provided during their lessons

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Children with intellectual disabilities often worry about what is going to happen next, and thus benefit from a visible schedule posted in the class.

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Smartphones can help provide verbal or vibratory reminders for upcoming activities, and provide visual instructions on activities.

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Wong, K. (2015, July). Assistive Technology. Retrieved from http://williams-disorder.weebly.com/assistive-technology.html

Lancioni, G. E., Singh, N. N., O’Reilly, M. F., Sigafoos, J., Alberti, G., Zimbaro, C., & Chiariello, V. (2017). Using smartphones to help people with intellectual and sensory disabilities perform daily activities. Frontiers in Public Health, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2017.00282

Editorial Team (2020, May 21). Five Ways Assistive Technology Helps Students With Down Syndrome | Resilient Educator. ResilientEducator.Com. Retrieved August 6, 2022, from https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/five-ways-assistive-technology-helps-those-with-down-syndrome/#:%7E:text=Assistive%20technology%20for%20Down%20syndrome%20has%20learned%20that%20slanted%20desks,in%20holding%20their%20pencils%20properly.

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Teachers will repeat back what the student has said while demonstrating the correct pronunciation, word form or sentence structure for the student to comprehend correctly.

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Deaf-blindness is a condition experienced by people with both auditory and visual impairments. The most well-known case is likely that of the 19th Century American author, Helen Keller.

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Accommodations for the deaf-blind can vary greatly depending on the extent of their auditory and visual impairments!

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Those learners with severe auditory and visual impairments may be best supported with an "intervenor". This person is professionally trained in tactile sign language, which involves manual finger-spelling via contact with the learner's hands.

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Learners with more severe auditory impairment and less severe visual impairment may be best accommodated through an American Sign Language interpreter. The interpreter may even be able to provide small window interpreting for those learners with partial vision in a limited visual window.

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There are a few things the teacher themselves can do to support a deaf-blind learner as well!

- Not playing any music during instruction or discussion
- Permitting preferential seating to optimize what the student can hear or see
- Staying in one place throughout instruction or discussion, as some learners have limited visual windows or may not be able to track sounds spatially well
- Allowing for extended time on assignments and assessments
- Using large and/or bolded texts / fonts
- Providing materials in Braille
- Ensuring all visual information (charts, diagrams, etc.) are not essential or can be readily interpreted
- Accepting different forms of submission according to learner choice (perhaps opting for oral presentations)

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Different technologies may be helpful to different deaf-blind learners depending on their particular situation!

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Hearing aids may help some deaf-blind learners to have a greater range of engagement in the classroom. It improves their options for where they might sit in the class as well as the type of learning groups they may be able to participate in.

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Allowing students to record a class acts as a substitution for note-taking, which can be a challenge for many deaf-blind learners. Alternatively, a note-taker could always be provided, taking the notes in whatever format that can be accessed by the learner.

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Any online material that can be read aloud, either online or an audiobook, may be helpful for learners given that the volume, frequency, and speed can be controlled to a satisfactory level for that individual learner.

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Closed captioning should be used on any video shared with the class to support deaf-blind learners that may be able to see the text from a given seat in the room.

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Deaf-blindness. Home. (n.d.). Retrieved August 6, 2022, from https://diverselearnerinformation.weebly.com/deaf-blindness.html

Teaching students with deaf-blindness. Accessible Campus. (2017, February 27). Retrieved August 6, 2022, from https://accessiblecampus.ca/tools-resources/educators-tool-kit/teaching-tips/teaching-students-with-deaf-blindness/

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Teachers utilize visuals, symbols or photos to assist students in organizing their thoughts and communicating effectively