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Low and Mid Tech Tools for Students with Special Needs
Presented by Judith Sweeney, Onion Mountain Technology
October 2000.
Information reproduced by permission of the author.
In this session, Ms. Sweeney introduced the audience to a full range of low, mid, and high tech tools (including the use of color, hand held devices, computers, and assistive software) designed to help students function more independently and successfully. Included in the presentation was information on matching needs and strengths to tools; establishing an entire collection of tools to meet variable needs, tasks, and environments; and finding out where to get the tools as well as the necessary training. Ms. Sweeney has given Infinitec permission to share some of this information with our all-learners readers. Please see the Onion Mountain Technology website or contact Judith Sweeney for more information about this presentation.
- The Assistive Technology Continuum: This slide provides an excellent summary of Ms. Sweeney's approach to solving learning problems using the appropriate level and form of technology. To view this slide, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded for free. The slide lists tasks, educational needs, and environments that a student with special needs may encounter, and the appropriate type of low, mid, and high tech tools which might solve problems the student might face.
- Assistive Technology for Special Kids: This article is a good high-level overview of the current state of assistive technology for children with special needs. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.
- LoTTIE Kits: LoTTIE stands for "Low Tech Tools for Inclusive Education", and the LoTTIE Kits which are available from Onion Mountain Technology contain a wide range of low and mid tech assistive technology tools for use in student evaluations and trials. The tools include:
- assistive pens and pencils and grips
- a talking calculator and a money calculator
- highlighter tapes, page markers, arrows, and tabs
- an electronic spell checker/dictionary
- a digital recorder
- a specialized ruler
- rubber stamp sets
- personal whiteboard set
- plastic writing guides
- raised line paper
- math tables and grids designed by Ms. Sweeney
- a magnifier
- colored filters for reading and copying tasks
- a notebook with curriculum and evaluation ideas, product information, and ways to share information about these tools with other staff members and parents.
- Colored filters for reading/writing problems: The use of colored filters has helped some students with decoding and handwriting problem overcome a number of visual perceptual problems including letter reversals and omissions, poor fluency, blurred or moving letters, poor spacing, and general illegibility. The filters are placed over the text for reading or copying tasks from books or papers. In addition, Ms. Sweeney recommends experimenting with different colored text and background in reading and writing computer software such as Write OutLoud and eReader. For more information on the use of color filters, see:
