The Secret Life of the Brain

When watching the Syllable from Sound segment of the PBS video, The Secret Life of the Brain, I was struck by the message that experience with language is more important than the maturity or, in some cases, the physical condition of the brain. It was truly enlightening and inspiring to see individuals with large sections of brain tissue removed working to "remap" their brains and using existing brain tissue to relearn language skills that had been lost.

In terms of assistive technology, it is critical to understand specific areas and capabilities of brain function in order to discover where language processing breaks down so that the type of AT accommodates the specific deficit. Whether the difficulty is with particular skills involved with reading, writing, speaking or a combination of these, there are devices and computer software that can help individuals augment or relearn these skills. Assistive technology, used on a temporary or long-term basis can help individuals move beyond the limits sometimes imposed by a diagnosed disability and discover their true potential.

Assistive technology - Finding the best fit

Our reading for this week, chapter 8 of Dr. Marcia Scherer's book, Living in the State of Stuck, really made me consider the "assistive" part of the term assistive technology. In Scherer's discussion of reasons for the abandonment of assistive technology devices, she writes, "the single most significant factor associated with technology abandonment is a failure to consider the user's opinions and preferences in device selection". If the goal is to support individuals navigate their environments independently, it seems obvious that the "interests, needs, readiness, and capabilities" must be considered, but we know that this is not always the case. As educators, I think we too often make the assumption that our students with special needs will adapt to make use of the technology that we have available in the schools, rather than ensuring that the technology is suited to them.

Scherer makes the argument that:

When a person feels anxious or self-conscious about the use of a device in public, his

interactions with others can become more strained, especially since assistive

devices signal a disability and often set a person apart as appearing different.

I witnessed this with one of my students last year who was receiving Resource support for writing. He had significant difficulties putting his ideas on paper. His writing was extremely messy and disorganized with many spelling errors and he always required much more time than other students in his class to complete written work. I assumed, especially because of the positive responses I'd gotten from other students using this type of technology, that a portable Writer keyboard with word prediction software installed would be perfect for "Jim". He could use this device at his desk and complete his written work quickly and with less frustration. My other students who were already trained and using these Writers raved about how cool it was to have their own "laptop". "Jim" surprised me with his negative reaction when I first presented him with this machine. His desire to fit in and do what everyone else in his class was doing overpowered his desire to accomodate his learning disability, if the accomodation meant that the other kids would notice he was different. For children with the more invisible disabilities such as a learning disability, assistive technology may conflict with the need for social acceptance and belonging, especially for individuals with low self-esteem. I think that it is critically important to consider the individual's milieu and to work with whole classrooms and schools to better understand these disabilities and to demystify the technology that may be used to support these students.