MYTH: Students won't have assistive technology in the real world so there is no reason to provide it in school.

 

Truth: Every type of assistive technology available to students is also available in the real world for adults. Unfortunately, many students leave schools with IEPs and other records that don't fully support transition into post-secondary settings.

 

During the K-12 years, students should be trained in how to problem-solve, identify, and obtain assistive technologies. They also need to be trained to become self-advocates, to be able to communicate to others what supports they need in order to be successful adults.

 

The provision of AT and related services through quality IEPs is a critical part of a FAPE that prepares students with disabilities to be successful in post-secondary settings.

MYTH: Assistive technology makes students with disabilities dependent on the technology and prevents them from learning to do the tasks on their own.

 

Truth: The point of assistive technology is to give students the tools they need to be able to do tasks on their own as much as possible. Denying them those tools increases dependency on peers, educators, parents, and society in general.

 

All of us depend on tools every day. We depend on mobile devices, we depend on the Internet, we depend on appliances in our homes, at work, in the community. Students with disabilities need additional tools. Identifying the tools that can increase their independence in doing school work, in working with others, in social integration, is a primary part of providing FAPE.

MYTH: There is no reason to provide assistive technology that is not allowed on statewide assessments.

 

Truth: Instruction should always be designed so students achieve the content of the grade-level standards. The more students learn, the better they do on assessments, even without some of the tools they used during instruction.

 

This myth often comes up around reading and tools like text-to-speech. Research shows that many students who struggle with reading and use text-to-speech tools in the classroom, increasing their language comprehension, improve on reading assessments even when those text-to-speech tools are not available.

 

MYTH: Students who use assistive technologies are getting an unfair advantage, which is like cheating.

 

Truth: Assistive technologies reduce the barriers to learning and independence that are a result of a disability. IEP teams are required, by law, to analyze the effects of the disability on the entire child and consider what items, tools, or devices can be used to minimize those effects. This doesn't give them an advantage, it is instead an effort towards leveling the playing field.

 

In addition, many tools that may be assistive technology for students with disabilities can be provided to all students through a Universal Design for Learning framework.

 

There is a significant achievement gap between students with disabilities and typical peers. This gap would not exist if students with disabilities were getting an unfair advantage.

 

 

MYTH: Using assistive technology decreases motivation and the student quits trying to learn.

 

Truth: The effective use of appropriate assistive technology increases the student's engagement in the instruction by removing barriers to engagement. The more successful students are at learning the more motivated they are to learn.

 

For example, a student who is blind may be able to do research and successfully complete writing assignments by using a refreshable braille display and a computer system. The successful use of this technology does not decrease their motivation to learn; it increases their motivation.

 

If you do not give students with disabilities the tools needed to be successful in the classroom then they may disengage, and that leads to a decrease in motivation.

MYTH: Classroom teachers do not need to be at the meeting to discuss assistive technology. After all, they don't know anything about AT and have nothing to add to the AT consideration process.

 

Truth: Federal law on FAPE requires classroom teachers to be a part of the IEP team, and it is the IEP team that is required to do the considerations around assistive technology. If the teachers know nothing about AT then the school, district, and assistive technology professionals should be providing professional development around assistive technology and how to support students with disabilities in the general classroom.

 

FAPE does not stand for free accessible public education; it stands for free appropriate public education. Assistive technology and specially designed instruction must be fully integrated throughout the general curriculum. That requires everyone to be fully involved in the IEP process.

MYTH: Augmentative/alternative communication (AAC) is the only area you need to consider on the IEP.

 

Truth: Federal law states that assistive technology 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 the functional capabilities of children with disabilities.” (IDEA 2004)

 

IDEA provides legal guidance on supporting students with a number of disabilities. Communication (and speech) is only one of the many areas the various disabilities can impact the functional capabilities of a child. The IEP team must consider how all functional capabilities of the child have been impacted by the disability and include that as part of the AT consideration.

MYTH: Students who are provided a laptop, mobile device, or other one-to-one technology do not need additional assistive technology.

 

Truth: IEP stands for individual education program. Assistive technologies for any child are those items, devices, or products that an IEP team has decided are needed by a child to increase the child's functional capabilities that have been impacted by a disability.

 

The IEP teams AT consideration is based on the individual needs of that child. One-to-one technology systems are not individual, they are universal. All students get the same technology. That provision of technology does not in any way lessen the legal requirements of the IEP team to consider the child's individual needs.

 

IEPs must be transferable. That means if a student transfers to a different school, the student's IEP must have all the information needed for the new school to provide FAPE. IEPs are not developed based on what a school makes available to students, they are developed based on a particular student and what that student needs for FAPE.

MYTH: Assistive technology should only be used by students receiving Tier 2 or Tier 3 services in a multi-tiered system of supports.

 

Truth: It is important in a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) that all Tiers of instruction are accessible and responsive. Any needed assistive technologies should be fully integrated into the core instruction of Tier 1 so that decisions to supplement or increase the intensity of instruction for a student is based on a learning need and not a barrier caused by the lack of needed assistive technologies or accessible instructional materials.

MYTH: Listening to audio-books make it harder to learn to read.

 

Truth: According to IDEA, students with disabilities must be provided accessible instructional materials. If a student has a reading disability then appropriate accessible materials must be identified in the IEP and then provided by the school and district to ensure FAPE for that student.

 

For many students, the use of audio-books can increase language comprehension which can, in turn, increase reading comprehension, resulting in higher reading test scores.

MYTH: IEP teams do not need to consider reading or writing tools if they are being provided universally to all students in a Universal Design for Learning setting.

 

Truth: IEPs are based on a student's needs, not on what the school or district does or does not have available for that student. The fact that an item or product a student needs for FAPE is universally available for all students does not change the IEP considerations. If the student needs an item or product as assistive technology then it needs to be in the IEP.

 

IEPs must be transferable. That means if a student transfers to a different school, say in a different state, then the student's IEP must have all the information needed for the new school to provide FAPE.

MYTH: It is okay for the IT department to block accessibility features in computers and mobile devices for students with disabilities.

 

Truth: Federal law requires that local education agencies (school districts) provide FAPE for all students with disabilities. IEPs are the vehicle used to describe and implement FAPE. It is important for IEP teams to fully consider all of the assistive technologies, accommodations, and accessible instructional materials needed by that child to fully participate and make progress in the general curriculum.

 

Once the IEP is completed the school is responsible for its provision. How that is done is up to the school and district, but federal guidelines state that the intent of IDEA is for students with disabilities to be fully included in the general classroom setting and progress in the general curriculum.

 

If, according to the IEP, a student requires accessibility features to be available on a device then the school must find a way to do it. How will be up to the school.