Assistive technology is the term used to describe devices that are used by children and adults with mental retardation and other disabilities to compensate for functional limitations and to enhance and increase learning, independence, mobility, communication, environmental control, and choice. It also refers to direct services that assist individuals in selecting, acquiring, or using such devices (The Arc, 1994). Specifically, the user may communicate with others, engage in recreational and social activities, learn, work, control the environment, and increase his or her independence in daily living skills with the assistance of technology (Copel, 1991). For students with physical disabilities, there have been augmented keyboards, touch pads, voice commands, and other assistive devices to help individuals master the physical requirements of computers (Siegel, Good, & Moore, 1996). Computers have been a major component of recent communication devices by nonverbal or limited-verbal individuals (Bigge, 1991).Assistive technology is used in several ways by individuals with mental retardation. The areas of uses for assistive technology are communication, environmental control, mobility, education, daily living, employment, and recreation. The following is a list of examples adapted from The Arc (1994; formerly Association of Retarded Citizens).
Communication: For individuals with expressive disorders due to physical or cognitive disabilities, there are several communication devices that replace or supplement the voice or hand/motion communication of an individual. Computerized communication devices with vocal output are called augmentative and alternative communication devices.
Environmental control devices: These help individuals to control their environment and are important to people with severe or multiple disabilities or cognitive disabilities, whose ability to move about in the environment and to turn electrical appliances on or off is limited. Assistive technology allows a person to control electrical appliances, audio/video equipment (such as home entertainment systems) or to do something as basic as lock and unlock doors........................
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