Empowering Rural Students with Disabilities Through Assistive Technology

So What's a Rural School Leader to Do?

Assistive technology devices and services can no longer be minimized or ignored by school leaders. The legal requirements are well established, parent awareness is growing, and the benefits to students with disabilities are potentially very great. Consequently, there are several courses that the proactive school administrator might pursue relative to assistive technologies.

First: School leaders should review their policy manuals to ensure that assistive technology devices and/or services will be made available to appropriately qualifying special education students as prescribed by law [34 CFR 300.308].

Second: To ensure that the district's policy is followed, procedures should be developed for answering the "who, what, when, where, and how" questions associated with providing assistive technology devices/services. Who should be considered for assistive technology devices/services and when? What is the referral process? Which devices and/or services should be considered? How should assistive technology assessments be conducted and by whom? How should subsequent decisions about devices and/or services be made and by whom? When and where should assistive devices be made available (are students allowed to take them home, on field trips, to extracurricular events, etc.)? How will devices be funded? What kinds of training will be required for students, parents, teachers, etc. to use the equipment appropriately? What kinds of follow-up will be undertaken to determine benefit, need for continued use, upgrading, repair, and/or replacement of equipment? These are all questions that should be addressed in procedural guidelines.

Third: The arena of assistive technologies covers a wide array of equipment. These devices are often quite sophisticated, requiring broad knowledge and expertise. Many larger school districts employ assistive technology specialists for coordinating assessments, training, and other services. However, smaller school districts typically do not have such personnel on their staff. Consequently, it might be wise for forward-thinking school leaders of smaller districts to work with neighboring school districts to develop the capacity to meet this need. Alternatively, special education coordinators might identify a staff person to pursue additional staff development in the area of assistive technologies. Speech pathologists, physical therapists, or occupational therapists are likely candidates because they are probably already familiar with some assistive technologies. These staff can serve as specialists to coordinate assistive technology assessments. Other personnel within and outside the district should be identified as potential participants on assistive technology assessment teams. Participants with needed expertise are often found in universities, hospitals, intermediate educational service centers, state departments of education, state schools for students with various disabilities, or in larger school districts. Technicians and carpenters may be needed to modify/repair furniture or equipment; and when such modifications or repairs are made by district personnel, school leaders should check insurance liability policies to confirm adequate coverage in the event that a child becomes injured in a modified or repaired piece of equipment or furniture.

Fourth: School leaders should be proactive in seeking out resources other than human expertise. One resource to investigate is an assistive technology lending library or preview center. These libraries are most frequently located in hospitals, education service centers, universities, or state departments of education. Their purpose is to allow people who work with the disabled to preview and/or "check out" assistive devices on a trial basis. In this way assistive technology assessment teams have the opportunity to try out various devices and evaluate which, if any, is appropriate for a given student. Since these libraries have little duplication of devices, schools are typically able to keep the trial equipment for only a limited period of time, and more permanent solutions will need to be pursued; however, they are an excellent resource for piloting possibilities. These preview centers are also good "vision builders" for teachers and administrators who are unfamiliar with the range of technologies that fall under the category of "assistive devices."

At these centers educators can see computer modifications (modified keyboards, joy sticks, pointers, switches, etc.), speech synthesizers and other augmentative communication devices, FM sending microphones/receiving headphones, various software for the learning disabled and others, adapted toys for younger children with disabilities, mobility devices, environmental controls (adapted remote controls for TV, lights, etc.), various catalogues, and much more.

Fifth: School leaders should identify potential financial resources to address the costs of the purchase and maintenance of assistive devices. School budgets are by no means the only source of funds for assistive services and devices. In some cases, the manufacturer of the device in question can help to locate funding. In others, vocational rehabilitation or the state department of education may be of assistance. At a local level, civic organizations such as the Rotary, Jaycees, Kiwanis, Lions, Masons, Shriners, and Optimists are potential resources, as are churches, businesses, and veterans' groups. A local bank may have trust funds specifically earmarked for those with disabilities, for those who may be of a particular religious persuasion or ethnicity, or for those who are in need of assistive equipment. In some cases, parents' insurance policies will cover the costs of devices for their children. All of these options should be investigated. Administrators should also keep in mind that when outside funds are used for devices, ownership of those devices may become less clear (do they belong to the child or the school?). Further, nonschool ownership of devices does not absolve the district of responsibility for possible maintenance, repair, or replacement costs.

Sixth: Providing broad-based, awareness-level staff development opportunities is another issue to be considered by administrators. Particularly at this time of increased commitment to a greater inclusion of special education students in regular education classes, it is important for teachers to be aware of assistive technologies that could help their students who have disabilities. Of course, such staff development opportunities should be well considered and "balanced" in perspective. The earlier discussion of "best" versus "appropriate" devices is particularly relevant when considering staff development to acquaint educators with assistive technology possibilities. On the one hand, assistive devices should be approached conservatively. Schools can ill afford to be extravagant. On the other hand, teaching staff must be sufficiently knowledgeable about assistive technologies to be able to refer students appropriately for assistive assessments.

Seventh: Assistive technology is a controversial topic. School leaders should be aware that certain issues are currently in a state of "limbo" and may have significant impact on schools in the future. These issues concern which devices schools are required to provide. In the past such devices as hearing aids, eyeglasses, wheelchairs, and prosthetics were deemed medical in nature and were, therefore, not the responsibility of the schools to provide, maintain, repair, or replace. However, because of the educational relevance of these devices, this position is currently on 'shakier ground.' Superintendents and other school leaders should be aware that these devices potentially could be requested by parents. The proactive school leader will investigate the status of these requests regionally and carefully think through the district's position prior to receiving such requests.

Next page: Assistive Technology Resources