Understanding Assistive Technology in Education

By Jason Green

As technology continues to grow across society for the general population that can act as a convenience. For disabled students, assistive technology is a necessity in education and in life. Becky Woolley, an assistive technology specialist at Mesa Public Schools bridges students’ education with assistive technology in an interview with 3DA. 

Assistive technology (AT) is defined as “anything that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities and independence of persons with disabilities.” This also includes older populations and those with untransferable diseases [1].

Some common kinds of AT include recording transcription, speech-to-text technology and augmentative and alternative communication (ACC) devices. ACC devices replace spoken speech. This can include communication boards and symbols. 

AT is so broad that it goes beyond people with disabilities, but to everyone in the world as billions use technology in their everyday-lives.

Woolley has been part of Mesa Public Schools for about four years as an AT specialist. She has previous experience as a speech pathologist assistant.

Her role as an AT specialist has her assess what kind of accommodations a student needs and provides training. 

Woolley started Assistive Technology Connection, an AT consulting group with co-business partner Samantha Hagness in 2024.

In an education setting, Woolley stated, “I like to think of it as a bridge. So the way I think of assistive technology is the bridge that goes over the gap,” She said, “So often students with disabilities have a gap between grade level standards and where they're currently performing, you know, their academic achievement.”

IEPs (Individual Education Plan) help address education gaps and try to close it, but AT can further put students in a more equal position with their grade level if they are still behind. 

Woolley said AT grants students with disabilities independence by using their own tools and not having to rely on others.

She noticed that in her district of about 50,000 students, 2,000 IEPs indicated the need for AT, but Woolley said that this number could be higher.

Woolley has a close relationship with AT outside of her profession as her daughter with ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) utilizes it for tasks.

Woolley assured parents who may not understand AT that it is not a way for students to cheat, but rather a support system which requires time to learn how to utilize it. 

“You wouldn't take away a student's glasses and then ask them to, like, read the board, right,” Woolley said. “Their glasses just help them see it. It's just access.”

Yes, even glasses are considered AT.

AT’s usage in the classroom would depend on the context. Students can still be taught skills, she said.

“Just because we give them a tool to help with reading doesn't mean we're going to stop teaching them to read.”

 It is not meant to replace skills, but rather enhance them.

“Those tools [AT devices] take more time and effort to learn, and so I think it's very unlikely to be abused, because you have to put effort into it.”

Woolley said. 

Woolley found that general education teachers need more education to understand the benefits of AT compared to special education teachers because of their backgrounds.

University programs often teach special education teachers about AT, but there is still a lack of AT usage in classrooms [2]. While teachers learn about AT, they may not be trained which could contribute to students not using it as much as they should.

Sometimes the broadness of AT can cause school districts to be mistaken on what the technology is.

“I think sometimes what happens is they'll [schools] give a student, maybe just like a paper core board. So imagine just a piece of paper with icons,” Woolley said “ they'll give that to the student and say, ‘Here you go. AAC, right, we've satisfied our requirement”’

The argument is that the paper core board was that a printer created it, so therefore, it is classified as AT, but Woolley doesn't consider that to be enough 

AT will grow in the decades to come.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of 2024, there are about 2.5 billion people who use AT. However, WHO stated “With an aging global population and a rise in noncommunicable diseases, an estimated 3.5 billion people will need assistive technology by 2050 [3].”

AT, over the last five years, has become cheaper and there are a variety of applications that are free.

An example that Woolley used was Weave Chat ACC, an application that can be used on iPads, which gives students access to vocabulary words.

“Funding should not be the barrier for AT in school districts or for schools in the year 2025,” Woolley stated.

Assistive technology is here to stay.

Works Cited

[1] Assistive technology. Assistive Technology - CA Department of Rehabilitation.  https://www.dor.ca.gov/home/assistivetechnology#:~:text=Assistive%20technology%20(AT)%20is%20anything%20that%20is,aging%20populations%2C%20and%20people%20with%20non%2Dcommunicable%20diseases.

[2] Abu-Alghayth, K. (2020, November 3). Teachers’ use of assistive technology in Saudi Special Education Schools: A mixed-methods enquiry. International journal of developmental disabilities. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9351577/#:~:text=To%20answer%20the%20research%20questions,successfully%20using%20AT%20in%20classrooms 

[3] World Health Organization.  Assistive technology. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/assistive-technology