Advancements in Technology That Help Children with Disabilities Essay

Advancements in Technology That Help Children with Disabilities Over the past few decades there have been major advancements in technology, especially technology that helps children with disabilities in learning and participating in the classroom. Three recent technologies being used are the cochlear implant, the Fluency Master, and the FM System. Each one helps children with special needs become able to learn and participate in school as well as children without disabilities their age. The cochlear implant is a device used by profoundly deaf people. â€Å"About 6,000 individuals have had cochlear implants, since the late 1980’s. The cochlear implant is the first, and still the only neural prosthesis that is aiding a significant portion of a disabled population† (Hear). If a child is born deaf they are usually implanted young because doing so will help them have a greater chance of being on grade level in school and not have such a large learning gap. â€Å"The earlier a deaf child receives a cochlear implant, the better the child’s speech development† (Hear). Speech development is very important to young children because they need to know how to communicate with teachers and classmates. Communication is the basis for learning. â€Å"Being aware of sounds appears to help language development, and this can help narrow the gap in language skills hearing-impaired children experience compared with their hearing peers† (Hear). Cochlear implants can greatly improve a deaf child’s developmental abilities. â€Å"We have found that when a child receives a cochlear implant, the child begins to develop language skills at about the same rate as a child with normal hearing, said researcher Dr. Mario A. Svirsky† (Hear). The cochlear implant i... ...reference/tech/techgloss.html Phonak Hearing Systems. Improving the quality of life for people with hearing impairment. http://www.phonak.com/index.cfm?do ERIC Documents. Using Assistive Technology in the Inclusive Classroom. www.cooklibrary.edu ERIC Documents. Emerging Trends in Technology for Students with Disabilities: Considerations for School Personnel. www.cooklibrary.com National Association for Speech Fluency http://www.stutteringcontrol.com/ Traditional Speech Therapy for Stuttering. http://www.rickywburk.org/speech/therapy.htm The Power Stuttering Center, http://powerstuttering.com/ The American Society for Deaf Children http://www.deafhoosiers.com/Parents/ASDCPositionPaper.pdf Rosenthal, Paula, J.D. FM Systems Help Children Learn http://www.baby-place.com/articles/fm_system.htm Hear This Organization. http://www.hearthisorg.com/