Should Assistive Technology Be Disabled Students With Disabilities Education Act ( Idea )

On December 3, 2004, President Bush signed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. This Act is also known as Public Law 108-446. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the law that secures special education services for children with disabilities from the time they are born until they graduate from high school. The law was re-authorized by Congress in 2004. This re-authorization has driven a series of changes in the way special education services are executed. These changes are continuing today and they affect special education and related services across the United States.

An assistive technology device can be an item, software system, or piece of equipment used to increase, improve, or maintain the functional capabilities of a student with disabilities. It can help a person with a disability complete tasks they need to perform on a daily basis. Assistive technology services serve to directly assist students with disabilities in the selection or use of an assistive technology device. For some students with disabilities, assistive technology is important because they would not be able to benefit form their educational program. Assistive technology is a part of the Individualized Education Plan for each student. The educational team for the student must ask if there is a device that will improve their functional capabilities. If the educational team discovers that the child could benefit from a device that fits that description, the school district is required to provide the service along with training to use the device (Lewis, 1998).

By law, public school systems are responsible for providing each and every student with a disability with a free and appropriate public education. When IDEA was passed, increased emphasis was placed on where and when students with disabilities were educated. Because of this, the focus became access to classrooms and assistive technology was emphasized. AT has a very important role in the educational world. It is used constantly in special education and throughout the IEP process to assist and benefit students with disabilities

In 1991 the Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was replaced by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This law was passed to provide free and appropriate public education to every child with a disability. It requires that each child with a disability “have access to the program best suited to that child’s special needs which is as close as possible to a normal child’s educational program” (Martin, 1978). The Individualized education program (IEP) was developed to help provide a written record of students’ needs and procedures for each child that receives special education services. The IEP will list all the services to be provided, the student's performance level, academic performance, and

In this artifact, I researched for alternative technological tool(see Assistive technology.doc) for students with disabilities to represent how technology could be a great assistance for them. This assignment represents how technology could be used by all students no matter what they need. Therefore, in this assignment, I looked for tools and ways to implement access to technology resources for students who have neuromuscular difficulties, and/or difficulties of counting with her finger to show that there are varieties of technological tool for all the needs.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 was amended and reauthorized by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 (IDEA ’97) by President Clinton on June 4, 1997 (Drasgow, Bradley, & Shriner, 1999). The next reauthorization of this act was in 2004, still known as IDEA. Zirkel (2011) states that the 2004 amendments strengthened the 1997 amendments by removing “when appropriate,” from context making the language more straightforward by requiring the IEP team to consider using positive intervention. The 2004 reauthorization also emphasized ensuring access for students with disabilities to the general education curriculum to the maximum extent to meet their development goals (Fallon, Zhang, & Kim, 2011).

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, also known as IDEA was originally created in 1975 to ensure that children with disabilities were given the opportunity to receive a free and adequate education. IDEA has been revised and many times since 1975, the most recent being in 2004. IDEA consists of parts A, B, C, and D. Part A outlines the basic foundation, and defines terms used throughout the act. Part B outlines the responsibilities of schools to educate students aged 3-21.

The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) 2004 mandates that a child with educational disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment appropriate to meet their specific educational needs. IDEA 2004 protects and decides the child‘s placement that will be determined by a professional Individual Educationla Plan (IEP) team. IEP’s provide a support system within the least restrictive environment to maximize success for exceptional learners. There are a plethora of techniquoes which support the child’s learning needs in a conducive environment. To achive these goals two seperate learning environemnts in autsim and intellectual disabiltiies (ID) were observed.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) originated from an act that was first enacted in 1975 which was later expanded to IDEA in 1990 and was amended a few times into its current form in 2011. “This legislation was designed to ensure that all children with disabilities receive an appropriate education through special education and related services(Vaughn, 2018, p. 7).” The major provisions that should be known and followed by districts, schools, and teachers to ensure that all students are incorporated into an appropriate setting in the school system are:

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a United States federal law that consents of four categories outlining how public agencies and individual states ensures that students with various disabilities are provided a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) that is conditioned to their specific needs regardless of their ability. This act mandates tailored services, educational modifications, and the main objective for these children throughout the nation is to supply them with the same possibility of getting an education as those who do not have a disability until the age of 21.

The use of technology in educating children with special needs has widely grown in the past few decades, and has since has changed the way people with disabilities live, work, and learn” (Winzer, 2002, p. 98). Individuals with special needs are unique and all have different areas in which they need assistance. Due to the advancements in assistive technology, computer programs, software, and other technology tools, have helped people to find useful and easier ways to become educated.

Technological advances have increased access to the curriculum for students with learning disabilities. Assistive technology are the devices and services used to maintain or improve the capabilities of a student with a disability (Dell, Newton, & Petroff, 2011). Through these technologies, students with learning disabilities are able to complete tasks in the classroom that they were otherwise, unable to achieve. Prior to the availability of assistive technology, a student who was unable to use their hands or arms, would not have been able to write or type on a computer in the classroom. Additionally, students unable to read because of visual disabilities, or reading disabilities such as dyslexia, had a difficult time accessing information in the traditional classroom setting.

“The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do what they want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people learn things they didn 't think they could learn before, and so in a sense it is all about potential.” –Steve Ballmer Technology can be very empowering especially for children who are exceptional. In understanding both Assistive Technology and Instructional technology one may begin to see how they can both beneficial to student with disabilities.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law that was passed to help and support eligible students with disabilities. Schools who receive federal funds are required to evaluate students suspected of having a disability and serve the educational needs of such students. IDEA or Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is the current name that was passed in 2004, however, this law was based in a law that was created in 1975 named The Education for All Handicapped Children Act. The name was changed but the essential purpose has not change, it’s primary goals are; to protect the rights of children with disabilities, and to give parents a voice in their child’s education. This law protects individuals from birth to age 21. One of the many specific requirements of the law is that students with disability be educated in a Least Restrictive Environment (LEP)

The use of technology in educating children with special needs has widely grown in the past few decades. Individuals with special needs are unique and all have different areas in which they need assistance. Due to the advancements in assistive technology, computer programs, software, and other technology tools, it has become much easier for people to find useful and easier ways to become educated. Because of this, “technology has changed the way people with disabilities live, work, and learn.” (Winzer,98)