Education is the foundation to innovation. It can provide children with tools to become productive members of society, a flourishing economy, and a strong democracy. Everyone deserves to learn, but throughout history not everyone has had the same opportunities to do so. Traditionally, students with disabilities have been alienated in general education classrooms as teachers are unable to provide them with the tools necessary to learn concepts in the same way as their non-disabled peers.
However, with the invention of certain assistive technologies, like FM sound systems, teachers are able to better engage and educate diverse learners in an inclusive classroom setting. FM sound systems help to reduce background noise and increase the teacher’s voice for students with hearing impairments, on the autism spectrum, with AD/HD, and with processing disabilities, such as Dyslexia.
Over the past decade, more people have demanded that assistive technology be included in the classroom, maintaining that price should not be a prohibitory factor. Ideally, every school would be able to cater to the needs of all of the students that attend them, but in practice, low budgets prevent schools from reaching this goal. To further complicate the situation, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, schools must provide students with a free, appropriate education. Though courts vary in their interpretation of this policy, often it means that if a school does not have assistive technologies such as the FM sound system, the school district must pay for the student to go to an out of district, often private school at extremely high costs. Investing in the creation of more accessible, low-cost assistive technologies could improve the education of a significant portion of the population. Assistive technologies in the classroom are an incredibly important area to further develop as they can engage students who would traditionally require secluded, segregated, and often, unfortunately, inferior educational services in special education classrooms.
I agree that having AT resources in schools is important for inclusion, and I think the rise in Apps for iPads and iPhones is going a long way towards making those services more affordable for school districts. As the husband of a special education teacher, I would also say to be careful labeling the education in a special ed classroom as inferior. What is likely more accurate, and probably what you meant, is that for many students, an AT device is what is needed, not the specialized services of a special education class.