AT Needs in College for Transition Planning and Implementation in High School

After learning about the differences of ADA and IDEA, students who plan to attend college have certain implications of assistive technology to meet their specific accommodations. Dell stated, “that 50.3% of college educated students with special needs children find gainful employment, which is compared to the 30.2% of non-college graduates” (324).  Students who have special needs who attend college has risen from 16% in 1988 to 40.4% in 2000. Students who plan to attend college need to learn how to be organized and how to manage their time properly. This may come as a difficultly to many students who are not used to such skills. Students with disabilities who may need the use of an assistive technology device must be able to ask for such a device. With IDEA not assessable to them anymore and ADA now in effect students must select an appropriate device to accommodate their needs.

When selecting assistive technology there are six guidelines that should be used in order to make the technology useful. These six guidelines are:

1.     Easy to use

2.     Age appropriate

3.     The student's own choice to use it

4.     Appropriate to the environment it is used in

5.     Easily accessible

6.     Able to offer training and maintenance

References:

Dell, A; Newton, G and Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Enhancing the School Experience of Students with Disabilities. Pearson Education.