AT in the Classroom

Listed below are examples of AT systems that can be used in the classroom from the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI).

 

 

Mobility

For students with physical disabilities, these items may be considered to enable students to get around the classroom and school environment.

 

  • walkers
  • grab rails
  • manual or powered wheelchairs
  • powered recreational vehicles
  • building modifications and adaptations

 

Vision

For students with vision impairments, these items may be necessary to navigate the school.

 

  • white canes
  • electronic image sensors
  • telescopic aids

 

Visual Aids

Enable students with visual impairment to gain information from educational activities.

 

  • increased contrast
  • enlarged images
  • tactile and auditory materials
  • books on tape
  • eye glasses
  • magnifier
  • large print books
  • low-vision aids
  • screen magnifier
  • screen magnification software
  • closed-circuit TV (CCTV)
  • screen reader
  • Braille keyboard or notetaker
  • Braille translator software
  • Braille printer/embosser
  • Brailled materials
  • scanners
  • optical character readers
  • reading machine

 

Assistive Listening

Assists students in gaining auditory-presented educational information.

 

  • hearing aids
  • classroom amplification
  • personal FM system
  • captioning
  • signaling device
  • TDD/TTY (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf/TeleTYpewriter)
  • screen flash on computer
  • phone amplification

 

Augmentative Communication

Assists students in effectively communicating when spoken communication is not effective.

 

  • communication boards and wallets with pictures, words, or letters
  • eye gaze board
  • simple voice-output device
  • electronic communication devices
  • speech synthesizers for typing
  • communication-enhancement software
  • computer-based communication systems

 

Reading

Adaptations that make reading materials accessible.

 

  • change in text size and color, spacing, background color
  • use of pictures with text
  • adapted page turning
  • book stands
  • talking electronic dictionary
  • scanner with talking word processor
  • electronic textbooks
  • highlighted text
  • recorded material
  • multimedia presentation formats
  • books on tape, CD, or MP3
  • optical character reader
  • Braille books
  • CCTV
  • screen reader/text reader

 

Writing

Adapted modes to produce text material.

 

  • pencil with adaptive grip
  • adapted paper (e.g., raised lines, highlighting)
  • slant board
  • typewriter
  • portable word processor
  • talking word processing
  • computer with word processing
  • word processing with spell/grammar checking
  • word prediction
  • electronic dictionary/ thesaurus/spell checker
  • word cards/ word book/ word wall
  • voice-recognition software
  • Braille keyboard or note taker
  • Braille printer

 

Computer Access

Means for students to access the computer. This may include input and output.

 

  • keyboard with built-in accessibility options on standard computer
  • key guard
  • arm support
  • track ball/track pad
  • joystick with onscreen keyboard
  • alternate keyboard
  • mouth stick/head pointer
  • head mouse/head master, tracker
  • touch screen
  • voice-recognition software
  • switch with Morse code
  • switch with scanning
  • screen reader
  • word prediction/abbreviated expansion

 

(Source: Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI) Assistive Technology Resource Guide)