UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 30, Page 1
May 7, 1992
High-tech designs empower those with special needs

     The age of technology is empowering those with disabilities.
Machines now can read books aloud, and textured or vocal computer
keyboards are available for the visually impaired. Portable devices
can prompt the memory of persons who are severely mentally retarded.
Wheel chairs can be steered by whatever part of the body is able to
move, including the tongue. And computer keyboards can be activated by
laser-like lights attached to the ear, an eyebrow switch or by blowing
through a straw.
     New inventions, which are constantly being refined, are
increasing the independence and employability of people with physical
handicaps, mental retardation, autism, learning disabilities or speech
and language impairments, according to Al Cavalier, associate
professor of educational studies and director of the Center for
Assistive and Instructional Technology. The center is jointly
supported by the College of Education and the University's
Instructional Technology Center.
     However, along with the new technology and the trend to include
all students with disabilities in the classroom, has come a heightened
need to train teachers and other professionals, many of whom received
degrees before this technology was available, Cavalier said.
     The College of Education is answering this need. With a
three-year, $195,000 grant from the U.S Department of Education's
Office of Special Education Programs, the college offers 10 stipends a
year to teachers who work toward a master's degree in special
education technology.
     The teachers learn how to assess a student's needs, how to match
and use new technology with students with disabilities and how to
teach and integrate exceptional children into the regular classroom.
Before completing their degrees, they also obtain practical experience
in the schools.
     Cavalier's career has spanned a period of extraordinary changes
in opportunities for people with disabilities. After receiving his
doctorate in psychology from the University of Alabama, where he also
was a graduate fellow in the Developmental Disabilities Training
Program, he directed the Bio-engineering Program at the national
headquarters of the Association of Retarded Citizens.
     At that time, placing children with special needs into regular
classrooms was not an option, he recalls. Teachers were ill-equipped
to interact with students with disabilities, so the problem was
"solved" by exclusion, rather than inclusion. In 1975, landmark
federal legislation was passed, mandating that all children receive a
"free and appropriate education."
     At first, the legislation was interpreted to mean segregated
facilities for children with special needs, but a contemporary
interpretation includes these children in regular classrooms whenever
possible. Technological advances have made this a viable option for
many students, Cavalier says.
     Technology has changed education overall, not only for children
with disabilities, but for everyone, Cavalier said. For example,
interactive videodiscs add new dimensions to classroom teaching. A
Shakespearean drama springs to life, and the computer can provide rich
background on the historical context of the play with the click of a
mouse. In earth sciences, students can observe the beginning of a
tornado and then study the consequences if certain natural forces are
altered.
     An extensive reference collection is housed in the college's
center, including journal articles, reports, books in an on-line
catalog, educational software and videodiscs. Available for use by
undergraduates and graduate students, faculty and staff, these
resources also aid research on educational technology issues.
     Ralph Ferretti, associate professor, and Cindy Okolo, assistant
professor, both of educational studies, and Joanne Jennings, center
coordinator, also are active in the planning and functions of the
center.
     "In the classroom, everyone profits from the new technology, but
for students with disabilities, computers have provided cognitive,
physical and social access that would otherwise not be possible. With
technology and skilled professionals, productive lives for people with
disabilities begin in the classroom and continue in the workplace and
beyond," Cavalier says.
     -Sue Swyers Moncure