Why is technology important?

Why is assistive technology important?

• Assistive technology and children with disabilities.

• Answer:

  Today's world is very technology oriented. We have progressed way past electric typewriters to having whole international networks of computers that allow text documents to speed around the world in just seconds. The technology that we live with today is powerful in ways that its predecessors never were. This is great news for persons with disabilities. Today's high technology systems, through the addition of software and hardware, can take on extra processing tasks and become adaptive. This allows a person with a disability to use a system too. In the past, many simple devices were used to create greater independence for individuals with disabilities. In addition to devices to help with grooming, dressing and food preparation tasks, people learned to use magnifying glasses, transfer devices, ramps and bathroom adaptations. All of these devices continue to be very important to independence. However, the possibilities for personal independence, adventure and employment seem limitless given the capability that today's technology rich world offers. There are computers that allow a person to word process with a single switch activated by an eye blink...or a page scanner attached to a computer that copies a page of print and converts it into synthesized speech so that a person with blindness can "read" it...or microprocessor-based devices that allow a non-speaking person to ask and answer questions and participate in a speaking world. Perhaps you have even seen someone in a monoski...a device that allows a person paralyzed from the waist down to charge down a slalom ski course. Today, computers are essential to communication, information management, employment, banking, recreation and video games, even grocery shopping and buying airplane tickets. Having access to technology puts people with disabilities in the mainstream of life, prepares them for employment and interaction, builds their self-confidence, allows them to make choices and exercise control of their options. Assistive technology means that people with disabilities are the beneficiaries of the technology revolution too! The key to successful use of assistive technology is creating a "good match." It is important to come up with a good fit between the wide array of devices that are now available, the set of physical, cognitive and sensory challenges faced by the individual with the disability and the tasks or personal goals that that individual wants to accomplish. The result should be greater self-reliance or control over some aspect of daily living or the ability to participate in everyday living in a meaningful way.