Computer Technology & Special Ed Children Wall, T. & Siegel, J. (1994, March

This article describes ways in which computer technology helps in integration of special-needs students in regular classes and in the mainstream student population more generally. Computer technology is described as an indispensable and sometimes unexpectedly helpful tool for the integration of physically and/or mentally handicapped students in ordinary classrooms. The ability of computers to offer visual, auditory and interactive modes of computer-based teaching devices can help special-needs students not only compensate for their handicap and explore various subjects in detail but also help them achieve mainstream performance in traditional classroom settings.

Citing the special-education advocacy movement's affiliation with civil-rights advocacy traditions, Wall and Siegel are at pains to note that high technology is essential to the mainstreaming process for students with special needs. This is because a countermovement that discourages mainstreaming and inclusion of special-education students holds that students on the normal track suffer when distracting attention is given to those with special needs. Accordingly, computers and the special accommodative devices attached to various pieces of high-tech equipment are meant to act as a facilitator for the mainstreaming process. Word processing so

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. Not only that, the earlier such use is instituted, the better. This reaction is in the background of the report by Heckman and Rike on the Westwood Early Learning Center in Woodstock, Ill., where learning-disabled preschoolers and kindergarteners are essentially being prepared for mainstream integration as early in their lives as possible. This owes something to research that encourages what could be called "early-decision" adaptive and integrative strategies, and at Westwood, the secret to making this work is that special-needs students and teachers have absolutely equal access to all the facilities, equipment, and the like that are available to their mainstream counterparts in the school district. The result is that special-needs students are not simply dumped into the mainstream without preplanning and carefully designed programs, including computers. Undoubtedly, the Westwood results would not at all be possible were such access denied. Particularly at a young age, when children can see emotionally when they are deprived of "toys" that mainstream children have, equal access to equipment is essential. Meanwhile, with emphasis on social, physical, and emotional development as much as on development of learning strategies per
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Approximate Word count = 3137
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)

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