CPAC Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center
Connecticut's Resource for Children with Disabilities Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center
Connecticut's Resource for Children with Disabilities;
Empowering and Educating Families

Technology

Assistive technology is any kind of technology that can be used to enhance the functional independence of a person with a disability. Assistive Technology (AT) devices are tools to help to enable people living with disabilities to enhance their quality of life and lead more independent lives.

Assistive technology can be low-tech, for example, a pencil gripper, to a high-tech device, such as voice recognition software. Assistive technology can be used to accommodate and/or modify specific tasks, or be incorporated into performing tasks.

Assistive Technology and the IEP

If, following an assessment, assistive technology is considered appropriate to meet a student's needs, then it must be included in the IEP. Terms such as accommodations, supports, program modifications or supplementary aids and services are some terms that may be written on the IEP to describe a piece of assistive technology.

For more information about how assistive technology can be incorporated into the IEP, view Assistive Technology and the IEP written by the Center on Technology and Disability.

The National Center for Learning Disabilities also offers information on incorporating assistive technology into the IEP for students with learning disabilities. View this content here: Assistive Technology (AT) for Students with Learning Disabilities.

Assistive Technology Options

Thousands of AT options are available to help people with disabilities eat, dress, move, see, hear, communicate, learn, work, and play. Check out Assistive Technology Solutions from the Center on Technology and Disability (CTD) to learn some of the low- and high-tech options designed to provide students with disabilities access to educational materials and instruction.

Additional Resources

  • Alliance for Technology Access (ATA)
    The Alliance for Technology Access is a national network of assistive technology centers, vendors, community-based organizations, and individuals committed to increasing the use of technology by people with disabilities and functional limitations.
  • Assistive Technology Articles
    United Cerebral Palsy's collection of articles related to AT.
  • Bookshare.org
    An accessible online library for people with print disabilities
  • Center on Technology and Disability
    Funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), the center is designed to increase the capacity of families and providers to advocate for, aquire, and implement effective assistive and instructional technology practices, devices and services.
  • Connecticut Assistive Technology Guidelines
    The 2013 Connecticut Assistive Technology (AT) Guidelines provides both school districts and Birth to Three service providers guidance to ensure that all children identified for AT services have access to AT through a framework for making decisions about the AT needs of children and students with disabilities.
  • Family Guide to Assistive Technology in Connecticut
    A useful guide to the assistive technology options which ate available within the State of Connecticut.
  • LearningAlly.org
    LearningAlly provides audio textbooks and delivers parent services, webinars and tools for managing learning differences.
  • National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials
    The National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) booklet provides information on how to determine whether a student needs AIM, the type of specialized format the student needs, how to access the materials for the student and what supports the student needs to use AIM. The document is also available in Spanish.
  • The New England Assistive Technology Marketplace (NEAT)
    NEAT is about access to information, products, equipment, and to the manufacturers and vendors of equipment. NEAT was formed because limited access to equipment and devices that can minimize the effects of disabilities is, in itself, a disability.
  • Tip of the Month on AAC
    Each month, a new tip on accessing AAC is posted, with 4 years worth of archived tips.
  • Trace Research and Development Center
    Interdisciplinary research development and resource center on universal design, product accessibility, technology, and disability.