- Assistive Technology Plan - Assignment Example

Research ability is limited due to his physical disability, and his performance in social science and liberal arts courses is below average. He has a need for more physical activity, but it has proven difficult to make this happen. Due to his lack of involvement in extra-curricular activities, James has a hard time making and maintaining strong relationships with his peers. He is easily angered and frustrated at not being to participate in some everyday activities, yet he appears to be losing the desire to do so altogether as well.

His physical skills continue to deteriorate, as he does not exhibit much physical exertion at all during the normal course of a day. James has two older brothers and a caring mother and father at home. All indications are that the family structure provides a nurturing environment that has contributed greatly to James’ successes to this point. The older brothers have always assisted with James when they can and they spend a great deal of time with him, while being permitted to carry on with their daily lives independent of the family as well.

Goals of the AT Plan: The Assistive Technology Plan for James involves providing him with devices that will assist his researching and writing skills moving forward. In addition, some devices should be considered that encourage James to become more physically active and more socially involved. Finally, the AT Plan will not neglect his current strengths in the fields of math and science and, as such, will include devices aimed at furthering his interest and ability to excel in these disciplines (Beard, Carpenter, and Johnston, 2011). . Materials and Methods Potential Barriers/Missed Opportunities AT Solutions Example: Printed textbook or worksheets Student with a visual impairment has difficulty seeing small text.

This student would benefit from using a text-to-speech program, such as Kurzweil 3000 (http://www.kurzweiledu.com/k12.html) so that text can be converted to files and read aloud to the student.  Further, the student could benefit from having an electronic magnifier for text-based resources used in the learning environment (Beard, Carpenter, & Johnston, 2011, p. 75). 1.Lab reports and mathematical formulas  Because James has difficult with mobility, it is often difficult for him to manipulate lab reports and math formulas to see what is expected of him.

A device that magnifies visual aids to the point it is more accessible to James would be beneficial to him as he strives to continue to develop his math and science skills. 2.Reading social science and liberal arts materials, particularly when doing research Because it is not only difficult for James to hold reading material for long periods of time, it is also cumbersome for him to read large amounts of material on the computer, microfilm, or via another medium. There are devices that convert text to voice.

This could prove beneficial to James so that once he finds material relevant to a particular topic he is interested in researching, he can better focus his attention by listening to the text and taking notes as needed. This would eliminate his need to try to manipulate texts, the computer, or papers to suit his physical limitations. 3.  Computer Typing It is quite labor intensive for James to type. In addition, it is even more difficult for him