Learning+log+5

Learning log #5

I found these videos to be really interesting. I never realized how many devices, equipment, etc. that are available to those with disabilities. In fact, I keep learning about new devices and equipment everytime I watch a video or read an article. People with and without disabilities are living much longer and fuller lives because of these technological advances. Children who were believed to never be able to walk, do. And children who were believed to never talk or communicate with others, do now, thanks to the amazing technology that we have.

I work with students with varying disabilities including TBI (traumatic brain injury), ODD (oppositional defiant disorder), ED (emotionally disturbed), ADHD, Mild MR, Mood disorder, and math/reading specific LD. My students are also 14-21 years of age and are pretty "street smart". It's not okay for them to go to a "special" school. They know that it makes them different from others and they feel as though they are stupid or "slow". They deal with "regular kids" on a regular basis within their communities, which makes it that much harder for them accept their disabilities. To them it is different when a kid had a physical disability because it's not their fault that they were born that way. But with some of them, who cannot read or have very low reading levels, they feel like it is their fault or the school's fault, which in turn leads them to become disconnected, angry, or fed up with school. Most people that talk to them or interact with them on a basic level, don't realize that they have a disability. This alone makes them a much higher at-risk group because they are much more easily "passed up" by agencies because they look and appear to be too high functioning, when in fact, these are the kids that are more susceptible to the negative impacts that their community can have on them. For example, it would be much easier, in most cases, for them to turn to the streets and involve themselves in illegal activity than it would be for them to try and find a job on their own, especially if they are unable to read. If they do not have the right supports for positive and successful employment, then they are much more likely to succumb to the streets to earn their living.

Aside from building disability awareness, which I believe to be very important, I think that if I could invent some sort of device, it would be similar to a reading pen. The reading pens that I have seen on the internet, or heard about, appear a bit bulky, too bulky especially for outside of school. For students who have the social piece to deal with, like my students, I would like to create a device much smaller (one that looks like a regular pen). Teachers and related service providers can talk to and counsel students about their disabilities but still not "reach" that child enough in order for them to feel comfortable about his or her disability, therefore, I think that it would be a great idea for students, such as mine, to have somethng more disguised, so that they wouldn't feel like they stuck out like sore thumbs.

I picture the pen being of "normal" pen size and have the following capabilities: read any written maerial, whether it be a job application, apartment lease, mall directory, etc.; be able to define any words that they may not understand (including more complex sentences); connect to some sort of PDA, where they could use various software in order to help them create complete sentences that they may need in order to complete certain parts of functional documents such as the reference section of a job application; and have read aloud words or sentences spoken to them in an earpiece that looks like a bluetooth. All of these features could be disguised through electronics that many people use today. Our ultimate goal is to make our students as independent and successful as possible. My students, and many students like them, just want to fit in and feel normal. Intuitively, they know that they are different, and rather than dealing with their strengths and needs, they tend to fall into negative patterns because it is so much "safer" for them because they won't be labeled. Therefore, I think that a device where they could feel as "normal" as possible would be very beneficial to students in this type of situation.