Research About Assistive Technology: 2000-2006. What Have We Learned?
By Okolo, Cynthia M.; Bouck, Emily C.; Journal of Special Education Technology, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 19-33Publication Date: 2007
Review of research done on the use of assistive technology (AT) for students with disabilities. For the paper, the authors analyzed studies published in peer-reviewed journals between the years 2000 and 2006 that investigated the use of AT with students served under the guidelines of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA). After locating 122 studies that met these criteria, the authors examined them in terms of (1) Target group, that is the group of individuals with disabilities for whom the technology investigated were intended; (2) Age range of study participants; (3) Type of outcome, including communication, employment, self-help skills, literacy and other academic skills, social/emotional, and technology knowledge; and (4) Methods, such as descriptive, intra-individual, and group comparison studies. Students with high-incidence disabilities such as learning disabilities and behavior and attention-deficit disorders accounted for nearly one-third of participants in the studies, many of which focused on AT in general-education classrooms. Study participants were found to be represented across the K-12 range; furthermore, students from birth to age 4 were included in over 10 percent of the studies. Literacy skills was the primary concern of AT researchers, the topic of about one third of the studies. The most prevalent research methods used were designs that compared groups of students across time or conditions and designs that offered qualitative information about the use and impact of AT. Although the studies analyzed were spread across 27 journals, 60 percent were published in just two: Journal of Special Education Technology and Augmentative and Alternative Communication.
Published by: Exceptional Innovations (Website:http://www.exinn.net)
Technology and Media Division (TAM) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) (Web Site: http://www.tamcec.org )
This publication is included in the library of the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), accession number J53499
