Connecting to Learn: Educational and Assistive Technology for People With Disabilities

For anyone who has been overwhelmed when selecting an educational or assistive technology or who has experienced frustration in trying to come up with the best instructional plan for a person with a disability, this book was written for you. Connecting to Learn presents a comprehensive and highly readable approach to matching the right technology with students with disabilities, especially visual and auditory disabilities.

Dr. Scherer, author of the highly acclaimed Living in the State of Stuck: How Technology Impacts the Lives of People with Disabilities, explores the way disabilities, especially those involving the senses, can lead to isolation and a lack of "connectedness," and how this in turn leads to learning difficulties. She then provides a step-by-step model for assessing and evaluating individual students on their needs and finding the right technology to help each student.

This practical book features numerous checklists and forms that readers will find immediately applicable. The book provides data on the prevalence of vision and hearing loss as well as relevant legislation. Quotes throughout the book from students and teachers about the various technologies they use in their schools and in daily life bring the many empirical and practical points to life. School psychologists, rehabilitation therapists, educators, disability support service administrators, instructional design specialists, parents and individuals with disabilities, and rehabilitation psychologists will find this lively and compassionate book to be indispensable in their efforts to help those with disabilities learn, live, and connect with others. Readers with disabilities will first nod in recognition at the problems this book describes and will ultimately cheer its practical solutions.