Technology course prepares special education
students for working with assistive devices
S
oldering irons heated up at stations around the
classroom. Students were silent as the professor gave a
series of final instructions. Moving into their groups,
the classroom buzzed. Most were new to soldering. And
while the activity was simple – fuse a couple wires together
– the purpose behind their work had the power to change a
life.
The students were learning to construct a switch. The
powerful thing about switches is they allow people with a
disability to control their environment. Control can be a
beautiful thing for someone whose disability has put him in
a position to watch as another person controls his world.
All students in the special education program at the
University of Kentucky College of Education take this course
(EDS 517: Introduction to Assistive Technology). Most, like
Sean Armstrong, plan to become special education teachers.
“I had a very good relationship with one of the special
education teachers in the elementary at my old school,”
Armstrong said. “He really influenced me and inspired me to
become a special education teacher through his words and
caring acts towards kids and how well they responded to
him. I fell in love with the feeling of changing a child’s life
and helping them better themselves with proper knowledge
and guidance.”
Dr. Margaret Bausch taught the college’s first assistive
technology course. She has been teaching it now for 25
years.
“Special education teachers may work with students
who cannot operate devices such as a computer because of
limited physical abilities,” Bausch said. “In our profession,
we focus on helping individuals become as independent as
possible in all aspects of their lives including daily living,
communication, education, and sports or leisure activities.”
Dr. A. Edward Blackhurst is responsible for starting
the assistive technology program at UK about 30 years
ago. Blackhurst wrote many grants to support the use of
technology in the college’s special education program and
in public schools. In fact, Baush and Blackhurst collaborated
on the grant that put the first computers in special education
classrooms in Fayette County Public Schools.
“It is after we saw the benefits of technology for students
with disabilities that our department began teaching an
assistive technology course,” said Bausch.
Switches can be connected directly into battery-operated
devices or plugged into a switch interface to operate
items that run on household current such as a hairdryer,
computer or lamp. In the educational setting, there are
switch accessible programs available on computers and
tablet devices such as an iPad to teach math and reading
skills. Just as important, Bausch said, are switch operated
devices that help in social activities, such as one that allows a
person to release a bowling ball from a ramp ͼ