Language Value
December 2019, Volume 11, Number 1 pp. 108-112
Copyright © 2019, ISSN 1989-7103
BOOK REVIEW
Assistive Technology in Special Education: Resources to Support Literacy,
Communication, and Learning Differences
Joan L. Green
Prufrock Press Inc: Wako, Texas, 2018 (3rd ed.). 237 pages.
ISBN: 978-1-61821-758-5
Reviewed by Ana-Isabel Martínez-Hernández
Universitat Jaume I, Spain
Assistive Technology in Special Education by Joan L. Green
(2018) delves into
technology, i.e. apps, websites and devices, to boost learning in students with special
needs. With the rise of new technologies in the field of education, many students with
disabilities are left behind. Thus, this book intends to show how to use those
technologies to make learning easier for physically and mentally challenged students to
help them overcome learning difficulties and improve their quality of life. Not only
does this book suggest cutting-edge technology, but also everyday gadgets and apps
which were not originally created with therapy goals in mind, but end up being so if
used correctly, along with state-of-the-art solutions.
This book is addressed to teachers, schools, speech-language pathologists, therapists
and families who want to maximise the students’ learning potential and overcome
barriers such as concentration issues, speech impairment or comprehension among
others. Although many of the resources found in this book can enhance learning in
students with special needs, and in many cases withdraw this support gradually to aid
them become independent, learners with no difficulties can find these resources
beneficial in their learning process as a route to empowerment in order to become the
masters of their own learning and promote autonomous learning. Nevertheless, despite
encouraging families to use technologies with challenged students and applauding
families who already do so, the support and guidance of professionals is highly
recommended throughout the book; what Green strongly endorses is the idea of
therapists, families and teachers working in unison to benefit the student.
Copyright © 2019 Language Value, ISSN 1989-7103
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Articles are copyrighted by their respective authors
Assistive Technology in Special Education: Resources to Support Literacy, Communication, and
Learning Differences
It cannot be denied that technology has become rather overwhelming in the past decade
with the plethora of available resources, i.e. apps and websites, which together with the
myriad of different devices at our disposal in the market can make of this advantage, i.e.
technology, a cumbersome and time-consuming process in which families and
professionals can get lost, and therefore many might regard it as a setback rather than a
step forward. In this book, one of Joan L. Green’s purposes is to make a selection of the
best resources to narrow down all the available apps and sources, a “representative
sampling” (2018: 10) as she calls it, classifying them by function in order to help
families and professionals filter all the resources at hand.
The book is divided into 15 chapters, the first three of which are dedicated to the
introduction of assistive technology and its future in helping students. The following
chapters contain more detailed information about improving specific learning skills,
closing with a call to a responsible use of the resources in the final chapter. All of these
chapters include an enumeration of recommended apps, devices and websites which are
accompanied by a short description and review of the product with the main
characteristics as well as the operating system it works on and the price, with the
intention of helping “readers save time, frustration and money” (2018: 25). In this
sense, this book could be used as a resource book for those educators, families and
therapists who would like to develop a learner’s skill to exploit their potential or cover a
specific need.
The book starts with a ‘reality check’ on the current situation of technology, namely
hardware and software, which implies being aware of all the pros and cons it has to
offer, as well as the reasons for the author to write a third edition of this book regardless
of its transient, thus perishable, nature of which she is aware and is repeatedly
mentioned throughout the pages. In the first chapter, Green encourages people to use
technology that is no longer expensive and is easily available in order to increase
success and independence for people with communicative, learning and cognitive
disabilities. She tries to achieve this by answering some of the most frequently asked
questions among the teachers’ and parents’ communities first, guiding the readers
through the procedure to be followed should they need to find a solution to a learner’s
impediment. Along these lines, notwithstanding the existing barriers to technology for
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Book Review
some challenged individuals, the focal point of Chapter 2 is on how beneficial the shift
towards technology can be in assisting all students, but especially for those with
challenges. The author refers to the advantages, but also to those obstacles and
disadvantages technology may still present for students with an impairment or
disability, although the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages. Chapter
3
reinforces the idea of technology as a means towards independence for individuals with
special needs with the sole aim of overcoming the existing hindrance. In this chapter,
the author offers some guidance to assist families and professionals with device choice
by offering a review of two of the most popular operating systems on mobile devices.
The chapter that follows (Chapter 4) focuses on improving verbal expression, namely
intelligibility and expressive language, encouraging a diagnosis of the obstacle and
offering strategies and useful technology tools to tackle it. Chapter 5 introduces AAC
(Augmentative and Alternative Communication), which helps boost communication
needs, and offers a list of resources to learn more about AAC as well as apps, devices,
and other options to help individuals communicate. The author contrasts former
solutions to AAC and the current ones, which oftentimes are already installed on our
phones by default, the reader only needs to be creative about how they are applied.
Chapter 6 reviews tips, strategy, apps and resources to improve listening skills - i.e.
auditory comprehension, processing deficits and receptive language
- such as
captioning, assistive devices or websites with free listening activities among others. The
resources mentioned in this chapter may also result profitable for those students
learning English as a second language
(ESL). Chapter 7 has to do with reading
comprehension, in which the author emphasises tools which are key to developing this
skill which is paramount for academic success. The most prominent feature to bolster
reading comprehension mentioned throughout the chapter, be it apps or software on
other devices, is text-to-speech, although many others are mentioned. Additionally,
Chapter 8 unravels ways technology can be used to enhance reading skills in an
engaging way, being mobile apps and websites the top suggestions. Chapter 9 deals
with improving written expression, and the writer insists on the use of assistive
technology to make life easier and to empower the learners in order to show what they
know in a different way with the aim of counteracting a challenge. Chapter 10 is also
connected to writing skills, although it offers guidance to acquire more essential skills.
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Assistive Technology in Special Education: Resources to Support Literacy, Communication, and
Learning Differences
It focuses on spelling and how to draw letters correctly at the outset and goes on to more
complex aspects like punctuation and sentence-building towards the end of the chapter.
Chapter 11 addresses the issue of attention, cognition, and executive function, i.e. how
we pay attention, organise, remember and learn effectively and efficiently. The author
suggests some technological and non-tech solutions to aid students in their learning by
helping them to stay focused (e.g. calendars) and how to use those solutions effectively.
Chapter 12 nourishes the idea of using digital resources and mobile phones to support
learning new information, yet it encourages the combination of traditional and
contemporary approaches to avoid unnecessary digital distractions. Chapter 13 presents
everyday tools to enhance organisation and collaboration. In order to help students
dodge the unpleasant situation of forgetting homework at home, the writer suggests
online storage such as Dropbox or Google Drive which has become commonplace and
most students are familiar with them. On the other hand, to foster collaboration among
peers chatting tools such as WhatsApp and online collaboration tools like Google Docs
are suggested. These are only some of the examples of those mainstream tools students
have already been acquainted with that can be used creatively to provide students with
special needs with solutions. Chapter
14 supports the use of apps and online
programmes to practise cognitive skills and offers a list of those the writer found most
effective. However, competition against peers is discouraged, as it can result in
demotivation. The purpose of these ‘games’ is to improve the last result and track the
student’s progress. Finally, Chapter 15 closes the same way the book opened: with a
‘reality check’. It reminds the reader to teach students to use technology responsibly
warning of all the dangers of the Internet, but also of the benefits if used correctly,
which at the same time will prepare them for their future, that is, the chapter aims to
promote digital citizenship and safety on the net.
All things considered, the book is a fantastic reference book which leads you to think
about the students’ needs at all educational stages. It is definitely a helping hand for
families but more so for us, teachers, and professionals: an excellent handbook, but
above all, it is a stepping stone towards inclusion and accessibility in education.
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Book Review
Received: 05 September 2019
Accepted: 27 Novermber 2019
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