How can we justify spending a lot of money to buy assistive technologies that might only be used by a small number of people?
It is the law that every IEP team is required to consider a child’s need for assistive technology (2004, p. 6). If it is found that a child needs assistive technology, then a school district must provide this technology for them. When thinking about money and whether it’s worth it, that shouldn’t be an issue. It is a requirement, so there’s not much that can be done. Also, you would not want to leave a child behind just because of something that costs a lot. Their education is just as important as the child that doesn’t need any assistive technology. It’s not their fault that they need the technology. For example, a student that needs a device that enlarges the print in a book or on a screen, they cannot see unless they have this device. It would not be fair in any way to keep this from them even if it’s only helping a small proportion of the population of the school. All students should be given the opportunity to learn even if they need something to aide them with this.
Haley Oyervidez EDTECH 541 Blog 