Using technology to assist students with learning disabilities and difficulties is very similar to using technology in general education. Technology should not be seen as an add-on of something which is apart from the general curriculum. Inclusive technology should be integrated into the general curriculum using a school wide cross curricular approach. Such technology can assist all students, not just those with a learning disabilities or difficulties. In this respect, Inclusive Technology becomes inclusive practice. Technology is not a barrier to literacy and numeracy, but in fact can be an assistive tool to develop these important skills and support students to compensate for their learning disabilities and difficulties. Inclusive Technology is particularly important for those students where remediation is no longer an alternative or has not produced sufficient success.

This session will cover
• An understanding of Learning Disabilities and Difficulties.
• Traits and Characteristics exhibited by students who have Learning Disabilities and Difficulties
• Inclusive Technology options for students with Learning Disabilities and Difficulties. This will include;
*Digital Literacy tools e.g.textHELP Read and Write Gold and
Co-Writer
*Speech Recognition e.g. Dragon Naturally Speaking & Macspeech
*Mind mapping tools e.g. Spark Space, DraftBuilder & Fact Mapper
*Notetakers e.g. NEO and DANA

This session will assist participants in gaining a greater understanding of Learning disabilities and difficulties and provide them with effective product knowledge of hardware and software currently available to assist individuals in achieving success in their future careers.