April 8, 2025 • 22 mins
This resource will support listeners to:
- Recognise the impact of blindness or low vision on developing skills for Assistive Technology.
- Explain why Assistive Technology is important now, and in the future.
- Explain how Assistive Technology is linked to development in other Life Skill areas.
- List ways to support the development of Assistive Technology and identify age-appropriate strategies.
- Ensure that the appropriate Assistive Technology is available at both school and home.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:03):
Welcome to Vision Australia's podcast series, designed to help children
and young people develop the skills they'll need to open
their future.
Damo (00:17):
Hi, my name is Damo. Vision Australia's national access Technology Manager,
and I'm here today to talk to you about assistive technology.
I'd like to start with an activity. Close your eyes
for a moment if it's safe to do so and
imagine that you're planning your day next Saturday. You would
like to take your family out for the day. Going
(00:39):
to the local zoo has been something the family has
been talking about for a while, and with no other
plans for Saturday, you think it might be a perfect outing.
The weather has been a little unpredictable lately, so it's
probably an idea to check that first. How do you
check the weather? Perhaps you have an app on your phone. Okay,
(00:59):
the weather is looking fine. A bit cloudy but there
is no rain forecast. Next decision how to get there.
You know that parking around the zoo is a bit
of an issue, so public transport seems like a better option. Besides,
the kids love it. How do you find out about bus,
(01:19):
train or even ferry timetables? Another task to do before
Saturday is to find out what ticket options there are,
what they cost and, if possible, to purchase the tickets online.
How do you access all that information and purchase the tickets?
Let's jump forward to Saturday. You've arrived at the zoo
(01:41):
and you're walking around. There is lots to see and
the exhibits provide a lot of information about the different animals.
How is this information shared? How do you find your
way around? Now keep your eyes closed and imagine your
child at the zoo. How can they learn about the
animals and their habitats. What about when they're a lot
(02:04):
older and want to plan a trip to the zoo
for themselves, just like you have done? How will they
do this? Okay, you can open your eyes again. What
I asked you to do there was to think about
just one scenario where assistive technology makes it possible for
your child to do what everyone else can do. I'll
(02:26):
keep referring to the zoo trip as I talk you
through what we mean by assistive technology, and why it
is important for your child's future. Let's start with what
we mean by assistive technology. When we talk about assistive technology,
(02:46):
we're talking about any technology that makes it easier for
your child to access all aspects of daily living. This
can be at school, at home, at work, for play,
or for rest. When you hear the term assistive technology,
you may think of specialized equipment, software and devices. That
(03:09):
is definitely part of it. But it's also about using
built in accessibility features of everyday technology that you already have,
like apps on your phone that you use to check
the weather or plan your travel to the zoo. So
how does using assistive technology affect your child's life? Put
(03:32):
very simply, it helps to level the playing field. It
gives your child the ability to do whatever they like
and to reach their full potential, just like sighted children.
The right equipment and technology helps your child to do
well in school and to be ready for work. It
will make it possible for your child to get as
(03:53):
much out of trips to the zoo as sighted children.
Assistive technology also supports your child to live independently and
to reach their future career goals. Let me give you
some examples. Did you know that there is technology that
makes it possible to identify food items? Other technology helps
(04:15):
to read mail and to access or control devices around
the home. There is technology that can let you know
if you've left the lights on. It can also broaden
the range of recreational activities your child can do, and
it definitely enables them to pursue their career goals later
in life. Assistive technologies are so important for your child
(04:40):
because they make it possible to access books, websites, dictionaries, calculators, spreadsheets, calendars,
and diaries. They also help to communicate more effectively. For example,
to produce written assignments and send and receive messages and emails.
Assistive technologies also make it much easier to be productive.
(05:05):
There are four categories of assistive technology magnification. audio, Text
to speech and Braille. I would like to start thinking
about the idea of a toolbox for assistive technology, where
your child is able to use a range of options
(05:26):
based on their level of vision, but also the task
they have to do, their environment, their preferences, and how
they feel in the moment. So let's take a closer
look at the types of assistive technology and how they
can level the playing field for your child. I want
(05:48):
to start with Braille. Did you know that raised dots
as a form of communication began in the early 1800s?
Charles Babbage created a system of dots for Napoleon's army
to enable them to write in the dark. In 1824,
Louis Braille then used Barbier's code to create the first
(06:11):
communication system for people who are blind. He was only
15 at the time. Braille is now used around the
world for written communication for blind people in many different languages.
So how can learning Braille at a young age help
children who are blind or have low vision? In a
(06:32):
study of employment outcomes for Braille users who had been
diagnosed as legally blind by the age of two, Rileys
reported those who had learned to read Braille as their
original reading medium and used it extensively were employed at
a significantly higher rate compared to those who had learned
(06:53):
to read print as their primary medium. Thus, the early
acquisition and extensive use of Braille reading skills were the
two factors that had strong impact on employment rates. Why
is this? For some children, Braille will be a key
tool to develop their literacy skills. It teaches them spelling
(07:15):
and the written language. Think about this sentence. Now that
we are here, I can hear the birds. There are
two versions of the word here in this sentence. They
sound the same, but they are spelled differently. And how
they are spelled tells us what their meaning is, even
(07:36):
without putting it in a sentence. Braille also helps children
learn about punctuation, the layout of pages, mathematics, and diagrams.
If your child doesn't have enough vision or it is
too tiring to take in this kind of material in
a visual way, then they need to do it tactually. Furthermore,
(08:00):
these concepts can be difficult to explain and fully understand
using audio alone. Think for a moment how you would
describe a triangle to someone who cannot see. Now think
about if they could feel the triangle instead. What would
give them a better understanding of the shape? Braille used
(08:24):
to mean big, bulky documents and books. But now, thanks
to advances in technology, we have electronic refreshable Braille devices.
You may think that Braille is only for children who
are blind or have very low vision, and not for
children with low vision. There are other considerations that might
(08:45):
see Braille recommended for a child with low vision. If
you are uncertain if Braille should be considered for your child,
you can discuss this with your Vision Australia service provider.
There are a variety of considerations and assessments to consider
before Braille might be recommended for a child. If Braille
(09:06):
is to be part of the toolbox for your child's
literacy development, the sooner you can introduce and immerse your
child in Braille, the better. This is also related to
tactile discrimination. Learning to understand information using the sense of touch.
Because you need specialised equipment, it can take longer to
(09:27):
get organized. So we recommend that you talk to an
assistive technology expert at Vision Australia as soon as possible.
As someone who is totally blind, I am actually using
an electronic Braille device together with a screen reader application
on my computer to help me present this podcast today,
(09:48):
and this would be much more difficult for me if
I didn't have access to Braille. Another type of assistive
technology lets your child listen to information. This may take
the form of either text to speech, which is speech
(10:10):
generated by a computer, or audio spoken by a human
narrator in either form. This makes it very quick and
convenient to get information. A great benefit is that it
is readily available with free tools and lots of material
already available in audio form, so when at the zoo,
they may provide audio guides to describe the different enclosures.
(10:35):
At the time this podcast was recorded, there are over
67,000 audio titles available through the Vision Australia library. Audio
is definitely a useful tool, and it is important to
help your child develop the skills to process information through listening.
If your child has some vision, it is a good
(10:57):
alternative for when they are tired. It does, however, have
its limitations. Audio can't give you an understanding of spelling,
as I showed you with the sentence. Now that we
are here, I can hear the birds. And if you've
ever tried to describe a diagram or the layout of
a page, you will know that audio is not the
(11:19):
most efficient tool for doing this. Some older children may
find that audio makes it a lot more difficult to
do verbal presentations that they need to use speaker's notes for,
or to chair a meeting. Imagine trying to listen to
your speaker's notes while presenting them to an audience in
(11:41):
a fluent and engaging way. The third type of assistive
technology is magnification, and this is useful if your child
has some vision. Magnification can mean the difference between seeing
something and not. it can give your child access to
(12:04):
the visual world. Magnification can enlarge text on a page,
or can be software that enlarges the text on the
screen of your phone, tablet, or computer. It could use
built in accessibility features on your device or specialized hardware
and software. When it works for your child, it works
(12:27):
very well, but for some children, it can reach a
point where it is no longer efficient. For example, if
your child is tired or when they need to read
or create more complex content for school. That brings me
to an important concept when it comes to assistive technology
(12:49):
for your child, one size does not fit all. For example,
a person might use magnification for looking at pictures, colouring in,
or drawing or reading short passages of text, But they
might also use text to speech when they need to
read 30 pages for an English assignment, and Braille for
(13:10):
proofreading or for complex mathematics. Let's briefly look at how
you can help your child learn the foundational skills they need,
and how this changes as they get older. From when
they are very young, sighted children learn to communicate and
(13:31):
find out about the world through observing. They see family
members use smartphones, computers, TVs, etc. Children who are blind
or have low vision miss out on some of these
daily learning opportunities, which means that you need to teach them.
It is important to start this early. One of the
(13:55):
key foundational skills toddlers need to learn is what we
call cause and effect. They need to learn that something
they do, for example, touching a screen or even just
pressing a button on a toy creates an effect like
a funny sound. Sighted children learn this simply by watching
(14:16):
people around them. But you need to actively teach your child.
Your child also needs to develop their auditory processing skills
as early as possible. What I mean by this is
that they need to learn to listen and learn about
the world around them that way. Reading to your child
(14:37):
is a great way to get started. There are also
online tools such as ABC for kids, audiobooks and apps
about sounds. The third type of skills that are the
basis for, for example, learning Braille are tactile skills and
(14:59):
learning about directions. Letting your child play with Play-Doh or
Lego to make objects, explore them and pull them apart
are fantastic ways to learn that can also be great fun.
The last thing to introduce your young child to is keyboards.
It may seem a bit early to get them practicing
(15:21):
using a keyboard, but it is an important skill to
have for when they go to school. You really just
want your child to play with the keyboard at this point.
Let them hit the keys and then either see the
letters magnified on the screen, or press the screen reading
keys and hear the nonsense they've created in the podcast episode.
(15:44):
Getting your child ready to Use Assistive Technology. We go
into much more detail about how to develop a young
child's foundational technology skills. If you have a young child,
make sure that you also explore our resources for sensory Efficiency.
(16:07):
Once your child is in primary school, technology will become
their main tool for learning. Let's say your child needs
to do a school project. They have to create a
poster of their favourite animal. And after your family's trip
to the zoo, your child has fallen in love with
the tiger. Assistive technologies such as text to speech and
audiobooks allow them to find interesting facts about tigers on
(16:31):
websites and other digital media. If they are learning or
have learned Braille, they can also read physical books about
their favorite animal. Braille will also help them to write
information about tigers for their poster. Alternatively, they may type
using a large print keyboard and view their work using
(16:51):
magnification on a tablet or computer. If they have some vision,
magnification means they can look at pictures of tigers and
their habitats. What becomes really important at this age is
the idea of the toolbox I mentioned before. If your
child has some vision, magnification may have been a tool
(17:14):
they use a lot and find easy to use, but
if it is their only tool, a school assignment like
the poster on tigers could become difficult to do in
the time allowed. When they have other tools in their toolbox,
they can start to experience how some tools work better
in certain situations or at certain times of the day,
(17:36):
or when they are just tired. Their toolbox should also
contain the tools to help them achieve all of the
school's learning outcomes, especially around literacy and numeracy. To make
this toolbox idea possible, you need to make sure that
any technology your child uses at school is also available
(17:59):
to them at home. When your child starts secondary school,
the idea of a flexible technology toolkit becomes even more important.
The pace of learning is so much faster than in
(18:20):
primary school. If they have relied on just one tool
such as audio, they may find it very difficult to
keep up and to produce work to the required standard.
Let's think about maths for a moment. Maths in primary
school was fairly simple, but now your child needs to
(18:40):
understand and use formulas. They need to work with shapes
and calculate volumes and surface areas. Being able to use
different tools will make their learning so much more efficient.
In secondary school, teachers in almost all subjects expect that
you can structure and write assignments and assessment tasks. There
(19:01):
will be marked on spelling and visual presentation. There will
be times when your child needs to give a presentation
using a tool like PowerPoint. If your child only uses
magnification or audio to access and produce information, they may
find it more difficult to produce their best work if
they have the skills to use audio, braille and or
(19:23):
magnification and know which tool to use for what, they
can compete on a much more equal footing with sighted children.
And when they get older, with other job seekers and
work colleagues. The most important message I can give you
(19:46):
about assistive technologies is that with the right combination of
tools in their toolbox, it allows your child to reach
their full potential. Although I have been using examples of
how assistive technology helps your child at school, it also
helps them in everyday life. The more your child uses
a range of technology in everyday life, the more they
(20:09):
will experience the benefits and that means they will become
more flexible and use the most efficient tool for each task.
I have one more key tip for you learn to
use assistive technology yourself if your child will be using braille.
Learn some basic braille yourself. Use text to speech on
your computer or phone at times to experience it. Find
(20:32):
out what the accessibility features are on your apps and devices.
It will help you to support your child and their learning.
It will make it easier to talk to school, teachers
and other people in your community about the technologies your
child needs in order to participate and thrive. I'd like
to set you a challenge based on your child's age
(20:53):
and level of vision. Explore a type of technology braille, audio,
or magnification that you have not considered yet. Do some
research and find 1 or 2 really simple ways to
explore it together and learn some basics. Have fun and
don't worry if your child picks it up so much
faster than you do. Get them to teach you. It's
(21:16):
a great way to learn for both of you. Thanks
for joining me and I'll talk to you next time.
This podcast was written using the research and ideas of
Donna McNair and Carol Fahrenkopf on assistive technologies. ECC essentials.
(21:37):
Teaching the Expanded Core Curriculum to students with vision impairment
and HTTP. Colon forward slash forward slash Braille works. Dot
com forward slash resources. Slash. History of Braille.
S3 (21:57):
Vision Australia. Blindness. Low vision. Opportunity.
Welcome to Vision Australia's podcast series, designed to help children
and young people develop the skills they'll need to open
their future.
Damo (00:17):
Hi, my name is Damo. Vision Australia's national access Technology Manager,
and I'm here today to talk to you about assistive technology.
I'd like to start with an activity. Close your eyes
for a moment if it's safe to do so and
imagine that you're planning your day next Saturday. You would
like to take your family out for the day. Going
(00:39):
to the local zoo has been something the family has
been talking about for a while, and with no other
plans for Saturday, you think it might be a perfect outing.
The weather has been a little unpredictable lately, so it's
probably an idea to check that first. How do you
check the weather? Perhaps you have an app on your phone. Okay,
(00:59):
the weather is looking fine. A bit cloudy but there
is no rain forecast. Next decision how to get there.
You know that parking around the zoo is a bit
of an issue, so public transport seems like a better option. Besides,
the kids love it. How do you find out about bus,
(01:19):
train or even ferry timetables? Another task to do before
Saturday is to find out what ticket options there are,
what they cost and, if possible, to purchase the tickets online.
How do you access all that information and purchase the tickets?
Let's jump forward to Saturday. You've arrived at the zoo
(01:41):
and you're walking around. There is lots to see and
the exhibits provide a lot of information about the different animals.
How is this information shared? How do you find your
way around? Now keep your eyes closed and imagine your
child at the zoo. How can they learn about the
animals and their habitats. What about when they're a lot
(02:04):
older and want to plan a trip to the zoo
for themselves, just like you have done? How will they
do this? Okay, you can open your eyes again. What
I asked you to do there was to think about
just one scenario where assistive technology makes it possible for
your child to do what everyone else can do. I'll
(02:26):
keep referring to the zoo trip as I talk you
through what we mean by assistive technology, and why it
is important for your child's future. Let's start with what
we mean by assistive technology. When we talk about assistive technology,
(02:46):
we're talking about any technology that makes it easier for
your child to access all aspects of daily living. This
can be at school, at home, at work, for play,
or for rest. When you hear the term assistive technology,
you may think of specialized equipment, software and devices. That
(03:09):
is definitely part of it. But it's also about using
built in accessibility features of everyday technology that you already have,
like apps on your phone that you use to check
the weather or plan your travel to the zoo. So
how does using assistive technology affect your child's life? Put
(03:32):
very simply, it helps to level the playing field. It
gives your child the ability to do whatever they like
and to reach their full potential, just like sighted children.
The right equipment and technology helps your child to do
well in school and to be ready for work. It
will make it possible for your child to get as
(03:53):
much out of trips to the zoo as sighted children.
Assistive technology also supports your child to live independently and
to reach their future career goals. Let me give you
some examples. Did you know that there is technology that
makes it possible to identify food items? Other technology helps
(04:15):
to read mail and to access or control devices around
the home. There is technology that can let you know
if you've left the lights on. It can also broaden
the range of recreational activities your child can do, and
it definitely enables them to pursue their career goals later
in life. Assistive technologies are so important for your child
(04:40):
because they make it possible to access books, websites, dictionaries, calculators, spreadsheets, calendars,
and diaries. They also help to communicate more effectively. For example,
to produce written assignments and send and receive messages and emails.
Assistive technologies also make it much easier to be productive.
(05:05):
There are four categories of assistive technology magnification. audio, Text
to speech and Braille. I would like to start thinking
about the idea of a toolbox for assistive technology, where
your child is able to use a range of options
(05:26):
based on their level of vision, but also the task
they have to do, their environment, their preferences, and how
they feel in the moment. So let's take a closer
look at the types of assistive technology and how they
can level the playing field for your child. I want
(05:48):
to start with Braille. Did you know that raised dots
as a form of communication began in the early 1800s?
Charles Babbage created a system of dots for Napoleon's army
to enable them to write in the dark. In 1824,
Louis Braille then used Barbier's code to create the first
(06:11):
communication system for people who are blind. He was only
15 at the time. Braille is now used around the
world for written communication for blind people in many different languages.
So how can learning Braille at a young age help
children who are blind or have low vision? In a
(06:32):
study of employment outcomes for Braille users who had been
diagnosed as legally blind by the age of two, Rileys
reported those who had learned to read Braille as their
original reading medium and used it extensively were employed at
a significantly higher rate compared to those who had learned
(06:53):
to read print as their primary medium. Thus, the early
acquisition and extensive use of Braille reading skills were the
two factors that had strong impact on employment rates. Why
is this? For some children, Braille will be a key
tool to develop their literacy skills. It teaches them spelling
(07:15):
and the written language. Think about this sentence. Now that
we are here, I can hear the birds. There are
two versions of the word here in this sentence. They
sound the same, but they are spelled differently. And how
they are spelled tells us what their meaning is, even
(07:36):
without putting it in a sentence. Braille also helps children
learn about punctuation, the layout of pages, mathematics, and diagrams.
If your child doesn't have enough vision or it is
too tiring to take in this kind of material in
a visual way, then they need to do it tactually. Furthermore,
(08:00):
these concepts can be difficult to explain and fully understand
using audio alone. Think for a moment how you would
describe a triangle to someone who cannot see. Now think
about if they could feel the triangle instead. What would
give them a better understanding of the shape? Braille used
(08:24):
to mean big, bulky documents and books. But now, thanks
to advances in technology, we have electronic refreshable Braille devices.
You may think that Braille is only for children who
are blind or have very low vision, and not for
children with low vision. There are other considerations that might
(08:45):
see Braille recommended for a child with low vision. If
you are uncertain if Braille should be considered for your child,
you can discuss this with your Vision Australia service provider.
There are a variety of considerations and assessments to consider
before Braille might be recommended for a child. If Braille
(09:06):
is to be part of the toolbox for your child's
literacy development, the sooner you can introduce and immerse your
child in Braille, the better. This is also related to
tactile discrimination. Learning to understand information using the sense of touch.
Because you need specialised equipment, it can take longer to
(09:27):
get organized. So we recommend that you talk to an
assistive technology expert at Vision Australia as soon as possible.
As someone who is totally blind, I am actually using
an electronic Braille device together with a screen reader application
on my computer to help me present this podcast today,
(09:48):
and this would be much more difficult for me if
I didn't have access to Braille. Another type of assistive
technology lets your child listen to information. This may take
the form of either text to speech, which is speech
(10:10):
generated by a computer, or audio spoken by a human
narrator in either form. This makes it very quick and
convenient to get information. A great benefit is that it
is readily available with free tools and lots of material
already available in audio form, so when at the zoo,
they may provide audio guides to describe the different enclosures.
(10:35):
At the time this podcast was recorded, there are over
67,000 audio titles available through the Vision Australia library. Audio
is definitely a useful tool, and it is important to
help your child develop the skills to process information through listening.
If your child has some vision, it is a good
(10:57):
alternative for when they are tired. It does, however, have
its limitations. Audio can't give you an understanding of spelling,
as I showed you with the sentence. Now that we
are here, I can hear the birds. And if you've
ever tried to describe a diagram or the layout of
a page, you will know that audio is not the
(11:19):
most efficient tool for doing this. Some older children may
find that audio makes it a lot more difficult to
do verbal presentations that they need to use speaker's notes for,
or to chair a meeting. Imagine trying to listen to
your speaker's notes while presenting them to an audience in
(11:41):
a fluent and engaging way. The third type of assistive
technology is magnification, and this is useful if your child
has some vision. Magnification can mean the difference between seeing
something and not. it can give your child access to
(12:04):
the visual world. Magnification can enlarge text on a page,
or can be software that enlarges the text on the
screen of your phone, tablet, or computer. It could use
built in accessibility features on your device or specialized hardware
and software. When it works for your child, it works
(12:27):
very well, but for some children, it can reach a
point where it is no longer efficient. For example, if
your child is tired or when they need to read
or create more complex content for school. That brings me
to an important concept when it comes to assistive technology
(12:49):
for your child, one size does not fit all. For example,
a person might use magnification for looking at pictures, colouring in,
or drawing or reading short passages of text, But they
might also use text to speech when they need to
read 30 pages for an English assignment, and Braille for
(13:10):
proofreading or for complex mathematics. Let's briefly look at how
you can help your child learn the foundational skills they need,
and how this changes as they get older. From when
they are very young, sighted children learn to communicate and
(13:31):
find out about the world through observing. They see family
members use smartphones, computers, TVs, etc. Children who are blind
or have low vision miss out on some of these
daily learning opportunities, which means that you need to teach them.
It is important to start this early. One of the
(13:55):
key foundational skills toddlers need to learn is what we
call cause and effect. They need to learn that something
they do, for example, touching a screen or even just
pressing a button on a toy creates an effect like
a funny sound. Sighted children learn this simply by watching
(14:16):
people around them. But you need to actively teach your child.
Your child also needs to develop their auditory processing skills
as early as possible. What I mean by this is
that they need to learn to listen and learn about
the world around them that way. Reading to your child
(14:37):
is a great way to get started. There are also
online tools such as ABC for kids, audiobooks and apps
about sounds. The third type of skills that are the
basis for, for example, learning Braille are tactile skills and
(14:59):
learning about directions. Letting your child play with Play-Doh or
Lego to make objects, explore them and pull them apart
are fantastic ways to learn that can also be great fun.
The last thing to introduce your young child to is keyboards.
It may seem a bit early to get them practicing
(15:21):
using a keyboard, but it is an important skill to
have for when they go to school. You really just
want your child to play with the keyboard at this point.
Let them hit the keys and then either see the
letters magnified on the screen, or press the screen reading
keys and hear the nonsense they've created in the podcast episode.
(15:44):
Getting your child ready to Use Assistive Technology. We go
into much more detail about how to develop a young
child's foundational technology skills. If you have a young child,
make sure that you also explore our resources for sensory Efficiency.
(16:07):
Once your child is in primary school, technology will become
their main tool for learning. Let's say your child needs
to do a school project. They have to create a
poster of their favourite animal. And after your family's trip
to the zoo, your child has fallen in love with
the tiger. Assistive technologies such as text to speech and
audiobooks allow them to find interesting facts about tigers on
(16:31):
websites and other digital media. If they are learning or
have learned Braille, they can also read physical books about
their favorite animal. Braille will also help them to write
information about tigers for their poster. Alternatively, they may type
using a large print keyboard and view their work using
(16:51):
magnification on a tablet or computer. If they have some vision,
magnification means they can look at pictures of tigers and
their habitats. What becomes really important at this age is
the idea of the toolbox I mentioned before. If your
child has some vision, magnification may have been a tool
(17:14):
they use a lot and find easy to use, but
if it is their only tool, a school assignment like
the poster on tigers could become difficult to do in
the time allowed. When they have other tools in their toolbox,
they can start to experience how some tools work better
in certain situations or at certain times of the day,
(17:36):
or when they are just tired. Their toolbox should also
contain the tools to help them achieve all of the
school's learning outcomes, especially around literacy and numeracy. To make
this toolbox idea possible, you need to make sure that
any technology your child uses at school is also available
(17:59):
to them at home. When your child starts secondary school,
the idea of a flexible technology toolkit becomes even more important.
The pace of learning is so much faster than in
(18:20):
primary school. If they have relied on just one tool
such as audio, they may find it very difficult to
keep up and to produce work to the required standard.
Let's think about maths for a moment. Maths in primary
school was fairly simple, but now your child needs to
(18:40):
understand and use formulas. They need to work with shapes
and calculate volumes and surface areas. Being able to use
different tools will make their learning so much more efficient.
In secondary school, teachers in almost all subjects expect that
you can structure and write assignments and assessment tasks. There
(19:01):
will be marked on spelling and visual presentation. There will
be times when your child needs to give a presentation
using a tool like PowerPoint. If your child only uses
magnification or audio to access and produce information, they may
find it more difficult to produce their best work if
they have the skills to use audio, braille and or
(19:23):
magnification and know which tool to use for what, they
can compete on a much more equal footing with sighted children.
And when they get older, with other job seekers and
work colleagues. The most important message I can give you
(19:46):
about assistive technologies is that with the right combination of
tools in their toolbox, it allows your child to reach
their full potential. Although I have been using examples of
how assistive technology helps your child at school, it also
helps them in everyday life. The more your child uses
a range of technology in everyday life, the more they
(20:09):
will experience the benefits and that means they will become
more flexible and use the most efficient tool for each task.
I have one more key tip for you learn to
use assistive technology yourself if your child will be using braille.
Learn some basic braille yourself. Use text to speech on
your computer or phone at times to experience it. Find
(20:32):
out what the accessibility features are on your apps and devices.
It will help you to support your child and their learning.
It will make it easier to talk to school, teachers
and other people in your community about the technologies your
child needs in order to participate and thrive. I'd like
to set you a challenge based on your child's age
(20:53):
and level of vision. Explore a type of technology braille, audio,
or magnification that you have not considered yet. Do some
research and find 1 or 2 really simple ways to
explore it together and learn some basics. Have fun and
don't worry if your child picks it up so much
faster than you do. Get them to teach you. It's
(21:16):
a great way to learn for both of you. Thanks
for joining me and I'll talk to you next time.
This podcast was written using the research and ideas of
Donna McNair and Carol Fahrenkopf on assistive technologies. ECC essentials.
(21:37):
Teaching the Expanded Core Curriculum to students with vision impairment
and HTTP. Colon forward slash forward slash Braille works. Dot
com forward slash resources. Slash. History of Braille.
S3 (21:57):
Vision Australia. Blindness. Low vision. Opportunity.
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