The Problems - Equity of Access: Adaptive Technology - The Research Center on Computing & Society

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Frances S. Grodzinsky

The Problems

Many parents of children with disabilities have been struggling with educational systems across the United States to obtain equitable educational services for their children. The problem is that in many states, children with disabilities either go to special schools or are segregated into “special education” classrooms. However, as Tamar Lewin indicates in her article “Disabled Students Gain Access to Regular Classes”:

Many educators and parents believe that segregating children with disabilities is bad, both educationally and morally. They say that such a policy undermines the development of both disabled children, by failing to give them a choice to develop the skills and relationships that they will need as adults, and other children, by preventing beneficial contact with the full range of people in their communities. (9)

Although education is academic, it is also social. Students without disabilities who are accustomed to the full inclusion of students with special needs in their classrooms tend to grow into more accepting adults. Yet full inclusion is far from the norm and is still debated by special education experts and parents. Lewin cites the case of one family who had to move the disabled child 230 miles from home, dividing the family, in order to find a school system that would not segregate the child into a separate classroom. (9) Whether included or segregated, disabled students are not guaranteed access to computer technology.

By the time a student has reached the end of high school and is looking for a university, there is a choice as to where to apply. Parents want the most independent and normal college experience possible for their children with disabilities. While most colleges have handicapped access to buildings and dormitories, there are few accommodations for students with disabilities that encourage an independent learning experience. For example, even when note-takers and readers are provided for those who have motor impairment, and students with learning disabilities have tutors who will help them with their reading and writing, this “assisted learning” environment does not foster independent learning. More and more of the university curriculum, however, involves the use of computer tools and courseware. Students use word processors for papers in all courses, spreadsheets for accounting and finance, mathematics and statistical packages, a computerized dissection program in biology, modeling programs in chemistry, and design tools in computer science, to name a few examples. In fact, the use of computer technology has become a de facto course requirement across the curriculum.

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