According to the U.S. Department of State (2017), Judith Heumann, Special Advisor for International Disability Rights, has said, “Disabled people are no different from any other group of people. With appropriate opportunities and support, we are able to contribute to the economic and social well-being of our communities.”
Heumann’s commitment to disability rights stems from her own personal experiences. She had polio and as a result has used a wheelchair for most of her life. She had to fight repeatedly in order to be included in the educational system. The local public school refused to allow her to attend, their reasoning was because they considered her a fire hazard. However, Heumann’s mother, a community activist in her own right, challenged the decision, and Judith was finally allowed to attend school in the fourth grade. Heumann continued her schooling, went to college, graduated and became the first person in a wheelchair to teach in New York City, as she taught in an elementary school there for three years. However, her teaching job did not come without a fight. She, along with other disabled individuals had to fight for their rights.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in place or programs that receive financial assistance from the government, including schools and libraries. Before the enforcement of Section 504, disability was basically dismissibility. Section 504 was the first disability civil rights law in the United States, passed in 1973, but regulations were not enforced until 1977 after sit-ins. The largest sit-in was in San Francisco at the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. It was arranged by none other than Judith Heumann, included over 100 people (the majority of them disabled), and lasted 28 days. Section 504 paved the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities; and requires schools and places of employment to make reasonable accommodations in order for a disabled person to perform their job.
How does this history lesson have anything to do with school libraries in our world of 21st century learners?
According to the article, A Summary of the Evidence on Inclusive Education (2016), “All across the United States, students with disabilities are increasingly educated alongside their nondisabled peers in a practice known as inclusion. Inclusion is prominently featured in a number of international declarations, national laws, and education policies. These policies, coupled with the efforts of advocates for the rights of people with disabilities, have led to a substantial increase in the number of students with disabilities who receive schooling alongside their non-disabled peers.” The growth of inclusive educational practices stems from the increased recognition that students with disabilities thrive when they are, to the greatest extent possible, provided the same educational opportunities as nondisabled students.
As school librarians, we can use assistive technology tools in order to include students of all abilities. Assistive technology tools can play to strengths and work around challenges. Assistive technology tools are available to help individuals with many types of disabilities, the use of AT tools is an effective approach for many children, as they often learn to use their abilities (or their strengths) in order to work around their disabilities (or their challenges).
One assistive technology tool that would be beneficial to have in a classroom or school library is a word prediction software program, which can be used online or downloaded to any computer. Schools far and wide in the United States use technology on a daily basis. Assignments are shared through programs on laptops that connect teachers with their students. Students are required to type the majority of their assignments and are expected to turn them in through the online program that is being used by their school. This can be a difficult process for students who have learning disabilities or other physical disabilities that might cause typing an assignment to become a very tedious and time-consuming process, ensuring the student ends up frustrated, with feelings of seclusion instead of inclusion. However, word prediction software can help students during word processing by “predicting” a word the student intends to type. Predictions are based on spelling, syntax, and frequent/recent use. This prompts kids who struggle with writing to use proper spelling, grammar, and word choices, with fewer keystrokes. It is another way to include students by allowing them to use their strengths while working around their challenges.
Don Johnston, maker of Human Learning Tools, merges the best parts of technology with human learning experiences in order to provide tools that can transform the lives of people with all learning styles and abilities. They offer a program that can be used both online and downloaded to any computer called: Co:Writer.
How Co:Writer works:
- Co:Writer helps give students the words and phrases they are intending as they type—even if their grammar and spelling are way off. Just type a letter or two and Co:Writer “predicts” words and phrases in real time.
- Co:Writer’s prediction engine follows the natural relationships of ideas and concepts in the brain. When writing on a topic, Co:Writer automatically understands the topic area and predicts ahead using topic-specific vocabulary.
- Co:Writer’s speech recognition means students can click on the microphone and speak. Co:Writer will turn it into text right before their eyes on Google Drive, email, and across the web. It even reads the dictated text aloud.
- Co:Writer’s Flexspell turns around phonetic and inventive spellings of even the least sound-outable English spellings like elephant or rhythm.
- Students can write on over 4 million topics from atomic structure to penguins and Co:Writer automatically pulls in the academic and topic-specific vocabulary—which helps when spelling words like ionization.
Perhaps the journey to becoming more inclusive in the 21st century, especially when it comes to technology, can be challenging, but ultimately the journey can strengthen a school community and its students and be beneficial to all children. Inclusion does not simply mean that students with disabilities are being placed in general education classrooms, the process means we are incorporating fundamental changes in the way a school community, including the school library, supports and addresses the individual needs of each student. Effective tools that encourage inclusion not only benefit students with disabilities, but also creates an environment in which every student, including those who do not have disabilities, has the opportunity to flourish.
Resources:
Hehir, T. et al. (2016). A Summary of the Evidence on Inclusive Education. Retrieved March, 2019 from: https://blackboard.sc.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_12690118_1&course_id=_1046806_1
Stanberry, K. & Raskind, M. (2019). Assistive Technology for Kids with Learning Disabilities: An Overview. Retrieved March, 2019 from: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/assistive-technology-kids-learning-disabilities-overview
U.S. Department of State. (2017). Judith E. Heumann: Special Advisor for International Disability Rights. Retrieved March, 2019 from: https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/144458.htm
Swearingen the Librarian 