Assistive tech that supports reading can be the gateway to the curriculum: for learners who learn and think differently due to neurodiverse differences like dyslexia, it can be the best way of ensuring that they’re going into learning feeling confident, supported and able to show the world what they can do.
Unfortunately, while improving the academic side of things, assistive tech can lead to learners feeling ostracized and singled out because they’re learning a little differently to everybody else. They may develop a sense of being ‘different’ to their friends, or feel that by learning differently, they’re missing out on parts of the classroom experience that their friends all get to share. From a different point of view, other learners in the class might feel that students learning via assistive technology are receiving an unfair advantage or they’re getting a head start when it comes to tests. This can lead to victimization, isolation and bullying in extreme cases—which then leads to assistive tech users abandoning vital parts of their support framework to avoid scrutiny.
It’s not just as simple as implementing an assistive tech solution and saying ‘let’s go’—we need to make sure that tech is embedded in the learning process, de-othering it and making it a recognizable part of how all learners learn, not just those with dyslexia and literacy differences.
We need to break down the barriers that surround assistive tech and reading support in 2023 because it’s such an important part of promoting inclusion and making sure that every learner, regardless of special educational needs and neurodivergent differences, can access the curriculum. To do this we need to support everybody in the classroom in developing a better understanding of assistive technology, how it can change the learning experience without affording some learners extra advantages, and how it can benefit every learner as they develop and grow.
7 ways to destigmatize reading support tech in your classroom
1. Remember that some of the stigma against assistive tech comes from a lack of understanding. Where there are assistive tech users in the classroom or even the school, take the time to explain to the class, or even the school, what these devices do and why they’re important—and how they don’t constitute an unfair advantage. Explain that assistive tech is more like a pair of glasses than a calculator: it’s levelling the playing field, rather than giving them the answers.
2. Explore low-tech forms of assistive technology with your learners to help establish high-tech devices in a context that they understand. Bring reading windows, thumb grips, and reading slopes into play to help them understand the nature of an assistive change to what they think of as ‘normal reading procedure’, and then gradually build out understandings of some learners using things like text-to-speech reading aids from what they know about these low-tech or no-tech solutions.
3. Use assistive tech in groups as a way of gamifying learning. The word game format helps devices and programs feel less insular in their effects and less odd or unusual within the classroom space. It creates a great platform for later implementing some kinds of assistive tech across the whole class.
4. You can also build on developing assistive tech knowledge by taking a deeper and more comprehensive look with learners at some of the reasons why it’s used, fostering a better understanding of neurodiversity within the classroom space. Knowing more about how dyslexia impacts an individual shows why reading aids are important, and not something to be thought of as alien. Getting involved with neurodiversity awareness initiatives helps learners better understand why it matters and connect the idea to life outside of the classroom, too.
5. Assistive tech isn’t only for the learners in the classroom who have Special Educational Needs or who are neurodivergent: many learners will benefit from the introduction of assistive devices, especially in settings where they’re developing literacy and taking their first steps on the reading journey. Across-the-board implementation of personal devices or team usage of whole-class devices breaks down the stigma and supports learners in garnering both skills and confidence. It establishes assistive tech as something normal, and helpful. In doing this we can address the idea that these devices are for more than ‘learners who struggle’—now, they’re for everybody.
6. You can support this further by introducing in-class resources that are specially designed to promote and bolster the use of the assistive tech devices you use. Chat to assistive tech providers about their resources and their recommendations—and for use with our C-Pen Reader 2.
7. Set a precedent in using assistive tech as a class leader: where learners can observe an adult using assistive tech as a standard part of how they approach texts, it has the power to break down barriers that render it unusual. Use text-to-speech when addressing new materials with a class, or reading through things like lesson objectives or instructions when a task is being set.
To find out more about our award-winning reading support device that can transform the literacy learning experience in your classroom and to claim your 30-Day Free Trial for Schools, check out C-Pen Reader 2.