Technology for Students with Learning Disabilites

Welcome back to Limitless! New breakthroughs take place daily, especially in tech. A breakthrough that has intrigued me for some time is the technology used to aid people, especially children, with neurological disorders and mental disabilities. I’m talking about learning--the technology used to improve focus and concentration.

Robotics and machine learning have been prominent in providing social assistance, but how can they help people, primarily children, learn? 2 years ago a research team created machine-learning algorithms that could help robots understand when an autistic child requires help. The model was trained through video and audio data collected after the robot’s interactions with the children. The researchers then used new data, collected daily, to improve the robot’s social assistance with the child. Thus, the robot was able to better recognize when the child was frustrated and needed help.

How could the robot tell if the child was focused? Well, the visual and audio data collected recognizes a pattern of movements that indicate concentration. For instance, a longer gaze implies that the child is focused, and applying Machine Learning to track facial expressions can even predict the child’s emotions in certain instances. Using all this data, the robot can detect instances of frustration while learning.

Similarly, an organization called the NS foundation uses augmented reality to assist in the learning of children with mental challenges. They primarily focus on a largely overlooked yet therapeutic activity in children: coloring. Yes, coloring. According to Scholastic, “Coloring and drawing both help kids improve fine motor skills. They also train the brain to focus.” Furthermore, the style of coloring can indicate many things about the child. These factors include the choice of colors, the neatness of the coloring, along with the pressure on the coloring tool. So where does augmented reality come in? Well, after coloring an object, the company’s application allows a photo of the object to be taken and displayed in a 3-dimensional form interacting with an environment-- a fish swimming in an aquarium. Another example of augmented reality helping special education students is the DynaVox xPress. This device allows students to develop greater reading fluency, enhance natural speech patterns, and improve pronunciation. The device uses a combination of text and images to express language and increase the vocabulary of the user.

In addition, virtual reality has proven to be a useful technology in aiding special education students. Oftentimes, especially in school, special education students have to deal with crowds, such as hallways, school assemblies, and the cafeteria. At times, these environments may appear to be threatening and could trigger a frustrating response. Therefore, virtual reality would help such students better respond to these “stressful” situations, eventually allowing them to respond calmly and appropriately in the environment.

I mentioned before that new breakthroughs occur daily, and the world of technology is constantly evolving, so it won’t be surprising to see further advancements in education-assistive technology, which will allow for greater independence, improved communication, better academic performance, and less stress/anxiety.