Assistive technology is defined as “Any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities" ([section] 300.5).

The 1997 reauthorization of IDEA added a requirement that each individualized education program (IEP) team consider AT as one of a number of "special factor considerations.”

loganmic aac-rerc_e_a000304377

Examples of Assistive Technology:
Highlighters, Magnifyers, Graph paper, Digital clocks, Color-coding, Pencil grips, Headphones, FM listening devices, Laptops, Books on CD/DVD, Raised line paper, Large print materials, Calculators, Software, OCR speech synthesizers, Trackballs, Voice recognition, Text to speech, Tape-recorders, Touch switches, Alternative keyboards, Head cursor, Word processing, Word prediction, Writing organizers, Augmentative Communication Devices, Digital picture schedules, Video model videos


In the classroom, AT can create access to core curriculum, bring field trips to students, simulate real experiences for learning, provide opportunities for socialization and communication.