result in it being abandoned), and eligibility issues
affecting student access to AT. This content
analysis research summarized 60 articles regarding assistive technology from 1988 to 2003.
Among findings, the authors note that assistive
technology for individuals with visual impairments
were the smallest category of all articles. There
were limited articles regarding early childhood
and post-K-12 transition aspects of assistive technology. The content analysis found little to no evidence of ongoing support, family collaboration, or
assistive technology being used in community or
home settings of students with disabilities.
Additionally, Smith and Kelly (2011) reviewed literature over the past 45 years that addressed assistive technology in the visual impairment field and found 256 studies addressing assistive technology. Of those studies "…48% of the
articles were discussions of a theory, belief, or
practitioner-based concept, and 13% were discussions of product reviews or evaluations," (p.
77). This synthesis of research, confined by studies regarding K-12 programs serving students
with visual impairments, found that only two studies of the 256 total presented data regarding the
effectiveness of an intervention which included a
group of appropriate participants, intervention,
control group, and a comparison group. In a
separate study, Kelly (2011) found that only 46%
of academically oriented high school students
with visual impairments were using high-tech AT
in their classrooms (p. 238). Kelly noted that this
finding matched that of the few other studies,
which studied samples of students with visual impairments in other states.
30
Conclusion
IDEA, The Technology Act of 2000, and
ADA have made clear recommendations in the
areas of assistive technology, both in device acquisition and services related to K-12 and
