Dave L. Edyburn, Cognitive Prostheses for Students with Mild Disabilities: Is This What Assistive Technology Looks Like?
If a
child with a disability struggles with
handwritingsuch that tasks such as
forming letters or spellingcorrectly are
interfering with the expression of ideas
onpaper, should a dictation service like
iDictate (http://www.idictate.com) be
considered a cognitive prosthesis for
enhancing academic performance?
CONCLUSION
If the need for assistive technology is
triggered by an identified performance
problem (i.e., academic failure) and
appropriate technologies can be provided
that enhancefunctional performance, are
we failing to meet the legislative
intent of the assistive technology
consideration mandate when cognitive
performance support tools are not
routinely provided? While advances in
technology have made the potential of
cognitive prostheses more viable than
ever, much work remains to be done to
understand the array of implementation
issues that will impact their value and
use for students with mild disabilities.
Additional research is needed to
empirically demonstrate the gains
achieved as a result of using a
cognitive prosthesis. In addition,
considerable policy and attitudinal
issues must be addressed to deal with
perceived inequities and barriers that
are likely to limit the routine use of
cognitive prostheses.
