Assistive Technology

Welcome to the Assistive Technology page on our Neurodiversity at UConn website. Here we will briefly define assistive technology (AT) and share some of the resources we've found on the types of tech that might benefit neurodivergent students.

 

What is Assistive Technology?

  • Assistive Technology (often abbreviated as AT) is any technology that helps people to be the best versions of themselves. AT can be apps, machines, or equipment.
  • Oftentimes outside of academia AT refers to things like wheelchairs or other physical devices, but in the world of education AT often consists of things that help students with anything related to learning and the aspects that affect the learning process.

Here's a video that contains some suggestions of free assistive technologies that might benefit neurodiverse students. 

What AT is best for me?

You might be wondering what AT is best for me? The lists below outline some of the technologies we've found for different neurotypes. 

Anxiety:

Anxiety is an umbrella term for a variety of emotional differences that involve high levels of panic or stress that occur much more intensely than usual. 

While anxiety is a feeling everyone feels, having anxiety as a diagnosis is very different, because this means it happens more often and is felt deeper to a point where it affects one’s mental or emotional state significantly. 

Anxiety can be a great boon in terms of having a more in-tact warning system within the body, and is especially helpful in understanding others and taking on leadership positions. However, anxiety can also result in a lack of confidence in performing daily rituals, reluctance in trying new things or taking risks, and can even prevent sleep.

Here are some types of technology that help with self-confidence and sleep:

Confidence:

  • CanPlan [9] - free app, set reminders for activities and add steps to each one
  • Google Calendar [25] - set up tasks, reminders, events for long- or short-term

Sleep:

  • Calm [10] - meditations/sleep stories/music/masterclasses for $6/month
  • Smiling Mind [11] - free mindfulness, meditation, and wellbeing check-ins for children and adults

For more information about Assistive Technology for anxiety, please visit:

ADHD:

Those with ADHD excel at problem-solving, have immense amounts of creativity, and persevere to make the impossible possible.

However, it can be difficult to stay focused on certain tasks, plan ahead or follow instructions, and can be characterized by fidgeting or speaking excessively, especially in uncomfortable situations.

Here are examples of technology that home in on focusing, organization, and fidgeting:

Focusing:

  • Noise-canceling headphones/ear plugs - recommended products: Donerton [28], Sephia [29]
  • White noise machines - recommended products: BGOVERSS [26], SNOOZ [27]
  • Forest [1] - $4 app where you grow a forest based on how well you stay focused, motivational

Organization/Planning:

  • Planners - recommended products: CleverFox [30], PRODUCTIVITYSTORE [31]
  • Calendars - recommended products: AT-A-GLANCE [32], Blue Sky [33]
  • Lucidchart [2] - easy free diagram/flowchart-building app and website

Fidgeting:

  • Fidget toys - moon sand (BlueMarble [34]), stress balls (Mind Panda [35])
  • Support animals [3], [36] - dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits, snakes, etc.

For more information about Assistive Technology for ADHD, please visit:

Autism:

The autism spectrum is another neurological difference that is characterized by a wide variety of traits.

Those with autism tend to take more methodical approaches to problems, have outstanding observation skills and pattern recognition, and are more accepting of difference in others.

However, the traditional learning system doesn't always accommodate for these strengths, and those with autism can approach relational and social interactions differently. There is also sensory diversity, in which their surroundings can be overbearing because they are more observant of their environment.

Here is some technology to help with communication, learning styles, and sensory overload:

Communication:

  • Proloquo2Go [4] - text-to-speech app for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, $249.99 for full access/$124.99 for Mac version
  • TouchChat [5] - symbol-based text-to-speech app, $299.99 or a free trial called Discover

Organization/Education:

  • LucidChart [2] - easy free diagram/flowchart-building app and website
  • Desmos [6] - free graphing/scientific calculator app and website
  • Notability [23] - free note-taking app that allows drawing, typing, and highlighting for note-taking/planning

Sensory:

  • Miracle Modus [7] - free Google Play app with relaxing visuals
  • Heat Pad [8] - free iPhone app with drawing and music

For more information about Assistive Technology for autism, please visit:

Depression:

Depression is similar to anxiety in that it is a feeling that everyone gets, but those diagnosed with depression are affected much more deeply and often. 

Those with depression tend to see life and people in a different, more empathetic light than most, and are typically in a stage of self-discovery. The common traits can include disinterest in life, loss of energy, and decreased overall happiness.

Depression can be difficult to manage, and it's important to remember how we continue to change with time. Here are some apps that motivate and improve mood daily:

Motivation:

  • Gratitude Journal [13] - free app where you can journal about positive things that make you happy
  • Gratitude Garden [12] - free app similar to Gratitude Journal except you grow/maintain a virtual garden

Mood:

  • Daylio [14] - daily mood tracker, goal setter, and shows your progress throughout the month, year, etc.
  • Live Happy [15] - digital magazine, website, podcast, etc. that reports on positive, happy, inspiring, and motivating material
  • Finch [22] - raise a virtual finch by reporting on your daily moods and meeting personal goals

For more information about Assistive Technology for depression, please visit: 

Learning Differences:

Learning differences is the general term for any type of differences in the way some learn in comparison to what the average education system expects. These can be any variations in how people think, read, write, reason, and remember. These are often recognized under different names, such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia.

Having access to technology that is tailored to these differences is a huge part in unlocking strong minds' full potentials. Here are a few examples that help with reading, typing, and memorization:

Reading:

  • Talking calculators - calculators that read out the numbers and equations typed into them, see Assistech [37]
  • Kurzweil 3000 [16] - reading software for websites, images with text, scanned text, etc., conversion of audio to MP3, built-in talking calculator, included Firefly subscription for $700/yr
  • Speechify [24] - reading software with voices and speeds, reads websites and scanned images, $139/yr

Typing:

  • Co:Writer Universal [17] - advanced text prediction, speech-to-text software, works with Google Docs, Gmail, LinkedIn, Blackboard, etc., $4.99/mo
  • Quillsoft [18] - word prediction, proofreading, text-to-speech and speech-to-type, abbreviation recognition, and topic research software for $10/mo, available for desktop, Chrome, and iPad

Memory:

  • WatchMinder [19] - watch that can be programmed with daily reminders, $69
  • Microsoft To Do [20] - make and access to-do lists on any device with due dates, reminders, and task steps, requires a Microsoft account
  • Twobird [21] - inbox organizer with built-in reminders and direct notetaking on emails

For more information about AT for learning differences, please visit:

AT Available at UCONN

The CSD at UCONN offers a wide variety of assistive technology that accommodates cognitive differences. 

  • Echo Smartpen: records audio while taking notes and students can replay and listen to parts of the lecture that correspond to that section of notes. 

  • Glean: a software that can be used to take more effective notes by linking PowerPoints to a recording, highlights important information, and groups the important parts together for summarization. 

 

  • Otter.ai: transcribes any lecture or audio with a computer or mobile device.

For more information on what the CSD offers, click here: Available Technology | Center for Students with Disabilities (uconn.edu)