A Jan. 22 report from the Office of Educational Technology and Office of Special Education Programs dispels the myths of assistive technology devices and shares improvements that experts have witnessed in that space.
January 31, 2024 •
Aaron Gifford
Shutterstock
Connor Archer still has a 2004 Mac iBook G4 laptop computer in his office. He doesn’t use it, but he thinks about it daily.
Archer was diagnosed with autism at age 3 and remained nonverbal until 5. When the youngster struggled, his mother encouraged him to type something, anything, on that laptop. Archer embraced the challenge and gradually wrote a collection of short stories. During high school and college, digital translation tools helped him with foreign language assignments.
Now 25, Archer was awarded an MBA from Husson University in 2021 and became the CEO of the nonprofit he founded, the Courageous Steps Project. The organization supports inclusive learning projects in Maine.
“Using a pen and paper was never my strong suit. Keyboarding worked for me, but everybody’s different,” Archer said. [...]