Having been a teacher of the deaf and mulithandicapped deaf children, I have used the computer to develop many parts of my curriculum to make it more accessible to my students. This may take the form of enlarging texts so that my students with cortical visual impairment can see the materials better or creating small theme books for my students to read. I have also used various font types to make individualized worksheets for students to trace.

A program that I have come across that has been a tremendous help to my program is called Boardmaker (TM). The program can be used for endless purposes. I began to use it to create picture cards for use on a schedule board for a student who had not developed a sense of time and routine. I also used these pictures to label things around the classroom. This program can also be used for creating vocabulary bingo game cards, pictures for thematic/vocabulary development, and spelling flashcards. Another feature of this program is that it can be used to design overlays for speech communication devices. The greatest benefit for my class is the development of vocabulary either spoken or signed.

Another tool that I have used in the past is an AlphaSmart keyboard. I used this piece of equipment for one of my deaf students who has difficulty writing due to Cerebral Palsy. When her writing became too illegible, I allowed her to type her work on this keyboard. This keyboard can be plugged into the computer and the information/text can be downloaded into any word processing program. When her writing control returned, I discontinued her use of this tool so that her muscles could continue to be developed for writing and other fine motor skills.

The IntelliKeys keyboard is another adaptive device that can be used for students to gain more access to the computer. The overlays on this keyboard can simplify the keyboard to letters only, numbers only, directional arrows, etc. Used in conjunction with various programs, this tool allows students with motor control difficulties to press buttons on the keyboard with fewer errors (using key guards). It also simplifies the keyboard to what is necessary to operating the program. A standard keyboard may be too overwhelming for many young students, especially those with various challenges.

These are just a few of the many technological tools that I have used in my classroom. I am looking into the use of Touch Screen technology for possible implementation in my classroom. If you know of any other tools that can be used in a classroom for deaf or multihandicapped students, please let me know. I will be happy to include them in this segment.