Transforming Disabled Students’ Lives With Flip of Switches

They were in the dark, unable to communicate and express their wants and needs. But with the simple touch of a button, their voices are now, figuratively, being heard.

About 210 developmentally disabled students are making strides in learning with the aid of some advanced devices at Hope High School in Buena Park, part of the Anaheim Union High School District. Some of the students at the public school, ages 12 to 22, are profoundly disabled, but with the use of things such as touch switches and augmentative communication devices, teachers are helping the students perform tasks such as activating blenders and cassette tapes and even shredding paper, skills some might be able to utilize in a work environment in several years.

In one classroom, two children are sharpening a pencil. The task requires intense concentration and a jelly switch, a big red button extremely sensitive to touch that is pushed by one child and that activates the pencil sharpener. Meanwhile, the other child pushes the pencil down into the upright sharpener.

Communication is another area that has been improved with technology because many of the children, although quite intelligent, are considered nonverbal. Although they cannot speak in traditional fashion, they can make their thoughts and wishes known through the use of computers or dedicated communication devices.

For instance, 17-year-old Sara Moore works at a local clothing store as part of her community-based instruction class. The gregarious girl uses a wheelchair and has verbal limitations, but her mind is sharp and she has an amazing memory. She communicates through a device called a Liberator that looks like a laptop but is more complicated. One word requires three icons to be punched.

Sara was teamed up with another student who is able to walk and talk without any effort but has trouble recalling in which section, say, the socks belong. Together, they do stock work, with Sara directing via computer and her co-worker following her lead and putting away clothes where they belong in the store.

The numerous switches make independent living a possibility, said Betty Taylor, a speech pathologist at the school.

She said choice is a big deal to these kids, and allowing them to make choices on their own is a valuable tool.

“Some of the kids can get really frustrated because they can’t communicate,” she said, watching some children work on computers with large, alternative keyboards. “I think [technology is] making a difference in the quality of their lives.”

Ana Cholo-Tipton can be reached at (714) 966-5890.