The Role of Assistive Technology in Improving the Quality of Learning in People with Special Educational Needs: A Systematic Review Study in Developmental Disabilities Aria

In recent years, with the advances of technology, educating exceptional learners has been influenced by the use of assistive technologies. Assistive technology is defined as an “any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain or improve functional capabilities of a children with special educational needs”. These assistive technologies were used to teach Exceptional Learners who have significant differences with peers in mental characteristics, sensory abilities, communication, emotional-behavior development and physical characteristics. The aim of the current research was to study the role of assistive technology in improving the quality of learning in people with special educational needs. A systematic review study method was employed using the following key search words includes: Assistive technology, Instructional Technology, Learning Technology about exceptional learners, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Specific Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Emotional-Behavior Disorder, Communication, Language, and Speech Disorders, Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Visual Impairments or Blindness, Children with Physical Disabilities, Health Impairments and Multiple Disabilities from. Dada were collected from the following data bases: PubMed, Springer, ProQuest, Scopus, Elsevier, Science direct, Google Scholar, between1993-2017. Among 83 selected research papers about applying assistive technology in special educational needs areas, 38 papers addressed specific learning disabilities. No research was found about applying assistive technology in emotional-behavior disorders. In the same vein, the majority of papers (57%) were experimental studies. A great number of studies focused on instructional software used to teach individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Specific Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Communication, Language, and Speech Disorders, Hearing and Visual Impairments, Physical and Multiple Disabilities. The results of most studies indicated that there is a positive effect of assistive technology on a most of disorders in special educational needs or exceptional children areas. It seems that most of researches found evidence supporting the positive effects of assistive technology and its effects on children with special education needs. Application and using technology can help students with special educational needs to enhance and improve their independence in academic and employment tasks, their participation in classroom discussions, along with helping them to accomplish some difficult academic tasks. The use of assistive technology in educating people with special educational needs is inevitable, the evidence-based researches support the conclusion that assistive technologies have the potential to contribute to a better quality of life for students with developmental disabilities, which are more than just a matter of conveniences. In special educational needs area, it is very important to ensure that people with disabilities are prepared to meet the challenges of life. Many technological tools such as assistive technology could increase, as much as possible, the possibilities for people with disabilities to overcome these challenges with fewer difficulties. In Iran developing assistive technology programs in developmental disabilities areas and studying its effect on these groups is needed.