Expending Horizons Of Ict: Ict For Children With Special Needs

Abstract

The use of computer based technology has become the need of the day due to different reasons. The teachers of today employ various information communication technology (ICT) supported methods and materials in the classrooms to enhance the teaching-learning process in a more effective way. As we are entering into the era of inclusion and as it has become the fundamental right of each child to be educated, children with special needs are being enrolled in the regular schools through the centrally sponsored scheme of the Government of India called Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

Special-needs children include those who have: Mental Retardation, which causes them to develop more slowly than other children. Speech and Language Impairment, problems such expressing themselves or understanding others. Physical Disability, such as vision problem, cerebral palsy, or other conditions. Learning Disabilities, which distort messages from their senses. Emotional Disabilities, such as antisocial or other behavioural problems. With proper care and education, every child can reach his or her full potential. More the parents and teachers understand about how a child grows, the better they’ll be prepared to recognize special needs and seek help promptly. Children with special needs require extra attention, teaching, care and love.

The role of Information and Communication Technology in educating children with special needs: Educating all students by today’s standards and for tomorrow’s living most certainly includes the use of technology. Its relationship in providing essential supports for students with disabilities in areas of self-care, education, employment, recreation/leisure, and community living are readily accepted. Additionally, access to technology can provide meaningful learning experiences to develop problem solving and higher order thinking skills and to function in the world beyond the classroom. The appropriate and successful integration of technology into learning environments has the potential to benefit all students.

Since, the professionals/teachers in the regular schools lag in the skills to teach the children with special needs, the knowledge about the ICT supported teaching methods for the disabled children would be of great boon to them to handle the entire class without any discrimination.

Today we are in the era of inclusion. In almost every country, inclusive education has emerged as one of the most dominant issue in the education of students with special education needs. In the past 40 years, the field of special needs education has moved from a segregation paradigm through integration to a point where inclusion is central to contemporary discourse.

Inclusive education is a strategy based on human rights and democratic principles that confronts all forms of discrimination. Inclusive education is concerned with removing all barriers to learning, and with the participation of all learners vulnerable to exclusion and marginalization. It is a strategic approach designed to facilitate learning success for all children.

Hence, it becomes the duty of a regular teacher to handle children with special needs along with normal children in his/her classroom. So the ICT, which he/she uses, should also meet the diverse needs of children with disabilities such as children with learning disabilities, mild intellectual disability, autism, hearing impairment and visual impairment. The role of Information and communication technology in educating children with various special needs is discussed in this study.