I had printed out a few blog posts from the SpeEdChange blog and been wanting to read them.  I finally got around to it today and read this wonderful entry about the “Toolbelt Theory” in assistive technology and universal design.

All I can say is “WOW!”  It blew me away!  If you are in the special education, regular education, or work with individuals with special needs in any way, you need to read this post not just because of the toolbelt theory but because of the questions that it poses for schools and administrators.

What better way to deal with technology related accommodations than to teach the students themselves to develop their own “toolbelts” of solutions that work for them, particularly those that are free!  The skills that they develop by creating their own “toolbelt” are skills that are transferable and skills that they will need later in life not to mention the ability to learn to use the solutions they choose.

There are so many tools that are out there commercially that cost a ton of money, but in this world of Open Source and free, it is much easier to find solutions that will work, can be adapted for their use, or mashed up with something else.

I’m going to give a shameless plug at this point…so bear with me.  If you find a solution that is Open Source or you know something that could be made a bit better…please contact us!  We can help or will at the very least try to!