For many students with physical disabilities, the assistive technologies that enable or increase their mobility are equivalent to personal freedom. The special education teacher should be acutely aware of the special students’ need to obtain and maintain this personal freedom. It is not just a matter of pride. It is also about independence and self-confidence. Since the IDEA requires school districts to identify and provide the assistive technologies needed by special students, it is the task of the teacher to know more about available mobility devices. Three of the major devices are canes and crutches, self-propelled walkers, wheelchairs, and recreational vehicles like bikes and scooters.
Self-propelled walkers and rollators are ideal for students whose physical disability has not taken away their ability to stand by themselves. Wheelchairs, on the other hand, are for special students whose lower extremities cannot always support the whole weight of their bodies. The wheelchairs can be manually-propelled or motorized. The most basic wheelchairs, especially those made of aluminum, can be obtained by the school. Recreational vehicles, such as bikes and scooters, are rarely used in schools. But if students come with these types of assistive mobility devices, the school should look into ways that these can be accommodated inside the campus and the classroom.
Aside from the above assistive technology devices, the school’s physical layout must be prepared to accommodate them. For example, the school must have ramps to expand the special students’ access to different offices and buildings around the campus. The teacher, together with other professionals involved in the making of IEPs for the special student, must confer with parents regarding other mobility devices that will be useful at home. Some of these devices are wheelchair lifts, lift chairs, bath lifts, and adjustable beds.
Some special students, whose prognosis of their medical condition allows them to overcome the physical ability, will eventually throw away the above devices because these are no longer needed. This is a hopeful vista for the special education teachers. However, there are also special students whose life will always be attached to the wheelchair. In such cases, it is up to the teacher to help these students to comfortably carry out their day-to-day activities.
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