Beating Technology Abandonment

There is a debate among educational professionals as to the value of assistive technology (AT) and its use with students with learning disabilities (LD). Students with learning disabilities may abandon the use of technology unless educators and service providers take the proper steps. What are some of the benefits of assistive technology for students with LD? What is technology abandonment? Why does it happen? And, more importantly, what can we do about it? There is an increase in the amount of students with learning disabilities attending postsecondary institutions. Johnson, Zascavage, & Gerber (2008) state that 98 % of universities in the US report having students with LD enrolled in their institutions. According to Hasselbring & Baush (2005), 10 percent of students in Canada have a learning disability. Currently, there is a social and financial commitment from our government education bodies to help these students to get the support