Introduction
It has been determined that between 5 and 15 percent of all Americans, or an average of 15 to 44 million adults and children, have dyslexia in the United States (Dyslexia Association, 2021). A disability known as dyslexia is linked to challenges with spelling, writing, and reading. People with dyslexia are sometimes viewed as sluggish or stupid, regardless of their degree of intelligence. Neurological advances have been used to help illustrate the challenges faced by people with dyslexia. The findings show an increasing demand to ensure students with dyslexia receive special education services regardless of their ethnic background (Squire, 2017).
Learning difficulties related to their diseases account for 33 percent of pupils receiving special education assistance nationwide. (American Psychiatric Association, 2016). Out of the 33 percent, 19 percent constitute those learners with language or speech impairment, and another 15 percent have health impairment (National Center for Education Statistics, 2021). The most unfortunate thing with dyslexic students is that while they require technology to enhance their learning possibilities, their education remains challenged due to access to learning devices.
The government’s mandate in ensuring equal access to learning services majorly relies on its ability to provide suitable technology that makes learning easier for dyslexic students. Some of the measures the government can take to help dyslexic students access comprise:
- Implement mobile games and applications to enhance educational performance.
- Incorporate desktop applications and software to enhance orthographic learning among the students.
- Invest in mind mapping software that will allow dyslexic students to plan their work effectively.
- Employ hand-reading pens and scanning software to enable people with dyslexia to listen to and store texts found in documents and books.
- Text-to-speech software will ensure these students can comprehend the written material presented and check or proofread their work.
Framed Issue
The purpose of the brief will be to examine the effect technology has on the ineffective learning ability of people with dyslexia by enhancing access to the necessary technological advances. Once realized, supplying educators with the required technical equipment to facilitate learning will enhance the instruction of these students by installing and implementing technological infrastructure in every learning institution to reach every dyslexic student.
The Intent of the Bill
The bill serves to develop a program that the government will implement throughout the country to ensure every dyslexic student has access to technology that will improve their learning. The program’s outcome will ensure every learning institution throughout the country has the same technological infrastructure that will provide students from every region in the country with similar learning opportunities as their non-dyslexic counterparts. With educators having challenges instructing people with dyslexia in an inclusive learning environment, often being forced to take more time with dyslexic students to learn to understand, incorporating technology will help minimize the challenge.
Among the difficulties with instructing dyslexic learners is creating more time with the students or breaking down the learning programs into small manageable programs to ensure the students understand learning with ease (Dyslexia Association, 2021). To enhance learning from both angles, that of the educator and the learner, the installation and implementation of technological infrastructure in every learning institution will ensure ease of learning for the students. The bill aims to ensure that teachers have the chance to reduce the difficulties of teaching in an inclusive setting while dyslexic students have a platform that supports their learning.
Unintended Consequences
- Most assistive technology is costly to implement.
- Technology tends never to be relied on.
- Time-consuming in the installation and implementation of the technological infrastructure.
- Cumbersome.
- Training will be essential to realize the implementation.
- It may be used as a subject for abuse by some of the students.
- The absence of space efficiency in terms of space storage.
Summary
Dyslexia is associated with between 5 and 15 percent of all Americans, averaging between 15 and 44 million people, children and adults, living with dyslexia. Dyslexia is a disability associated with difficulty in reading, writing, and spelling. The effects, no matter the intelligence level of the patient, have seen dyslexic people be considered lazy or dumb. Throughout the country, 33 percent of the students who receive special education services have learning disabilities specific to their respective conditions (National Center for Education Statistics. 2021). The bill intends to guarantee that while dyslexic students receive a platform that assists them in their learning, educators receive an opportunity to lessen the challenges encountered in teaching in an inclusive environment.
However, with the installation and implementation of the technological infrastructure comes unintended consequence like the high cost of assistive technology implementation. Once implemented, teachers will realize outcomes within the first semester of using assistive technology in teaching dyslexic students throughout the country. The impact of the technology on the learners will be able to receive instruction with ease. The educators will have fewer challenges planning their curriculum, and no will not be required to spend more time with dyslexic students to make them match the non-dyslexic students.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2016). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. American Psychiatric Publishing. Washington, DC, 5thedition.
Dyslexia Association. (2021). Assistive Technology. Web.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2021). Students with disabilities. Web.
Squire, A. (2017). Dyslexia. New York, NY: Children’s Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.