Where can you find innovative educators doing great work to improve students’ literacy skills using assistive technologies? It maybe you or a school right in your backyard!

Barbara Wollak at Highland Park Junior High School, MN who is a CCC-SLP, teamed up with Dr. David Koppenhaver, a professor at Appalachian State University in North Carolina to improve the writing and social skills for adolescent students with autism and intellectual disabilities.

They co-created an e-pal and student mentoring program so students would have authentic writing experiences with college students studying to be special education teachers.

Barb’s students interacted with college mentors using a blog, a wiki and Co:Writer, a word prediction software. Co:Writer enabled students with disabilities to write to their college mentors despite significant spelling and grammar challenges.

This collaboration transformed 160 junior high students previously thought to be non-writers. Today, they read, write and share their thoughts and are more self-confident and expressive at school and at home.

Across the nation, teachers are infusing assistive technologies into the daily curriculum to accommodate students with disabilities.  The success of the program developed by Mrs. Wollak and Dr. Koppenhaver proves how powerful assistive technologies can be for students with disabilities