Page 68 - Issue 112 May-June 2021

68 reason, to ensure the technology selected supports, engages, and inspires SEND children, consider the following key areas: • Connectivity It should connect key people, such as parents, caregivers, educators and health professionals; providing easy-to-use channels for communication and collaboration, facilitating their ability to work as a remote team. • Accessibility Accessibility through an app available on smartphones and tablets is crucial as this ensures key features and strategies are available in one place, and reduces the need for multiple devices or a variety of software applications. • Consistency and structure Remember to take into account consistency and structure, such as through schedules and routines that are suited to individual circumstances. Think about whether there is an option to allow the creation of custom visual resources; as this helps mitigate unexpected changes and reduce anxiety. • Availability Check how resources are made available. For instance, appropriately sequenced resources ensure that learners have all of the information they need at the right time and in a manner they are able to understand, learn from and act on. • Support Consider solutions that support families to manage home life more effectively and efficiently, and provide tools for parents with which to create visual aids to support learning (e.g. social stories). “Addressing the specific needs of children with SEND and their families” • Tools Look at solutions that contain tools for teachers to create home learning activities featuring both mood measurement, and other feedback features, to allow everyone involved to monitor all aspects of progress and wellbeing, both in an educational setting as well as at home. There are many technologies developed for neuro-diverse students, and now with the copious challenges created by the pandemic, it is vital that solutions are created with the ‘new normal’ in mind, whilst also effectively addressing the specific needs of children with SEND and their families. Technologies that provide support to autistic children in the short term, such as those currently affected by the pandemic, would also bring benefits in the longer term; potentially in educational settings across the country that were struggling to meet the needs of ASD students before Covid-19. Done well, technology use has the potential to play a key role in helping to improve outcomes for children with SEND, both reducing the impact of the pandemic and, more generally, in removing barriers to learning. SEN112 senmagazine.co.uk ASD