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One of the toughest life events for young individuals is transitioning from secondary to higher education. For individuals with disabilities, learning or physical, this may be another obstacle that they have to face and conquer. Generally, most people will see this situation as something unimaginable.
How will they be able to go through the rigors of homework and research projects in a higher education institution? But then again, disabled college students are resilient and persistent. They are the epitomes of bravery and perseverance.
Disability pertains to any condition that prevents a person from doing particular pursuits or communicating with everything around them. Such conditions can be mental or physical, which cause significant impairments to different aspects of a person.
Various disabilities can cripple a person’s distinct ability; one very common impairment is learning. Difficulties in reading, writing, listening, spelling, and reasoning are typical causes of learning disabilities.
Learning disabilities (LD) are incomprehensible difficulties in basic educational skills. In a medical context, these are complex neurological disorders that strongly affect the person’s level of intellect. Some diagnoses are hard to read, but with technology these days, advanced testing procedures can help categorize someone’s impairment.
Physical handicaps limit individuals’ major life activities like seeing, hearing, walking, learning, and other relevant tasks that involve human body parts. Usually, people are termed as disabled when they cannot perform major life activities or have a history of a specific impairment.
Nonetheless, these impediments don’t stop them from living their lives like the rest. At present, technology has paved the way to break barriers caused by disabilities through assistive technology.
Even before these high-tech learning tools existed, disabled students and their families fostered positive attitudes and went on with their academic aspirations. Now that it has become much easier for them to acquire knowledge, they continue to strive to succeed in all aspects of their lives.
50 Online Tools for College Students with Disabilities
For College Students with Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and Other Speech Disability
Software
Kurzweil 3000
It is an educational software meant to assist students who are experiencing struggles with literacy, at home, in school, or in the office. This software has built-in features such as OpenDyslexic font and magnification of text for improved readability of dyslexic students.
Its 31 Natural Text-to-speech voices are available in 18 dialects and languages, allowing them to access similar materials with the rest of the class. A test-prep toolbar is available for learners to create their assessment for a more meaningful learning experience.
Snap&Read
Snap&Read fulfills the complex reading needs by reading aloud inaccessible and accessible text to the users. It can adjust the vocabulary level according to the user’s ability to comprehend, without altering the meaning of the text.
The picture-supported dictionary function provides straightforward definitions and character representation to elucidate the meaning. With over 100 languages, it can translate text on any website.
Co:Writer
Co:Writer develops the students’ ideas and brings those into writing. Students can seamlessly draft their ideas and practice to become better writers through its word prediction, grammar, vocabulary-smart, and translation features.
Users who need a speech-to-text function may take advantage of its speech recognition feature, which will allow them to transfer what they said into text in an email, cloud storage, or simple Word document.
Claro Software
Claro Software provides access to PDF files by reading back while simultaneously highlighting the text. The user can select which part to start and end the reading.
Through its assistive technology, it aids individuals with reading disabilities to achieve as others do. Studying makes it a lot easier because users can annotate and add comments as well as save them with the PDF for future use.
Penfriend XL
The Penfriend XL software assists learners with visual disabilities, dyslexia, sensory disabilities, and other related diagnoses, to communicate and breeze through education independently.
The predictive text feature is useful for longer tasks since it cuts the writing time shorter. It also promotes better spelling and grammar as well as boosting their low self-esteem and encourages them to become better writers.
Apps
Proloquo2Go
The software’s innovative design bridges the communication gap between non-verbal individuals and the people around them. Regardless of their age, individuals with speech disabilities can use Proloquo2Go’s symbol and text-based functions to perform day-to-day conversations and express their thoughts to others.
The augmentative and alternative communication app is a nifty tool for people with Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, and those with other speech disabilities.
OCR Instantly Pro
Converting images of text to clear and readable documents is possible with OCR Instantly Pro. The app is useful for dyslexic individuals to access regular reading materials, from taking pictures to converting them to digitized text that can easily be exported via a text-to-speech application to read the content aloud.
Furthermore, it has features that can clean the background noise to improve the accuracy of the material. Users can share it with other apps after extracting it into reading material for future review purposes.
Flashcards Deluxe
A multi-sensory educational tool that allows users to create flashcards from scratch or import previously shared decks. The cards show two sides; whether students want to attach images or sounds, it can significantly help, especially during test preparations or reviews.
It has text-to-speech features to enhance auditory functions, making this app available to visually impaired users too. Also, it has a simple interface, broadening its accessibility to users of all ages.
Learning Ally Audio
Learning Ally Audio is an educational app that is an excellent source for audiobooks. Students with Learning Ally accounts can download their books through the app and listen to its recordings, creating a simplified learning method for dyslexic students.
There is a playback option and voice adjustment to meet their preferred audio setting. Making the learning materials accessible to students with special needs empowers and pushes them to reach their full potential.
SnapType Pro
For students with special needs, answering homework or writing in textbooks may seem to be a challenge. To resolve this issue, SnapType Pro will allow them to transfer their answers by snapping a picture of the answer sheet and overlay text boxes on the image, which will enable them to use a keyboard to type in their responses.
It can even translate the voice message into text for those who are unable to type. File sharing is possible through email or to another application.
News-2-You
Students will have to learn what’s going on around them, read, or listen to current events, whether for studies or only their personal choice. However, for those with complex learning needs, this may be challenging.
The News-2-You app closes this gap through the symbol-supported newspaper, fostering communication, and literacy among students with reading disabilities. Gaining access to real news can promote inclusivity and engage in meaningful conversations with classmates, friends, and families about the latest events.
Ghotit
Students diagnosed with learning disorders and struggling in writing and reading can use the Ghotit software and app. It assists individuals through the software’s grammatical, phonetically, and context-aware algorithms to create error-free content or text.
Moreover, it has word prediction features to improve typing pace and can validate the material through its Proofreader service before submitting the assignment or sending the email to ensure that it contains the intended message.
For Hearing-impaired College Students
Apps
Live Transcribe
Live Transcribe is an app that makes two-way communication accessible to deaf individuals and other hearing disabilities. Through its real-time and speech-to-text transcription features, the app can present daily conversations on the screen. Users can respond by typing their replies, and they get alerts when someone mentions their name.
With built-in 80 languages and dialects, it can swiftly change between different languages. Adding frequently-used words such as household stuff or names is helpful for users to create their responses in regular exchanges quickly.
ADA Solution
ADA Solution provides meaningful real-time experience to students with hearing disabilities. This application bridges the communication gap by allowing the students to raise their questions, provide comments, and work with the rest of the students in the class. It can instantly transcribe live speech and convert audio or video files into text via its Automated Transcription features.
Web Captioner
Web Captioner is a straightforward tool for students who may require assistance in hearing or have to use real-time captioning while they’re in class. One of its main features is users don’t have to download or install anything. This is a browser that works best on Google Chrome web browser.
It doesn’t even need hardware; a functioning laptop can already do the job. When students are in an auditorium or a normal conversation with friends, opening the website will allow them to comprehend the speaker’s message.
TextHear
This app is the most advanced among others that have real-time speech-to-text translation since it no longer requires training or getting used to a particular voice. It swiftly produces text with punctuation and spacing for easier comprehension.
With TextHear, there is no need for an interpreter during private conversations; users can maintain their privacy. It also offers an adapter for a landline phone and converts it to a captions phone. Should the students need to call their classmates or anyone, they can do it with ease.
Ava
Ava is an app that enables people with hearing disabilities to get involved in regular conversation. Its speech-to-text feature converts the speech of the person talking in the group and shows up on everyone’s screens.
Instant captions appear on top of the video call or shared screen, breaking down communication barriers during conference calls or student meetings. It has advanced AI-based live captioning, which includes correct punctuation to ensure the accuracy of the text.
Otter Voice
With its AI assistant feature, Otter Voice can transcribe real-time content from lectures, meetings, and interviews. It can save conversations both in audio recording and transcription through the app.
Aside from its synchronized speech recognition, it can identify the speaker and combine search and keyword extraction. The app catches notes from study group sessions and works on the audio information for research purposes.
Sorenson BuzzCards
Sorenson Buzzcards makes actual conversations easy with people who may not know sign language. It acts as a deck of flashcards by merely typing the message and showing it to the speaker; both parties will be able to proceed with their conversations seamlessly.
On-the-spot editing of flashcards is possible, in case there are phrases or words not found in the default list. With this app, daily exchanges can be as easy as typing and showing.
Sennheiser MobileConnect
The app can stream audio content using WiFi, and it can easily adjust the audio signal to meet their hearing preference. Its straightforward interface allows the users to navigate the speech controls and listen to high-quality sound swiftly. It is unnecessary to carry another device when listening in an auditorium; students can conveniently use their unit.
Software
Dragon Speech Recognition
The software helps students having a hard time writing. By dictating their message, typing and spelling issues no longer exist and hinder them from sharing with their teachers, classmates, or anyone they talk to.
It can also transcribe the content to evaluate if it is the right message that the user wants to convey. Dragon software can also read homework, emails, and other text instructions.
Signly
This browser extension can translate the web page, making it accessible for deaf individuals. Students can add the extension and make it useful for their research projects and homework.
For other business organizations, Signly helps provide uniform customer service to their clients through language translation. By activating the translation, all web pages will be understood by deaf people.
For College Students with Autism
Apps
Avaz AAC
Avaz is a reliable augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) app designed for nonverbal individuals struggling with communication. It provides ideas of regular exchanges with the person with a speech disability to improve their language skills.
The app can save frequently-used phrases on the keyboard to allow a single-tap function, making the conversations more efficient. Parents and caregivers can print the patient’s vocabulary book, allowing them to access it even without a gadget anytime, anywhere.
MyTalkTools Mobile AAC
MyTalkTools Mobile is one of the most advanced AAC applications that eliminates communication barriers between people with speech difficulties and the individuals around them. With the help of this tool, they can form sequences of words, images, and sounds to come up with a coherent sentence and express themselves.
Users can swiftly customize the boards, using pictures and other media content for faster recall of phrases. The interface has a straightforward design to eliminate the stigma of conventional AAC tools.
Pictello
An app that helps people with autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and other diagnoses, to share their stories, and recall their holiday activities and schedules, is what Pictello is all about. It has an uncomplicated guide, helping individuals to enjoy creating videos.
Users can add voiceovers through the text-to-speech function. The app shows people with difficulties in communication that they, too, can have fun with social media platforms.
Software
MathTalk
Software that simplifies math by voicing their math problems and equations. Students with learning difficulties can seamlessly study math problems, email, print, and save their work.
It can transcribe topics such as calculus, algebra, graphing, and other complicated areas of mathematics. Hence, students can work independently and feel confident in themselves in learning the subject.
Proloquo4Text
The app gives access to communication to nonverbal students via its prepared phrases. Conversations are more accessible with the sentence prediction function since the program can anticipate what the user wants to relay to the speaker.
It improves efficiency in daily exchanges with students struggling with speech. The single-screen design maintains the effortless navigation of the app.
Keeble
Keeble offers customizable features to meet the unique needs of users with various disabilities. Bigger labels, high contrast, and convertible key selection behavior are helpful typing solutions for students with impairments.
The predictive text limits the keyboard activity of the users by 60%. Thus, students can swiftly respond and keep up with the exchanges.
Emergency Chat
The app enables the user to relay their message even when speaking is impossible. Students with disabilities may encounter critical situations that may require assistive tools to inform someone of their situation.
It has a default text that tells the individual they give their gadget to, about their meltdown or emergency. Text format can be customized according to how they want other people to read it.
Touch Trainer
The app may teach the very basics of letter recognition, spelling, and reading, but students with disabilities, regardless of their age, may still have special needs when it comes to learning.
A refresher or constant practice for the recall is imperative to maintain their level of literacy and observe independent learning. The simple animation of music and shows when they tap the button enhances their use of touch screen functions.
Talking Scientific Calculator
Its design is to make the computation process easier for individuals with learning disabilities. It has huge colorful buttons and a voiceover function that says the answers, commands, button names, and formulas.
Students have two entry modes; if they prefer conventional calculators, they can use the standard mode. When there are more complex mathematical equations, they can choose the formula mode.
Miracle Modus
Some individuals with autism necessitate meditation tools to calm them down. The Miracle Modus app helps alleviate sensory overload. They find unique patterns of light and sound soothing. With the single tap command, the arrows can shift their modes, involving a bit of interaction from the users.
Voice4u
Voice4u uses icons that have pictures that correspond to the appropriate word. These icons come with clear audio, for users with a speech impairment to successfully engage with conversations. It has a simple interface for easy navigation, and icons can be sorted alphabetically or categorized accordingly.
Users also have a choice to modify their pictures and use a preferred voice. Special education teachers and speech therapists highly recommend this app for learning or personal use.
For College Students with Physical Disability
Software
CoughDrop
CoughDrop is another augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) software that eliminates the barriers caused by speech disabilities. Through their simple and affordable solutions, it can satisfy every complex reading need.
Their comprehensively-researched templates show the students the appropriate symbols with corresponding pictures, and how to use them for communication. They can work offline, store boards and templates to access it in places with no internet connection.
WheelMate
Students with physical disabilities may have limited access to communal facilities such as car parks and toilets when they are off campus.
WheelMate app can show the nearest wheelchair-friendly restrooms and parking lots, ensuring convenience and accessibility when going somewhere else. The app is available in other countries abroad, downloading it before leaving allows them to plan their day in a new place.
iStudiez Pro Legendary Planner
Managing college schedules is tough, but iStudiez Pro Legendary Planner can help students stay on track, even with individuals having physical disabilities. It can store course details and relevant information about instructors so students can quickly contact them should they have concerns.
Make use of icons and bold-colored labels as markers for classes and extracurricular activities, to conveniently stay on top of things.
For Blind and Visually Impaired College Students
Apps
SoundNote
SoundNote will not allow students to miss a thing in their lectures, classes, or study groups. Visually impaired students may rely on special typing tools, but it is wise always to get a hold of audio recording to avoid skipping important information from instructors.
If they happen to miss out on a detail, SoundNote can fill in the blanks for them through the recording. It has file-sharing functions for quicker exchange of notes and study materials among their classmates.
LetMeTalk: Free AAC Talker
This augmentative and alternative communication uses images and lets autistic users or someone with speech impairment arrange them in a meaningful way so people can understand them. They can add more images to an aggregate of existing photos and improve their vocabulary.
The app can still function even without an internet connection. Hence, it is commonly used in hospitals and schools to reach out to autistic and other speech-disabled people successfully.
Seeing AI
An app that tells the user about everything it can see on the camera. With its design meant to aid the visually impaired and blind people, they can independently live every day just by listening to the VoiceOver function and aiming the camera at text, documents, pictures, or signs.
In school, students can depend on their audio guidance to capture a document or book page and read the text as well as its default format. It has face recognition with added narration about the person’s age, gender, and emotion.
Cash Reader: Bill Identifier
The Cash Reader app helps blind people transact their business like everyone else. By setting the camera to the money they’re holding, it can read and tell them its denomination. Even when the mobile phone is on silent, it can convert its text through vibrations. The app can still function in areas with no internet, as long as the currency database has been downloaded to the phone.
Envision AI
Dubbed the most reliable optical character recognition (OCR) app, Envision AI can scan the surroundings, people, and objects so students with visual impairment can confidently go through college education with ease.
It can read textbooks out loud and other school materials as well as import PDFs to get descriptions of the images within the text. Even handwritten notes of their classmates, Envision’s artificial intelligence, can read and narrate the content. Hence, exchanging study materials with other learners will never be an issue for them.
Software
Grid 3
The software offers a comprehensive communication solution for students, of all ages, with complex learning needs. It has a broad range of control options like eye gaze, touch, switch, and pointing gadgets. Through the aggregate symbols or text, they can efficiently use it to express themselves.
The Super Core, a research-based core vocabulary, educates AAC users on how to maximize symbol communication by training them to form meaningful phrases.
ZoomText Magnifier
The software offers complete integrated magnification to satisfy the needs of visually impaired individuals. Its reading program enhances characters, images, and everything that appears on the computer screen, making it readable for visually impaired learners.
Documents, web pages, and emails can all be read and highlighted simultaneously through the AppReader. They can adjust the settings to modify the appearance of the highlighting function–its shape, color, size, and transparency level.
Apps
TapTapSee
An assistive technology designed for blind and visually disabled students to recognize the things around them, TapTapSee primarily relies on the gadget’s camera and voiceover features to capture everything and narrate it to the users.
It can identify and analyze multidimensional items at any angle in just a couple of seconds. For easy navigation, the app alerts the user that it’s at the right angle to take a video or picture.
NVDA Screen Reader
NVDA Screen Reader is a software that provides free access to assistive technology for blind and visually impaired people. It is downloadable to any computer and can convert text into a Braille through a Refreshable Braille Display.
The programmers of this software aim to develop an optimal solution for those who can’t afford AAC tools and other applications that can break down communication barriers.
Stop, Breathe & Think
The app is for all ages and introduces the basics of mindfulness and interactive soothing activities. This emotional wellness platform develops the emotional strength of individuals with unique needs who are going through a rough patch due to their insecurities and disabilities.
There are more than 400 activities about keeping a healthy mind through meditation, breathing exercises, and guided journaling. Apart from therapy, parents and caregivers may find this app very useful to guide their loved ones in achieving a balanced state of mind.
For College Students with ADHD/ADD
Apps
MindNode
The college will involve rigorous research projects, book reviews, and essays that require mind-mapping tools to organize ideas. MindNode keeps all gathered data into a coherent diagram with color-coded themes and lines to interconnect the thoughts.
This pre-writing app allows students, even those with disabilities, to easily navigate the application through its simple interface and convert their ideas into coherent illustrations.
SpellBetter
SpellBetter empowers students with learning disabilities, especially those struggling with spelling, through its word prediction and auto-completion features. While writing their assignments or essays they no longer have to get stressed with their spelling issues. Instead, they will give their full attention to their composition.
It has a text-to-speech function so they can simply hear the suggested words as well as proofread the content. Its spell checker uses phonetics to pronounce every word of the context correctly.
Notability
Notability has a design that will keep students who have ADHD to successfully scribble notes in their lectures, without losing their concentration. Individuals who have low memory retention may find this app helpful. It can combine handwritten notes, scrutinize images via its zooming function, and perform final edits.
With its broad range of sketching tools, they can play around with their projects while exploring every available feature. This way, it brings out their creativity with complete focus on the task at hand.
Isolator
Students who have poor concentration skills or suffer from ADHD or ADD may find this app helpful. By isolating the active screen and blurring out the background, users can focus on their current work.
It maintains the background clean by covering the icons as well as other applications that are running to avoid distraction, once the isolator is on. Everything goes back to normal after they are through with their work and switch the app off.
Types of Disabilities
Dyslexia
One of the common learning disabilities is dyslexia, which hinders the student’s reading and comprehension skills. There are several ways in which such impairment becomes apparent.
Some students have difficulties with phonemic awareness; they can’t identify the breakdown of words based on their sounds. Furthermore, they have issues with spelling, fluency, and comprehension, which slows their learning ability.
ADHD
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has dramatically affected the lives of more than 6 million children with such a diagnosis. Even though there have been disputes on whether or not it is a learning disability, it can restrain someone from learning like the rest.
However, special educators are capable of giving instructional interventions to assist students with such impairment. Behavioral therapies and medications are also crucial in treating ADHD cases.
Processing Difficulty
Learning disability has a relevant connection to processing deficits. Students who suffer from such impairment have trouble understanding sensory data.
Hence, they feel inferior to conventional classrooms without instructional materials. These are prevalent in auditory or visual learners; they are unable to retain essential data needed for success.
Dysgraphia
Dysgraphia inhibits the ability to write letters and numbers legibly. Students with dysgraphia usually have problems with math subjects because of poor retention of numerals and digits.
Common signs of such disability are not able to hold a pen correctly and having a tight posture while writing. They also have issues in executive functions like organizing and planning.
Physical Disability
Congenital birth issues, illnesses, or injuries due to accidents can cause severe physical disabilities. There are just a plethora of physical handicaps one can name; perhaps one disability may not be an issue for another person.
Therefore, the primary factor in categorizing a physical disability is if such conditions significantly impact their ability to live their daily life.
Tips for Students with Disability to Make the Transition Easier
- Make sure your documentation confirming you have a disability is less than three years old.
- Learn about Assistive Technology.
- Register at the Office of Disability Services to meet the staff and give them your documents and accommodations.
- Sign up for a special orientation for students who have a learning disability.
- Check that you have all of your course syllabuses and get all of the information ahead of time.
- Using assistive technology at college boosts productivity. Students with disabilities who use assistive technology such as screen readers or audiobooks can process a vast amount of text in an oral format.
- Begin using time management organizers to manage your time better – classes, study, meals, and fitness!
- Stress can harm your health, so make time to exercise!
- Between and after classes, visit the library. You can get carried away or sidetracked in your dorm. There are fewer distractions in the library or study rooms so that you can concentrate better. Assistive technology computers are available at a local library or the Office of Disabilities.
- College students now have an almost endless amount of tools at their disposal, thanks to rapid advancements in assistive technology apps. Choose apps that you are familiar with and feel comfortable using to help you stay focused.
- Don’t forget to check out colleges that offer scholarships for students with disabilities.
Roles of Assistive Technology
Technology plays a crucial part in the education sector, particularly in the special education department. Over the last decade, it has triggered a massive revolution in providing meaningful academic pathways to students with disabilities.
The National Center for Education Statistics reveals that there are more than 7.3 million students with disabilities who went to school in 2020-21, and 32% of them had learning disabilities. These figures only show that impairment, whether physical or learning, doesn’t inhibit a person from fulfilling their academic goals.
Generally, assistive technology pertains to gadgets and services to develop, keep, or enhance differently abled students’ capabilities. There are several forms of assistive technology; they can be computers, computerized gadgets, and low-tech types like pencil grips.
As for those types that assist students with learning disabilities, there are computer software and mobile applications that offer text-to-speech functions and vice versa, word prediction, and mind mapping services.
The application of assistive technology has helped disabled students transition seamlessly to higher education. Whether it is a college or university, it will be full of meticulous homework and significant amounts of research, regardless of their condition.
For students with disabilities, the use of assistive tools will remove common hindrances like instructional problems, accessibility issues, and visual difficulties.
Assistive technology, unlike in other interventions, has a considerable effect in assisting differently-abled learners in advancing toward the objectives provided in their education plans.
These tools aid them in completing the assignment and overcoming an area of difficulty. Thus, more educators are convinced that assistive technology is the panacea that prevails in the case of any learning disability.
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