Redefining special education

It took me a couple of days to post this because I was really trying to think of something I wanted to do that might be a fun and engaging ways for students to use technology to redefine their lessons in the classroom. Sadly, that amazingly innovative idea hasn't quite sprung from the well of inspiration just yet...but I'll let you all know when it does. What did come to mind was how technology has redefined education for children with special needs...like my son. As many of you already know, my oldest son was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder right after he turned 4 years old. It took us a year to get the diagnosis due to living in rural Alaska. He was and still is limited in his communication skills but has come such a long way. And he's such a sweetheart. We go for walks and he says hello to every oblivious runner, bike rider, and random toddler we come across. I attribute a lot of his success in school and in life to technology. When it was time for him to attend school, he couldn't speak in full sentences. Well, he could but it wasn't spontaneous, meaningful speech. He would do what is called "echolalia" and copy what he heard others say. He could only answer yes or no questions but we still weren't always sure if he was comprehending what we were saying or just giving us one of the two words he knew we were looking for. When he wanted something he would come to me and say "water" or "popcorn" for example. When we moved to Spokane, we actually ended up being given an iPad with a speech application for him to use. It wasn't anything I knew anything about but it changed his life. Using that speech application on his iPad gave him the ability to participate and help to show his level of understanding. Since then his communication has come so far that he doesn't require the use of it anymore. But utilizing technology in his everyday life has added quality of life, an increased level of learning and participation that he wouldn't have had if he was born in the 80s like his mother. It really gives me a whole new level of hope as a future educator and as a parent to think of how we will not just be able to differentiate instruction but redefine what is possible and bring it to an entirely new level for children and adults that are differently-abled. The ability to give these kids the same level of participation as the gen ed student population is really what excites me about finally getting into the world of education.