Like we’ve said throughout this whole week, neurodiverse people with conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often have overlooked abilities that can be of great benefit to any organization or company. But in order to help people with neurological conditions unlock those abilities, it is essential that they are accommodating in a way that can help them overcome the challenges of those conditions—the earlier, the better. For children with ADHD, a new wave of technologies is surfacing that is designed to help teachers promote better learning amongst those children.
Students struggling with short attention spans often have their focus disrupted and have to be reminded over and over again to do something. A new technology designed to solve this issue is the vibrating watch. On a fixed interval, students can receive simple reminders to refocus on their classwork without letting other students know. This gives students control, takes the pressure away from teachers, and helps them to succeed academically all in one fell swoop.
Students with ADHD might find it too difficult to sit down and read the required texts for class. With a subscription to an audiobook service such as Audible, they can listen to someone read that book to them instead. A small tablet device or mp3 player that can tap into this subscription is ideal because it allows students to be active while listening to the readings.
Similar to the difficulty with reading, many students have a hard time with processing the numbers they see on math pages. A talking calculator can help them to hear the numbers as they work out problems before submitting a final answer. This can help the answers stick in the mind before they are transferred from calculator to paper.
As we look for better ways to integrate neurodiverse people into everyday life, these types of assistive technologies can be of great benefit.
