What is special needs?

Children under the category of "special needs" is actually a vast spectrum. Special needs could mean anything from a minor learning disability to a severe mental disability. Food allergies, physical disabilities, as well as emotional disabilities also fall under this category. Children that are terminally ill can also be considered special needs. The idea is that a child classified as having special needs is a child that needs additional assistance when learning in the classroom. Since we know more about children with special needs, many types of assistive technology have come out to aid students in learning.

Assistive technology was not always around, however. In fact, many were not even aware of the magnitude that the number of special needs kids accounts for today. Probably the milestone that started assistive technologies though was Louis Braille's accomplishment of making a "language" for people who were classified as being blind. Ever since then, people have been aware that there are definintely special learners in our classrooms. As recently as 1988, though, the "Tech Act" was passed to get a formal definition of what assistive devices were and what they could accomplish. The Assistive Technologies Act of 1998 replaced this act later on; all sorts of assistive devices spring up as a result of it.

Something I actually found interesting when I was researching was that a "text telephone" was created so the deaf could have a way of communicating via the phone. I wonder if that's how the idea of texting on cell phones started?

Here's some websites I used:
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/history-of-assistive-technology.html
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/articles?109