TAP•it Empowers Special Needs Community
November 30, 2011
CLEVELAND, Ohio – (Nov. 30, 2011) – Friday, Dec. 2, is Special Education Day. The holiday celebrates the anniversary of the nation’s first federal special education law. President Ford signed what is now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) on Dec. 2, 1975.
Special Education Day is a time to pay tribute to students with disabilities, their parents, teachers and schools, in addition to creating dialogue about challenges they face on a daily basis, progress, and reforms for the future of educating all children.
A new interactive touch screen technology is positively impacting the special needs community, from classrooms to therapy facilities alike. Developed in Cleveland, OH, the touch accessible platform for interactive technology, TAP·it®, supports multi-occupational therapies and academic goals, making it a transformative developmental tool for children, adults, and educators.
Cleveland Corporate Services™, Inc. (CCS) realized that students with special needs could not access traditional teaching technologies with ease. Working with industrial designers and dedicated special needs professionals utilizing cutting-edge technologies, the TAP·it platform was developed.
TAP·it makes learning accessible to a larger population. It is the only assistive, learning center using ‘intended touch’ technology to serve each student’s special needs. “You can move it up. You can move it down. You can tilt the screen. It can be brought right out to our students in wheelchairs and they can participate,” says Starlight School Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Farrah Raines.
Special Education Teacher Jacquie Pruder says, “I have a student who is blind and he can’t really move; he is very spastic, but if he is at the TAP·it, he can still hear it and you can see his eyes moving around,” which Pruder says is a sign that the student is engaged. Pruder likes how TAP·it allows this student to participate alongside other students with varying ranges of abilities.
If you would like more information on this topic or to schedule an interview with Dr. Raymond Heipp, Chair, Educational Technology Advisory Committee, please contact Lindsey Alexander at 216.373.0390 or lalexander@teachsmart.org. Visit www.teachsmart.org/tapit to learn more about TAP·it.