Skills and Standards of Selection and Use of Assistive Technology among Saudi Teachers of Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to explore the standards that teachers take into consideration when selecting and using assistive technology (AT), in addition to their knowledge and skills in this area. A quantitative, descriptive survey design was used and a convenience sample of 79 teachers of students with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) participated in the current study. Based on the four main areas of the SETT Framework—student, environment, tasks, and tools—, teachers reported a lack consideration for most of the standards in each area. Among other findings, statistically significant differences were found between teachers’ standards of the SETT Framework, with teachers who had previous professional development in AT reporting higher standards. Moreover, generally, teachers with more years of teaching experience reported having more knowledge and skills in AT usage. These findings suggested that providing teachers with sufficient professional development sessions on the use of AT would be of a great help in increasing the effective strategies of the selection and use of AT with students with disabilities.