Reimagining Inclusive Classrooms: Leveraging Assistive Technology to Achieve Least Restrictive Learning Conditions

Abstract

Inclusive education is the education of students with disabilities who are taught along with their non-disabled peers in the least restrictive environment (LRE) and it is a common goal of the educational systems all over the world. As a result, Assistive Technology (AT) has been merged as the primary instrument to "open the doors" for the students and empower them to have a genuine involvement and learning in the inclusive classrooms. This has been done by  eliminating the obstacles of access, communication, and curricular participation. This research examines how AT can be used as a strategic tool to Support LRE, concentrating on the lines of action in choosing, implementing, and sustaining these technologies. It mentions difficulties like lack of teacher knowledge, shortage of devices, and support system reliability that affect the utilization of AT in an inclusive setting. The study investigates the relationship between the use of AT and the application of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to facilitate the participation of students. The results provide practical suggestions to improve the integration of the AT, thus, they are informative to educators, special education teams, and policymakers on how to LRE through technology use and support strategies.