Dilemmas of enablement: inclusive and special technologies

This chapter will consider how thinking and practice has developed over the last 25 years in relation to the use of technologies to provide access and engagement with all aspects of education for learners experiencing barriers to learning and inclusion. It will relate the developments in the conceptualisation of special educational needs to advances in our understanding of technology. This will range from the work of Mary Hope in the 1980s (special computers for special children) through the National Curriculum Access technology of Jill Day (1982), NCET’s Success Maker (1986) to the classification systems employed by Chris Abbott (2006). The implications for exploiting the potential of this technology will be considered in relation to other recent findings.