TY - JOUR
T1 - Assistive technology interventions for adolescents and adults with learning disabilities
T2 - An evidence-based systematic review and meta-analysis
AU - Perelmutter, Bogi
AU - McGregor, Karla K.
AU - Gordon, Katherine R.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the University of Iowa Presidential Graduate Research Fellowship awarded to Bogi Perelmutter and by NIH grant R01DC011742-02 awarded to Karla K. McGregor.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017
PY - 2017/11
Y1 - 2017/11
N2 - Background An increasing amount of assistive technology interventions exist for adolescents and adults with learning disabilities, but there has been no systematic review of their effectiveness. Purpose Are assistive technology interventions effective in learning disabilities for participants ages 14 and up? How do these interventions affect the lived experience of users? We performed a systematic review of both qualitative and quantitative studies to answer these questions. Methods Using 5 search methods, we located 38 quantitative group-design and single-subject intervention studies, 5 survey studies and 13 qualitative studies. We sorted the group-design and single-subject studies into groups by intervention type and performed meta-analyses. We provided a narrative summary of survey and qualitative publications. We used a modified version of the Downs-Black checklist to assess study quality, where applicable. Results While assistive interventions proved overall beneficial, the most commonly used interventions were unexpectedly not the most effective. Interventions based on word processing, multimedia and hypertext proved the most effective, while smart pens and text-to-speech systems presented mixed results. Speech-to-text systems had a small positive effect. Participants had mixed emotions and attitudes about their assistive technology. Conclusions Assistive technology interventions can be helpful for adolescents and adults with learning disabilities, but interventions need to be carefully compared, and customized to the individual.
AB - Background An increasing amount of assistive technology interventions exist for adolescents and adults with learning disabilities, but there has been no systematic review of their effectiveness. Purpose Are assistive technology interventions effective in learning disabilities for participants ages 14 and up? How do these interventions affect the lived experience of users? We performed a systematic review of both qualitative and quantitative studies to answer these questions. Methods Using 5 search methods, we located 38 quantitative group-design and single-subject intervention studies, 5 survey studies and 13 qualitative studies. We sorted the group-design and single-subject studies into groups by intervention type and performed meta-analyses. We provided a narrative summary of survey and qualitative publications. We used a modified version of the Downs-Black checklist to assess study quality, where applicable. Results While assistive interventions proved overall beneficial, the most commonly used interventions were unexpectedly not the most effective. Interventions based on word processing, multimedia and hypertext proved the most effective, while smart pens and text-to-speech systems presented mixed results. Speech-to-text systems had a small positive effect. Participants had mixed emotions and attitudes about their assistive technology. Conclusions Assistive technology interventions can be helpful for adolescents and adults with learning disabilities, but interventions need to be carefully compared, and customized to the individual.
KW - Assistive technology
KW - Learning disabilities
KW - Meta-analysis
KW - Qualitative review
KW - Systematic review
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U2 - 10.1016/j.compedu.2017.06.005
DO - 10.1016/j.compedu.2017.06.005
M3 - Article
C2 - 29276334
AN - SCOPUS:85021722176
SN - 0360-1315
VL - 114
SP - 139
EP - 163
JO - Computers and Education
JF - Computers and Education
ER -