Assistive Technology for Mental Health
Assistive technology for mental health is comprised of planners, relaxation techniques and devices, stimulators, and reminders. Memory, anxiety, and concentration may be improved when implementing simple techniques or accommodations with this population.
For most individuals with mental health difficulties, assistive technology is no more important than for adult students in general. Individuals suffering from extreme anxiety, depression, and substance abuse likely benefit more from human interaction than working with technology in the classroom.
For persons coping with delayed cognitive development, many technical systems may be too hard to manipulate, but simpler ones may prove helpful by providing visual images to accompany verbal instruction. For example, the illustrations that accompany computer-assisted instruction and the visual images and brief videos on PowerPoint may make subject matter more accessible. Tools used for individuals with dyslexia may be helpful to this group, too.
Students diagnosed with an Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) are likely to make the best use of assistive technology. In fact, they may be more calm and comfortable with computer-generated learning material and other machine-based learning tools than classroom discussions and learning groups. Just emerging are sophisticated tools for interpreting social cues. (See the Silberman article under References for an interesting description of this technology as well as discussion of why ASD appears so prevalent in Silicon Valley, California.)