IT role for pupils with special need

The writing and reading skills of learning disabled children are improved dramatically by the use of computers in the classroom. Computers, used in conjunction with other teaching tools, allow students to complete work they might not otherwise be able to attempt.

"Two of the biggest problems learning disabled students have are exclusion and from regular activities and motivation," says Anne Phelan, national co-ordinator for the National Centre for Technology in Education. "Computers help with both of those problems."

"Computers are considered cool," Phelan says. "And when these kids get into using them they get good at them, and then the other kids think they're good too. They even ask them for help, which is an enormous boost to self-esteem."

Learning disabled students normally have great difficulty with the appearance of their writing. Working on a computer, they can produce work that is as attractive as the work of their classmates.

"The content may not be any better than if they were writing by hand, but they get a lot more practice, which helps them improve in the long term," Archie Hinfey, a teacher in St Bridget's School in Dundalk, Co Louth, says.

For autistic children, computers are especially valuable. Autistic children have little or no empathy for others, and often look upon human interaction as unpredictable and unpleasant. When autistic students work with computers, they get logical, expected responses over and over again, which puts them at ease. "With these kids, their progress is so slow, it sometimes feels like you're going nowhere," Hinfey says. "But you can see that the computers are helping them along."