Tech Unity Beyond the #SpecialNeeds Hashtag

Tech Unity Beyond #SpecialNeeds

Tech Unity Beyond the #SpecialNeeds Hashtag

Jen Lee Reeves @jenleereeves

Kate Canterbury @guavalicious @katecaterbury

Robert Rummel-Hudson @rumhud

specialneedtech.com #SXsn


Important Note

We are speaking from the perspective of parents special needs kids and not as voices or

representatives of the special needs community. We hope that the ideas and topics we raise here

can help the special needs community as a whole.



This is a brainstorm

Baseline assumptions: Special needs communities are fractured. Also, parents don’t get the support they need offline. Technology is a pioneering tool for therapy.

Can tech help?



Jen Lee Reeves

• Mom Advocatebornjustright.com

• Associate ProfessorMissouri School of Journalism

• Interactive Directorkomu.com



Mom Advocacy

“Technology made me the special needs mom I am today”



Communities Replicating Communities

• Social networking tools make it possible to build community…

• So many different spaces fracture the communities

• How can we connect/support each other?



Kate Canterbury

• Advocate• Thinker• Mother• Friend

• More at KateCanterbury.com



Missions

• Write honestly about parenting• Be a voice for invisible disabilities• Push the technological community to partner

with the special needs community

*I work, so I can support my hobby as a special needs advocate and “hyper-local” evangelist*



Parents Hacking Technology

• Parents are hacking technology for therapy use

• The next step: Getting the technology community to step up to support special needs

• Let’s make technology legitimate: I want to deduct my iPad



Robert Rummel-Hudson

• Author, Schuyler’s Monster: A Father’s Journey with his Wordless Daughter (St. Martin’s Press 2008)

• Parent Advocate, Fighting Monsters with Rubber Swords (www.schuylersmonsterblog.com)



How It Started



Assistive Technology

• Life changing for non-verbal kids• Not just speech prosthesis,

language development• Prohibitive costs– Decisions away

from parents– Funding is negogiated



Times Are Changing

• iPod Touch and iPad• Parents and users in charge• Social media is a player



Brainstorm!



Let’s Keep Talking

• Jen Lee Reeves@jenleereeves

• Kate Canterbury@guavalicious, @katecanterbury

• Robert Rummel-Hudson@rumhud

specialneedtech.com


Tech Unity Beyond the #SpecialNeeds Hashtag

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