ABSTRACT
Data from international, national, and state assessments converge on the conclusion that many American students struggle with reading. Students with learning disabilities (LD) score at the very bottom on many of these assessments, and their learning trajectory is significantly constrained by their poor reading skills. Technology can help ameliorate the reading difficulties experienced by many of these students. In this chapter, we first review theoretical perspectives that have had the strongest influences on the understanding of reading and LD, as well as on instructional practices for these students. We then describe specific reading problems experienced by students with LD and discuss how the affordances of technology can address these problems. Our discussion focuses on five areas of technology that we believe have the strongest potential for improving the reading of students with LD: (a) computer-assisted instruction, (b) modifications to digital text, (c) text-to-speech technology, (d) enhanced digital text, and (e) technology support for strategic regulation of reading comprehension. In each of these areas, we review the research relevant to students with LD. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of this research and offer recommendation for future research and practice.
