Barriers and facilitators of assistive technology use among adolescent students with learning disabilities: A mixed methods comparison of daily and less frequent users.

Paige et al. (2025) asked teens with learning disabilities how often they use assistive tech at school. They compared daily users to kids who use it only now and then.

The team mixed surveys and short interviews. Students rated teacher help, school stress, and how smart they feel in class.

Daily AT users said teachers back them up more and they feel sharper in class. They also listed fewer roadblocks than the part-time users.

Kids who rarely touched AT felt awkward asking for it and worried it made them look different.

Anonymous (2025) shows tech tweaks can let adults with severe ID hit near-perfect scores. Paige adds the teen view: daily use, not fancy gear, is what lifts confidence.

Hutzler et al. (2017) found PE teachers feel shaky when students use wheelchairs. Paige mirrors this in the classroom: teacher comfort boosts student comfort.

McGarty et al. (2018) reviewed parents of kids with ID and saw the same themes—family and teacher support flip barriers into facilitators. Paige moves the lens to the students themselves and still finds support is the key lever.

You can’t just hand out tablets and walk away. Check each learner’s AT routine every year, coach teachers to cheer its use, and weave practice into daily work so kids feel normal, not singled out.