High technology for handicapped children: a pediatrician's viewpoint.

Children with various types of disabilities are beginning to benefit from the extensive developments in the field of electronic and microcomputer technology that have occurred in recent years. There exists now many devices that can assist children with physical or communication handicaps, learning difficulties, or sensory impairments. Reviews of the literature were made in order to present some of the devices that are currently available and to introduce the concepts that they exemplify. With all of these devices, but especially for those designed to aid physically or communicatively handicapped children, careful planning and evaluation is needed. Steps in the processes of evaluation and selection of devices are outlined and discussed. Proper training and monitoring the use of these devices are other aspects that are addressed. Several issues dealing with the funding of these devices and how these devices can be used in innovative research, are also presented.