10 Assistive Tech & Behavior Hacks You Need in Your Classroom This Year (Even If Your Budget Sucks)
10 Assistive Tech & Behavior Hacks You Need in Your Classroom This Year
(Even If Your Budget Sucks)
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Let’s be real: teaching special education sometimes feels like trying to juggle flaming swords while standing on a wobble stool in front of 25 tiny critics. You want to use the latest assistive technology, you want to manage behavior with finesse… but then reality hits: your budget is smaller than your students’ attention spans during indoor recess.
So what do we do? We hack it.
Here are 10 assistive tech + behavior hacks that don’t require a fancy grant, endless PD, or selling a kidney. Just practical, classroom-tested strategies that save your sanity and actually work.
1. Use Closed Captions… Always
Turn them on for every video, every lesson. It boosts comprehension, helps students with reading challenges, and magically makes kids think you’re techy. Bonus: you don’t have to repeat every line of a documentary while students shout, “Wait, what did he say?”
2. The Glitter Jar Reset
Forget overpriced calming gadgets. A DIY glitter jar works wonders for emotional regulation. Students shake it, watch the glitter fall, and - by the time it settles - so does their nervous system. It’s mindfulness without the eye-roll.
3. Speech-to-Text Chrome Extensions
Free tools like Voice Typing in Google Docs turn struggling writers into confident storytellers. It’s like giving them superpowers without handing out capes (though capes would be cool too).
4. The Visual Timer Trick
Grab a free timer app or a cheap physical one. Students SEE time slipping away instead of asking you every 30 seconds, “How much longer?” Pro tip: set it for transitions too. Suddenly, lining up doesn’t take 15 years.
5. Calm Corner (on a Shoestring)
You don’t need Pinterest-perfect teepees. A pillow, noise-canceling headphones, and a couple laminated reflection sheets = instant calming corner. Function beats aesthetics every time.
6. The Text-to-Speech Lifesaver
Chromebooks have Select-to-Speak built right in. Students highlight, click play, and the computer reads it aloud. Game changer for decoding struggles - without pulling a teacher over every five seconds.
7. Token Economy, Digital Style
Forget bulky sticker charts. Use free apps like ClassDojo or even just a Google Sheet projected on the board. Kids love tracking their points, and you love not losing stickers to the classroom floor abyss.
8. DIY Noise Blockers
Students distracted by every. single. sound? Grab a pack of dollar store headphones. Pop in cotton balls if needed. Suddenly, your room isn’t a sensory nightmare.
9. Behavior Think Sheets & Quick Fix Forms
Instead of endless conversations mid-chaos, give students a structured sheet to reflect. It keeps them accountable, gives you data, and prevents the “he said/she said” drama spirals. (Psst... yes, these are in my Behavior Bundle.)
10. The Golden Hack: Pair AT with Behavior Supports
Here’s the magic: when you use assistive tech to remove barriers, behavior improves too. Example: a kid acting out during reading might calm way down when given text-to-speech. Accessibility isn’t just academic - it’s a behavior strategy too.
Bottom line:
You don’t need a fancy budget to run a classroom that works. You need hacks, a little creativity, and the right resources.
And if you’re ready to skip the trial-and-error, check out my Complete Classroom Behavior Bundle. It’s packed with ready-to-use tools (glitter jar reflections, think sheets, apology posters, editable crisis plan - you name it). Translation: less chaos, more teaching.
👉 Grab the bundle HERE!
And check out my Amazon lists for more teaching tools!
Happy Teaching!
Miss Rae
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