Lighting the way through the home: development of early braille literacy

Emergent braille literacy is the earliest phase of language development where children, from infancy, are exposed to 'direct, repeated and meaningful interactions with braille literacy materials and events' (Rex, Koenig, Wormsley, & Baker, 1995, p.10). Activities such as shared reading of tactile books, scribbling on the braille machine, joint engagement in nursery rhymes, songs and chants help infants acquire cognitive concepts and develop physical skills to engage in braille. The process leads to the early development of literacy concepts including speaking, listening,reading and writing, as a foundation for braille literacy (Drezek, 1999)

Septo-Optic Dysplasia: Educational Issues

Ninety-nine articles published in professional journals related to septo-optic dysplasia (SOD) or the education of young blind children were reviewed by a special education teacher and parent of a blind one year old boy diagnosed with SOD. The articles were classified by publication type (e.g., research studies, descriptive articles, guides, position papers, reviews of literature). Fifty-three of the 99 articles were research studies; these 53 research studies were classified by research design (i.e., quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods); the participants and data sources of each study were identified; and the findings of each study were summarized. All 99 articles were then analyzed using a modified version of the Stevick-Callaizi-Keen method to draw out the essential themes of this body of literature. The 11 themes that emerged from this analysis included: (a) septo-optic dysplasia and optic nerve hypoplasia; (b) parenting and early intervention; (c) cognitive development; (d) language development; (e) orientation and mobility; (f) social behavior; (g) assistive technology; (h) educational placement; (i) emergent literacy; (j) Braille literacy; and (k) assessment. These themes were then considered from the author's roles of parent and teacher

Emergent and Early Literacy Opportunities for Children with Visual Impairment With/Without an Additional Disability

Introduction: This study examined implications of literacy instruction for children with visual impairment (VI) with/without an additional disability at a specialized preschool in a large Midwestern city. Methods: Teachers participated in interviews and revealed their perspectives for providing literacy instruction, and students were video recorded participating in literacy activities. Literacy opportunities were coded for themes. Results: Six themes of literacy opportunities emerged from this study (i.e., literacy opportunities, accessibility, frequency, assessment, settings, and cues for understanding). Results provide evidence of instructional strategies, challenges and strengths described by teachers, types of activities used to promote literacy and the frequency and accessibility of literacy opportunities delivered. Activities include opportunities to read, write, and practice phonological awareness, and embedded opportunities to read and/or write Discussion: Perspective of expectations and barriers from teachers enlighten strengths and challenges faced when working to develop literacy skills for children with VI with/without an additional disability. Student outcomes for participation in literacy opportunities provided are reported. Implications for Practitioners: Collaboration is necessary among educators and service provides to provide the best opportunities for children with VI to learn to read and write. The instructional strategies, types of activities, frequency and accessibility to literacy opportunities used could generalize to other environments. Advisor: Mackenzie Elizabeth Savaian

An evalaution of BookTrust additional needs resources

This report explores reading for pleasure among children with special educational needs through an evaluation of BookTrust's additional needs resources.The BookTrus

A Formative Evaluation Of Augmentative And Alternative Communication Approaches To Promote Literacy In Young Children With Severe Speech And Physical Impairments

This thesis describes an educational intervention with three children with severe speech and physical impairments. The intervention focused on storybook reading experiences for early literacy development through the use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication technologies and methods. The review of literature focused on the main aspects relating to children with SSPI, and in particular on the difficulties they experience in developing emergent literacy skills. This review suggests the hypothesis that the use of AAC Techniques in storytelling achievement can provide emergent literacy experiences, which can promote the development of literacy in children with SSPI. In particular the study set out to enquire whether AAC techniques can be used to enhance participation with SSPI in storytelling activities, and whether such activities improve a pupil’s opportunities to become emergent readers. A six-month intervention was designed which included strategies proposed for increasing the children’s participation during storybook reading sessions, like repeated readings of the same story, abundant use of graphic symbols and access to AAC techniques. Qualitative data were gathered from the professionals at the Centre, and from the mothers. Storybook reading sessions with the teacher at school and with the mothers or significant other at home were videotaped, at the beginning and at the end of the intervention. Quantitative data were collected by videotape analysis. Communicative acts of children and adults were divided into communication categories, and their meaning was discussed as to form, use and content. One of the main conclusions of the study was that the use of stories promoting communication and language learning in storybook reading sessions can develop literacy skills if carried out in conjunction with AAC techniques, including graphic symbols and the technology to generate them. A second conclusion is that there is no automatic transfer of the improvement of communicative skills in the classroom to the interaction with the mothers

Interactive Technology Use in Early Childhood Programs to Enhance Literacy Development & Early Literacy Development for Children with Cochlear Implants

Interactive technology use in early childhood classroom and the effects it has on literacy development. Children with cochlear implants and their development of literacy skills as compared to typical hearing peers

The Effects of Home-Based Literacy Activities on the Communication of Students with Severe Speech and Motor Impairments

This study examined the effects of using sensory, augmentative, and alternative communication (AAC), and supportive communication strategies on the rate and type of communication used by three students with severe speech and motor impairments (SSMI). Using a multiple baseline across behaviour design with sensory and AAC intervention phases, students were paired with a family member during shared reading activities using familiar and unfamiliar storybooks in their homes. All reading activities were video-recorded for analysis. Examination of recorded readings revealed that students demonstrated increases in their overall rates of communication. Further, these students successfully integrated communication devices into the reading process. The results suggest that students with severe disabilities can benefit from these forms of literacy strategies to increase their participation in reading tasks. Implications for research and practice are discussed

Effect of adapted phonic faces story books on phonological skills of children with severe expressive language disorders

Although No Child Left Behind (2001) encourages the inclusion of all children within the regular curriculum, children with severe speech and physical disabilities rarely are provided with the literacy education provided to grade-level peers. This study taught alphabetic skills to three children with severe speech and physical impairments in the context of traditional alphabet books versus Phonic Faces Storybooks. Both storybooks were converted into e-books using Microsoft Office PowerPoint (Microsoft Office, 2003) and accessed using a single rocking lever switch. Two graphemes were selected based on incorrect responses from the pretest administration of the The Phonological Awareness Test (Roberson & Salter, 1997). The three subjects were exposed to the target graphemes using an ABAB design where the treatment conditions were reversed following the second baseline period. Five probes assessing phonological and grapheme awareness skills for targeted graphemes were administered following each baseline and intervention session. Results revealed greater improvements on letter/sound identification, sound to letter identification, identification of letter names, and identification of location of letters and sounds in all word positions words for all three subjects during the Phonic Faces Storybook phases. Improvement was also seen in the pre and posttest scores on seven subtests (rhyming, deletion, substitution, isolation, segmentation, blending and graphemes) of The Phonological Awareness Test (Roberson & Salter, 1997) and on word recognition, and silent and oral reading on the Informal Reading Inventory (Burns & Roe, 2006). Anecdotal evidence also demonstrated eagerness to work on the computer, preference for Phonic Faces e-books vs. alphabet books, and an increase in speech production (imitation of speech sounds). Limitations of the study, which include a small number of subjects and use of a small number of sounds need to be addressed in future research studies