Simple Literacy Tools and Supports: Children with Complex Support Needs

October 22, 2012

ACTIVITY

Meeting Curricular Demands: Literacy in SAS

Your Current Practices—Want to Know

Students with Complex Support Needs:

• Are those student with disabilities who comprise about 1 – 2 % of all students; and,

• Are most often are assessed via the PASA, rather than the PSSA; and,

• May include students who have intellectual disabilities and/or may need life skills support, multiple disabilities support, autistic support or physical support; and,

• May require augmentative communication systems and assistive technology in order to access, participate and progress in learning.

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History of Curricular Context for Students with Complex Support Needs

• 1970’s Developmental Model• 1980’s Functional, Life Skills Model• 1990’s Social Inclusion Focus

Self Determination FocusAssistive Technology

• 1997 to present: Access and Participation in General Education Curriculum Digitally Accessible Materials

Common Concerns with Accessing Curriculum

Concern

• Functional skills get lost when you focus on academics

Assumptions

• Academic skills are not functional

• Functional skills must be taught as discrete skills

• Students with special needs need 1 on 1 time to learn skills and they do not get that in inclusive settings

History: Curricular Approaches

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Functional Access to General Curriculum

Often directed at learning an activity – cashing a check, taking a bus, etc.

Often directed at learning skills and concepts – adding, comprehending, etc.

Functional performance of the activity is the goal

Performance of skills and concepts is the goal

Activities are the end goal and discrete skills are used as part of the activity

Activities serve to practice and understand the skills and concepts; generalization of concepts

Supports allow a student maximum participation in the activity

Supports allow the student to perform the skill

Reading Skills for Students with Complex Support Needs

Adapted from: NCSC GSEG 7

43% Read sight words

20% Awareness of text and print

15% No ob-servable textawareness

22% Fluentlyreadbasic text

Communication for Students with Complex Support Needs

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Pre-symbolic

EmergingSymbolic

Symbolic Words

SymbolsPictures

Picture symbolsTactile symbolsObjectsObjects

SoundsEye GazePurposeful movement

Communication for Students with Complex Support Needs

• Words / Symbols / Pictures – Verbal or written words, signs, Braille, or language-based augmentative

systems– Requests, initiates, and responds to questions, describe things or events, and

express refusal. • Tactile Symbols / Objects / Picture Symbols

– Beginning to use symbols for communication with limited vocabulary; – Uses intentional communication, but not at a symbolic language level; – Uses understandable communication through such modes as gestures,

pictures, objects/textures, pointing, etc., to clearly express a variety of intentions.

• Objects / Pictures / Words – Communicates primarily through cries, facial expressions, change in muscle

tone but no clear use of objects/textures, regularized gestures, pictures, signs, etc., to communicate; and/or

– Alerts to sensory input from another person but requires actual physical assistance to follow simple directions; and/or

– Response to sensory stimuli is unclear.

Communication Status of Students with Complex Support Needs

72% Symbolic Lan-guage Users

17% EmergingSymbolic Users

10% Pre – symbolic

Language Users

Adapted from: NCSC GSEG 10

12.70%

20.30%

67.00%

Elementary School Grade Band Expressive Language

10.70%

17.00%

72.30%

Middle School Grade BandExpressive Language

9.70%

17.70%

72.60%

High School Grade BandExpressive Language

NCSC GSEG 11

pre-symbolic

emerging

symbolic

Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC) Use

NCSC GSEG 12

Only 50% of the students in the emerging or pre-symbolic levels in a seven state sample used AAC as part of their educational programs

AA AAS GSEG McSheehan Communication

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Evidence-Based Practice from 20 years in Augmentative Communication

• 116 articles published between 1987 and 2007 in refereed journals – described a communication intervention– involved one or more participants with severe

intellectual and developmental disabilities• The evidence reviewed indicates that 96% of the

studies reported positive changes in some aspects of communication.

• These findings support the provision of communication

intervention to persons with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The Least Dangerous Assumption

• “…educational decisions ought to be based on assumptions, which if incorrect will have the least dangerous effect…we should assume that poor performance is due to instructional inadequacy rather than to student deficits…”

Anne Donnellan Ph.D

University of San Diego

Viewing students through the lens of a disability label may increase the likelihood of misjudging capabilities and barring some students from opportunities to learn what other students their age are learning

(Jorgensen, McSheehan & Sonnenmeier, 2007)

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Students and Learning

Presume CompetenceViewing students through the lens

of abilities will increase the likelihood of nurturing individual talents and providing all students the opportunities to learn what other students their age are learning…

(adapted from Jorgensen, McSheehan & Sonnenmeier, 2007)

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Access to the General Curriculum

• The IEP team must determine how a student with complex support needs will be provided access to the general curriculum regardless of the setting(s) in which the instruction is delivered.

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Decisions for the IEP Team

• Special considerations– Will the student need Assistive Technology to

actively participate in the instructional process?• Access to the general curriculum

– Grade Level– Instructional Level– Supplementary aids and services – Specially designed instruction

• Measureable Annual Goals– What are the priorities for instruction?

• Standards-Aligned• Student-Specific

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PA Academic StandardsLimit

ed Depth

Limited

Breadth

PASA

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Depth of Knowledge

Webb’s Depth of Knowledge levels:Recall and Reproduction: Level 1

Skills & Concepts: Level 2

Strategic Thinking: Level 3

Extended Thinking: Level 4

Decisions for the IEP Team

• Participation in Statewide Assessment– In what assessment will the student

participate?– Are accommodations needed for the student to

demonstrate what they know and are able to do?

• Supports for School Personnel– What training, coaching, and/or collaboration

is needed to help the team?• Least Restrictive Environment

– With the support of supplementary aids and services, where can the student receive benefit from this IEP? 21

Designing Learning Targets

1. Is it academic = content referenced: reading, math, science?

2. Is the content referenced to a student’s assigned grade level based on chronological age?

3. Does the focus of achievement maintain fidelity with the content of the original grade level standard ? What the student is expected to do to

demonstrate learning 22

Do you or the teachers you supervise…

• Plan for students based on their assigned grade level?

• Have access to standards-aligned materials, activities and lesson plans?

• Teach to the content reflected in a standard? – Know available resources if questions arise?

• Know how to identify the performance in a standard?– Adapt performance for individual student

learning staying as close as possible to original?

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Is it what we think it is?

Looking at how complexity builds to fully meet the standard

1. Initial activity2. Building knowledge and skills3. Meeting the standard

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Addressing Challenges

-Increased diversity within classrooms

-High expectations for all students

-High stakes testing

-Accountability for all students

UD UDL

Universal Design..“Consider the needs of the broadest possible range of users from the beginning”

Architect, Ron Mace

http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/center/history/ronmace.htm

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

-Concepts and Principles created at CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology)--1984

http://cast.org

-CAST is seeding the field of curriculum planning, software development, state and national policy, teacher preparation and support, and education research with UDL-based solutions

UDL

• National Center on Universal Design for Learning

at CASThttp://www.udlcenter.org

UDL Assumptions

– Students with disabilities fall along a continua of learning differences

– Typical classes are highly diverse– Curriculum needs fixing, not students– Curriculum materials must be flexible,

varied, diverse to accommodate learner differences

– General and special education teachers plan curriculum capitalizing on collective expertise

Universal Design for Learning

– Framework for creating curriculum materials that are accessible by all without barriers

– UDL shifts paradigm of “one size fits all” to a flexible curricula

– Educational approach to teaching, learning, and assessment

– Creates products or learning environments that accommodate a range of learning abilities from the onset

– Not technology only

Differentiated Instruction & UDL

DI• Teaching theory begun in

general education classrooms for students considered gifted and not sufficiently challenged

• Compilation of theories and practices with “package” lacking empirical validation

• As classrooms became more diverse, DI utilized for students with differing levels of ability

• Reactive to individual student need—”Retrofit” methods, materials, assessment

UDL• Movement begun to anticipate

the needs of people with disabilities in architecture (UD)

• Learning addressed through the theoretical framework (UDL) based upon neurosciences and effective teaching practices

• Addresses the barriers of curricula--method, materials and assessment with needs of all learners in mind from the onset

• Anticipation—Planning—No “Retrofit”

Differentiated Instruction & UDL

• Recognize students’ background knowledge, readiness, language, preferences, interests and act responsively

• Differentiate curriculum: Content, Process, Products

• DI classroom practices UDL principles

UDL Elements in DI Math Lesson

UDL Principles• Provide multiple

examples

• Highlight critical features

• Provide multiple media and formats

• Offer adjustable levels of challenge

Differentiated Instruction Features• Examples provided throughout

story (“The King’s Chessboard) and problems presented

• Highlight throughout story by stopping and calculating amount of rice accumulating and using t-table

• Teacher reads story aloud while all students have access to story—Numbers are represented in story and on t-table

• Varied support in working groups alter level of independence and difficulty in solving task

AT & UDL– Assistive Technology is a set of tools

employed to “assist” individuals in overcoming the barriers that exist in their environment.

– UDL seeks to create products and/or environments designed from the outset, to accommodate individuals with a wide range of abilities and disabilities. The design does not contain barriers, nor require technology, aides or other “add-on” solutions.

AT & UDL

– Both AT and UDL are essential– Students with disabilities will continue to

need AT to address unique needs– UDL focuses upon the learning

environment, rather than individual students

– Implementation of UDL principles and anticipating learning needs of students with disabilities, increases usability for all students

Literacy Instruction: UDL Approach & AT Supports

Key Skills for Reading:1. Phonemic Awareness2. Phonics/Decoding3. Vocabulary4. Fluency5. Comprehension

Phonemic Awareness

UDL• Whisper phones or PVC

Pipe phones• Card master with recorded

cards to support independent practice

• Narrate a Power Point

AT• Software with voice output

– Clicker 6– Simon Sounds It Out– Earobics

• iPad with apps

Phonics/Decoding

UDL• Fonts

– Increase or decrease size– Change types– Spacing– Color of text and/or

backgrounds• Manipulatives for Elkonin

Boxes– Tiles vs. Pieces of paper– Magnetic materials

attached to cookie sheets

AT• Adapt manipulatives with

knobs to make them accessible to students with fine motor needs

Vocabulary

UDL • Clip art, photographs, or

symbol authoring software to attach visuals with text

• Electronic dictionary and thesaurus support

• Graphic organizers– Paper– Electronic

AT• Text-to-Speech software

with word support features and visual maps:– Kurzweil 3000

• Picture Dictionary– Read:Outloud– Read & Write Gold

• Picture Dictionary– WYNN Literacy

software

Fluency

UDL• Reduce text on page,

chunk amount of text to be read

• Use reading guides• Scoptic filters or colored

guides to keep track• Power Point• Book Worm• Talking Word Processor

AT• Scanning Pens• Scan & Read software

– Kurzweil 3000– Read:Outloud– Read & Write Gold– Wynn Literacy software

Comprehension

UDL• Include the use of visuals

– Photos– Symbols

• Chunk text and introduce questions more frequently

• Highlighters– Physical – Electronic

AT• Scan & Read software

– Kurzweil 3000– Read:Outloud– Read & Write Gold– WYNN – Embed questions

throughout the text

Simple Tools & Supports for Literacy

Consider…• Differentiated Instruction strategies• UDL principles• Assistive Technology Low-Mid-High

strategies and tools

ACTIVITY

Meeting Curricular Demands: Literacy in SAS

Your Current Practices—Want to Know