1. Low-Tech Approaches to Teaching Early Communication and Emergent Literacy
Group 3

2. Factors that Promote Communication an Language Development
Child’s environment
Behavior of people around
Child’s abilities (sight, sound, touch, movement, problem solving)
Choice making
Initiation of communication exchanges

3. Problems
Can not independently interact with people and objects in the environment
Do not present the cognitive abilities to become fully symbolic communicators independently
Are not provided with multiple opportunities to engage in communicative rich environments

4. Technology Tools
Switches enable students who have limited motor control to activate battery operated toys and other equipment with a single movement
Cause and effect
Choice making
Simple augmentative communication devices
Single message communication
Multi-step communication

5. Types of Switches
Generic push
Squeeze/pinch
Muscle/twitch

6. Use of the Switch Optimal position that the child will be placed in
Specific motor behavior that will be used for switch activation
Type of switch
Instructional procedures that will be used to teach the student how to use the switch (like modeling)

7. Sample Class Activity
For both of these students, they could use the generic push switch to demonstrate what they have learned. They can answer multiple choice questions by choosing A, B, C, or D.

8. Delicious Tags Tangible and Tactile Symbols Emergent Literacy
Emergent Literacy
Early Language Development
Low-Tech Communication Devices