2. Supporting Literacy for Students with Developmental Disabilities Adapting Books

4. What makes a difference 1. Concepts of Print 2. Dialogic Reading 3. Selecting Books 4. Students’ interests 5. How we read with students – being a literacy partner 6. Active engagement and participation 7. Beliefs and attitudes 8. Balanced literacy 3

5. Adapting Books: Why? 1. Engagement and Active Participation 2. Focus Attention 3. Cognitive Access 4

6. Active Engagement O Choose books that encourage interaction: O Manipulative books O Repetitive books O Known books O Books you make O Low language demands 5

7. Active Engagement O Allow the student to manipulate the book: O Hold book O Turn pages O Accept all types of participation O Pause to let student participate 6

8. Supported book reading O Often the most overlooked area for students with (significant) disabilities, yet this type of reading is critical to success O An adult supports the experience O May need to physically adapt book or make the content / text more accessible 7

9. Adapting Books: Two Types Physical May not be able to hold / manipulate book Book may be too “fragile” for students’ motor planning Content Not able to read the words May have no pictures in older grades Short attention span vs. amount of text if read aloud Limited receptive vocabulary May need to add in visual or tactile cues 8

10. Adding Symbols O Attach a strip with symbols to the bottom or top of the page O While reading point to symbols O Could have a duplicate set to do an activity that involves the student 9

11. Symbol stories 10

12. Props O Keep hands busy O Support attention and focus O Pictures, symbols, figures, puppets, etc. O Can introduce matching or identification activities O Be organized – keep everything together (attach labeled Ziploc bag into front cover) 11

13. Tactile Experience Books O Personalize about a student or an event O Include items from the event O Affix objects to page O Keep simple O Large objects can be stored in Ziploc bags that are attached to a page 12

14. Experience Books 13

15. I Put On My Clothes By Cindy Nankee