AAC & Literacy

This is a curated collection of information and resources related to literacy development and instruction for complex communicators and AAC users. We encourage you to explore and judge for yourself which to add to your toolbox.

These resources are for educational purposes. This is not an exhaustive list. Inclusion does not signify endorsement. Use of any information provided on this website is at your own risk, for which NWACS shall not be held liable.

Do you have a favorite resource that we missed? Send us an email to share!

 

Literacy Bill of Rights

All persons, regardless of the extent or severity of their disabiltiies, have a basic right to use print. Beyond this general right, there are certain other literacy rights that should be assured for all persons. These basic rights are:

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“Literacy is required for precise communication. Until they’re able to spell, there will always be more words they understand than they’re able to say.”
— Dr. Karen Erickson
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  1. The right to an opportunity to learn to read and write. Opportunity involves engagement in active participation in tasks performed with high success.

  2. The right to have accessible, clear, meaningful, culturally and linguistically appropriate texts at all times. Texts, broadly defined, range from picture books to newspapers to novels, cereal boxes, and electronic documents.

  3. The right to interact with others while reading, writing, or listening to a text. Interaction involves questions, comments, discussions, and other communications about or related to the text.

  4. The right to life choices made available through reading and writing competencies. Life choices include, but are not limited to, employment and employment changes, independence, community participation, and self-advocacy.

  5. The right to lifelong educational opportunities incorporating literacy instruction and use. Literacy educational opportunities, regardless of when they are provided, have potential to provide power that cannot be taken away.

  6. The right to have teachers and other service providers who are knowledgeable about literacy instruction methods and principles.

    • Methods include but are not limited to instruction, assessment, and the technologies required to make literacy accessible to individuals with disabilities.

    • Principles include, but are not limited to, the beliefs that literacy is learned across places and time, and no person is too disabled to benefit from literacy learning opportunities.

  7. The right to live and learn in environments that provide varied models of print use such as reading a recipe, paying bills, sharing a joke, or writing a letter.

  8. The right to live and learn in environments that maintain the expectations and attitudes that all individuals are literacy learners.

 
“The law says that all kids need to be taught language and literacy every day.”
— Dr. Karen Erickson
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Resources

Articles, Books and Documents

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Learning Modules

Materials

 
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“[Literacy] is a foundation for human rights, gender equality, and sustainable societies. It is essential to all our efforts to end extreme poverty and promote well-being for all people.”
— United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
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Podcasts

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Websites

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 Videos / Webinars

 
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“Literacy is an incredibly important way that we socially connect with each other.”

- Excerpt from an interview between Erin Sheldon and Dr. Karen Erickson

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Other Resources

Remember what we know about literacy instruction for speaking children. We should not throw that all out just because someone uses AAC! Resources aimed at literacy instruction for children at risk or struggling to learn to read may be useful. Here are a few to explore and adapt as needed:

Selected References:

  • Clendon, S., Erickson, K., van Rensburg, R.J., & Amm, J. (2014). Shared Storybook Reading – An Authentic Context for Developing Literacy, Language, and Communication Skills. Perspectives on Augmentative and Alternative Communication. https://doi.org/10.1044/aac23.4.182

  • Erickson K. A., & Koppenhaver, D. A. (2020). Comprehensive Literacy for All: Teaching Students With Significant Disabilities to Read and Write. Baltimore: Brooks Publishing Company.

  • Rohde, Leigh. (2015). The Comprehensive Emergent Literacy Model: Early Literacy in Context. SAGE Open. 5. 10.1177/2158244015577664

  • Yoder, D. E., Erickson, K. A., & Koppenhaver, D. A. (1997). A literacy bill of rights. Chapel Hill, Center for Literacy and Disability Studies.