This is a collection of information and resources related to literacy development and instruction for complex communicators and AAC users.
This is not an exhaustive list. Do you have a favorite resource that we missed? Leave a comment to share!
Explore key issues related to this topic. Jump to Literacy Bill of Rights
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- Articles, Books, Documents
- Facebook Groups
- Learning Modules
- Materials
- Related Websites
- Related Podcasts
- Related Videos and Webinars
- Other Resources
Jump to Selected References
Literacy Bill of Rights
All persons, regardless of the extent or severity of their disabilities, 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:
- The right to an opportunity to learn to read and write. Opportunity involves engagement in active participation in tasks performed with high success.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
Resources
Articles, Books, and Documents
- AAC at Penn State literacy-related articles
- Comprehensive Literacy for All: Teaching Students with Significant Disabilities to Read and Write (2020) by Karen A. Erickson and David Koppenhaver
- Jane Farrall Consulting blog has many posts related to literacy and writing and AAC
- Literacy Instruction for All (NWACS resource page)
- No More Teaching a Letter a Week by Rebecca McKay and William H. Teale
- PrAACtical AAC literacy-related blog posts
- Ready, Set, Write! Alternative Pencils and Writing for Students with the Most Significant Needs by Gretchen Hanser and Caroline Musselwhite; handout from their ISAAC presentation
- The ABCs of Alphabet Knowledge and Phonological Awareness! by Caroline Musselwhite, Deanna Wagner, and Gretchen Hanser
- Using Shared Reading to Support Literacy Right #3 on the NWACS blog
- Using Shared Writing to Support Literacy Development on the NWACS blog
“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
Learning Modules
- Dynamic Learning Maps (options for self-directed modules and facilitated module materials for groups)
- Emergent Writing
- Predictable Chart Writing
- Shared Reading
- Teaching Text Comprehension: Anchor-Read-Apply
- Writing with Alternate Pencils
- Writing: Getting Started with Narrative Writing
- Writing: Getting Started in Writing Arguments
- Writing Information and Explanation Texts
- Writing: Production and Distribution
- Writing: Research and Range of Writing
- Writing: Text Types and Purposes
- Literacy and AAC: Letter-Sound Correspondences
- Literacy Intervention for Learners with Complex Communication Needs
- Project Core modules (options for self-directed modules and facilitated module materials for groups)
- Shared Reading
- Predictable Chart Writing
- Alphabet Knowledge and Phonological Awareness
- Independent Reading
- Independent Writing
- Project VC
- Unlocking Literacy for Students with Disabilities
- Universal Tools & Strategies
- Alphabet & Phonological Awareness
- Emergent Reading
- Emergent Writing
Materials
- Accessible Letters Tool (ALT) from AAC Voices, LLC
- Accessible Literacy Learning (ALL) from Tobii Dynavox
- Alternative Pencils – Center for Literacy and Disability Studies
- A-Z for Adapting Literacy from TTAC Online
- Bookshare – an ebook library for people with reading barriers
- CandLE library of accessible books adapted into Grid 3 and keyboard options
- Comprehensive Literacy for All (CLFA) Book Collection from SETC
- CVI Book Nook – materials created for students with Cerebral/Cortical Visual Impairments, but they can be used with most learners
- Emerging Reading & Writing Supports for Students with Disabilities
- Kizclub Story Props (and other printable resources); note: the website reportedly goes down for periods of time when they are updating
- Literacy Planner Implementation Activities from PRC-Saltillo
- Look to Read from Smartbox Assistive Technology
- Monarch Reader library of open-source, accessible, texts for individuals with disabilities of all ages
- Newstopia from Building Wings
- One More Story online library
- Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities at Rhode Island College library of adapted literature and lessons
- Phonics for All from Smartbox Assistive Technology
- Reading A-Z has leveled reading material on a variety of topics
- Readtopia from Building Wings (homeschool/parents call 800-999-4660 for a discounted license)
- ReadtopiaGO from Building Wings
- TELL ME: AAC in the Preschool Classroom (2016) by Carole Zangari and Lori Wise
- also check out these related posts on the PrAACtical AAC blog
- The CVI Book Nook
- TumbleBooks offers e-books and is available through some school districts and public libraries (check with your child’s school or your public library)
- Unite for Literacy is an online library of digital books
- Washington Talking Book & Braille Library is an accessible library providing services to people of all ages (Washington state residents). Anyone with a print disability is eligible to use WTBBL’s library services. This includes persons with blindness, low vision, DeafBlindness, a physical disability that makes holding a book or turning a page difficult, or a reading disability. To become a patron, you must complete an application.
“[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
Websites
- AAC & Literacy from SETC
- Alternative Pencils
- ASHA: Literacy in Individuals With Severe Disabilities
- Building Bridges resources for teaching reading, writing, language, and communication as integrated parts of comprehensive literacy instruction for students
- Comprehensive Literacy for ALL website from Jane Farrall
- Deaf-Blind Model Classroom Resources from Center for Literacy and Disability Studies includes information on shared reading, chart writing, alphabet activities, remnant books, downloadable templates for PowerPoint ABC books, and more
- Flip Keyboard from Jane Farrall Consulting is a simple keyboard designed for emergent writiers
- Literacy for All
- Literacy Instruction for Individuals with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, and Other Disabilities
- Literacy Instruction for Students with Significant Disabilities
- Paths to Literacy from Perkins School for the Blind and Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
- Tar Heel Shared Reader resources that support the implementation of shared reading for school-aged studentsList item goes here
- Word Families for Phonemic Awareness from Jane Farrall provides some activities for working on phonemic awareness
Podcasts
- Awe and Wonder Podcast series 3: AT & AAC – Literacy
- LOMAH Disability Podcast series (season 5, episodes #131 – 146; March 1 – June 14, 2021): Literacy Instruction for Students with Disabilities
Videos/Webinars
- AAC & Literacy Expert Interview Series from Tobii Dynavox with Lindsey Frohn & Maureen Donnelly
- AAC in the Cloud presentation recordings:
- AAC and Emergent Literacy at Home – A Beginners Guide for Families and Caretakers by Ashley Larisey & Lauren Sheehan (2022)
- Alternative Pencils – What Are They & How Are They Used by Kelly Fonner (2020)
- Building Language & Bridging Literacy – Just Like That! by Maureen Donnelly (2019)
- Communication and Literacy in the Secondary Special Education Classroom by Laura Taylor (2021)
- Discover Affordable & Alternative Alphabet Charts by Ruth Williams & Gemma Wilkinson (2020)
- How I Learned to Read – The Experience of an AAC User by Cristian Rosas (2019)
- Incorporating Comprehensive Literacy Instruction into AAC Intervention by Kristin Ellis (2022)
- Interactive Reading and AAC users: Building Schema by Sharon Redmon (2022)
- Integration of AAC & Writing by Laura Hayes (2020)
- Let’s Read & Write with AAC by Maribeth Plankers (2021)
- Literacy and Learners with CCN Using UFLI by Kate Ahern (2023)
- Literacy Connections – Reading, Writing and AAC by Beth Poss & Kelly Fonner (2023)
- Modeling AAC Within Storybook Reading Activities by Cheri Dodge Chin (2020)
- Planning Emerging Literacy Lessons in Spanish by Claudia Marimón R & Soledad Cuesta G (2022)
- Predictable Chart Writing – Vocabulary Building Makes Its Mark, With a Little Canva on the Side by Sharon Redmon (2022)
- Pretend Play Power – Integrating Literacy Modalities & Tools by Kelly Fonner & Donna McNear (2023)
- Scribbling – Writing Experience Before the First Written Word for ALL Students by Kelly Fonner & Donna McNear (2021)
- Shared Reading – Let’s Be Interactive! by Jane Farrall (2020)
- Shared Reading Group & AAC in Spanish (session is Spanish) by Claudia Marimon Rigollet (2020)
- Shared Storybook Reading with AAC Users Who Don’t Like Books: How to Make it Awesome by Chana Feinstein (2019)
- Writing – One AAC User’s Journey to Become a Writer by Sharon Redmon & Mike Hipple (2022)
- AT Literacy Tools AT for Reading & Writing videos from SETC
- Comprehensive Literacy for All Book Study recordings from SETC
- Literacy for All: In conversation with Dr. Caroline Musselwhite
- Literacy for All with Readtopia and LessonPix from LessonPix with Dr. Karen Erickson and Dr. Caroline Musselwhite
- Making Connections: Communication and Literacy with AAC Users | 2022 Literacy Symposium (PaTTAN)
- Reading Avenue: Paving the Way for Literacy Development from Tobii Dynavox
- Tips for Reading with Children from Tobii Dynavox
“Literacy is an incredibly important way that we socially connect with each other.”
Excerpt from an interview between Erin Sheldon and Dr. Karen Erickson
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:
- FCRR Student Center Activities from Florida Center for Reading Research
- Phonological Awareness Resources from Univ. of Canterbury (NZ)
- Systematic and Engaging Early Literacy (SEEL) from BYU McKay School of Education
- this article includes a free assessment: Measuring Preschool Attainment of Print-Concept Knowledge: A Study of Typical and At-Risk 3- to 5-Year-Old Children Using Item Response Theory (Justice, Bowles, Skibbe, 2006)
- UFLI Resources from Univ. of Florida Literacy Institute
- Webbing into Literacy
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.
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