Workshop Description
Get ready to write, read, and up your game! This training will focus on emergent literacy for students with significant disabilities, including those with dual sensory impairment. Because the ability to communicate is central to all literacy learning, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) will be infused throughout the workshop, including resources for light tech AAC supports and strategies such as aided language input. Shared reading, a rich language and literacy activity, will be described and demonstrated, including new strategies and new resources for accessible books. Learn new approaches to phonological awareness and alphabet instruction, moving beyond the drill while exploring strategies that are age-respectful for older students. Writing with alternative pencils will be demonstrated and discussed, including how to move beyond scribbling using evaluative video feedback. Sample IEP goals and ways of assessing change will be shared. Through a combination of hands-on activities, demonstration and lecture, participants will leave with a plan for getting started.


Presenters: Dr. Caroline Musselwhite & Dr. Gretchen Hanser