Access Curriculum Handout

Curriculum Access • All students should have access and be making progress in the general education curriculum.

Making Academic Content Accessible for Students with Significant Disabilities

Lori Geist, MS, CCC-SLP [email protected]

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• Curriculum adaptation refers to adjustments to the way existing educational content is presented and/or the ways in which a student engages and demonstrates understanding of the content. • Universal design for learning (UDL) refers to a philosophy and growing emphasis to design, develop and implement instructional approaches that provide multiple means of representation, multiple means of action and expression, and multiple means of student engagement. 2

Curriculum Access

(Browder & Spooner, 2006; CAST, 2009; IDEA, 2004)

Reading and Writing

• Symbols and technology can support successful learning experiences.

• Symbols and technology: • Expand vocabulary.

• Strategies can be applied to teaching language, communication, reading, writing, and academic concepts.

• Build background knowledge. • Support connections with previous learning.

• Pairing words and directions with visual supports such as symbols, animations, pictures or video can benefit students who have difficulty reading, hearing, and understanding language.

• Improve comprehension. • Support participation in instruction.

• Technology can be used to enhance student motivation and success by embedding scaffolding supports. 3

(Salend, 2009).

Access to Academic Topics • Symbols and technology: • Provide critical communication, language, reading and writing supports. • Provide on-screen supports for visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile learning styles. • Provide independent practice opportunities. • Support alternate means of demonstrating understanding. 5

• Provide visual feedback. 4

• Provide auditory feedback.

References Browder, D., & Spooner, F. (2006). Teaching Language Arts, Math, & Science to Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities. Baltimore: Brookes. Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST). (2009). Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines. Retrieved March 16, 2009 from http://www.cast.org/publications/UDLguidelines/index.html. IDEA (2004). Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. Retrieved June 3, 2009 from http://thomas.loc.gov/cgibin/query/F?c108:1:./temp/~c108s4oqNE:e615 Salend, S. (2009). Using technology to create and administer accessible tests. Teaching Exceptional Children, (41), 40-51.

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