Curriculum Access
• All students should have access and be making progress
Making Academic Content Accessible for
Students with Significant Disabilities
Lori Geist, MS, CCC-SLP
lori.geist@dynavoxtech.com
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Curriculum Access
• Symbols and technology can support successful learning
experiences.
• Strategies can be applied to teaching language,
communication, reading, writing, and academic
concepts.
• 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.
• 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.
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in the general education curriculum.
• 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.
(Browder & Spooner, 2006; CAST, 2009; IDEA, 2004)
Reading and Writing
• Symbols and technology:
• Expand vocabulary.
• Build background knowledge.
• Support connections with previous learning.
• Improve comprehension.
• Support participation in instruction.
• 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/cgi-
bin/query/F?c108:1:./temp/~c108s4oqNE:e615
Salend, S. (2009). Using technology to create and administer accessible tests.
Teaching Exceptional Children, (41), 40-51.