As library workers, we want all students to be literate: to be able to
find, select, evaluate, use, communicate, manage, and create information. For
various reasons, students with disabilities have more difficulties gaining
literacy. Their senses may filter or distort incoming information, their brains
may process information in different ways, and their bodies may have difficult
expressing their knowledge. As information professionals, we should provide
physical and digital resources, including equipment, that help compensate for
these differences. Here is representative research about literacy from the lens
of disabilities. Among the findings, inclusive literacy and oral fluency stand
out.
Cassell, J. (2008). Virtual humans: A tool for the study and teaching
of language and social interaction. Paper presented at the American Association
for the Advancement of Science annual meeting, Boston.
http://articulab.northwestern.edu/
http://articulab.northwestern.edu/
Virtual characters and digital tutors are helping children and adults
develop advanced social and language skills that can be tough to learn via
conventional approaches. Children with autism can develop advanced social
skills by interacting with a "virtual child" that they might not develop
by hanging out with real children or teachers.
Davidson, M. M., Kaushanskaya, M., & Weismer, S. E. (2018). Reading
Comprehension in Children With and Without ASD: The Role of Word Reading, Oral
Language, and Working Memory. Journal of autism and developmental disorders,
1-18.
For students with Autism Spectum Disorder, oral vocabulary was the
strongest predictor of reading comprehension.
Flewitt, R., Messer, D., & Kucirkova, N. (2015). New directions for
early literacy in a digital age: The iPad. Journal
of Early Childhood Literacy, 15(3), 289-310.
Well-planned iPad-based literacy activities stimulate the motivation
and concentration of children with disabilities. They also offered rich
opportunities for communication, collaborative interaction, independent
learning, and for children to achieve high levels of accomplishment. In some
cases, this led teachers favorably to re-evaluate the children’s literacy
competence, and enabled children to construct positive images of themselves in
the literacy classroom. Practitioners particularly valued the opportunities
iPads afforded to deliver curriculum guidelines in new ways, and to familiarize
all students with touch-screen technologies.
Hebbeler, K., & Spiker, D. (2016). Supporting young children with
disabilities. The Future of Children,
185-205.
High-quality instruction in general education classrooms is a major
factor in good educational outcomes for children with disabilities, and for
their successful inclusion from preschool to third grade. Moreover,
improving the quality of general education benefits all children, not
just those with disabilities.
Hulme, C., Nash, H. M., Gooch, D., Lervåg, A., & Snowling, M. J.
(2015). The foundations of literacy development in children at familial risk of
dyslexia. Psychological Science, 26(12), 1877-1886.
Reading development depends critically on oral language skills, which
is lacking in children at familial risk of dyslexia. Therefore, early language
education should not focus just on phonological and phonic skills but on
broader language skills.
Ostrosky, M. M., Mouzourou, C., Dorsey, E. A., Favazza, P. C., &
Leboeuf, L. M. (2015). Pick a book, any book: Using children’s books to support
positive attitudes toward peers with disabilities. Young Exceptional Children, 18(1), 30-43.
Children with disabilities tend to interact socially less than
typically developing peers. Reading can help develop social skills.
Representing children with disabilities in reading materials is very important
for children with disabilities and their peers. Through book reading and
discussion, librarians and other teachers can promote disability awareness
leading to greater understand.
Shargorodsky, J., Curhan, S. G., Curhan, G. C., & Eavey, R. (2010).
Change in prevalence of hearing loss in US adolescents. JAMA, 304(7), 772-778. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2010.1124
Hearing loss is a common sensory disorder, affecting tens of millions
of individuals of all ages in the United States. In school-aged children,
even slight hearing loss can create a need for speech therapy, auditory
training, and special accommodations. Mild hearing loss in young children can
impair speech and language development and lead to decreased educational
achievement and impaired social-emotional development.
