Download Literacy for Students with

Literacy for Students with
Global Delay, Intellectual Impairment and
Down Syndrome – 08
Implications for Students Learning Literacy: Health - Infections
 Absenteeism
 Hearing Loss – up to 80% of students with intellectual
impairment have glue ear
 Vision Problems
 Speech and Language Difficulties/Abnormalities
 Short/Long Term Memory
 Motor Planning Difficulties
 Auditory Processing Difficulties
 Generalization
 Multi Learning Difficulties/Disabilities
Strategies to Assist Students Attending Inside Classroom: Always say the child’s name then look at me; supported by
sign (look at me); provide tactile input after above to gain
attention (push on the shoulder)
 Grabbing Students Attention:- wearing bright
lipstick/earrings to gain student attention
 Allow processing time to respond to question (Students
do not necessarily need to look at you to show they are
attending; Some students find focusing on the
floor/closing their eyes help them to shut out sensory
and think of a response)
 Expect students to look your way when responding
 Hyper acoustic:- difficulty coping with noises; many
noises within a busy classroom can cause real pain for
some students (eg:- parades/assemblies); provide escape
route/short time spans within these sorts of
environments/slow desensitization; busy hands (sensory
equipment such as stress balls, stretchy frogs)
 (Generalizing) Difficulty Conceptualizing Everyone:- At
group time ‘ Can everyone go back to their desks and …;
Need to say ‘Can everyone and ….. please go back to their
desks and….
Visual Problems: Common with students who have hypertonia (low muscle
tone)
 Indicators:- Students wear prescription glasses, tilt
their head to the side, bring their head too close to
books when reading, see blurred images; have
difficulty with fine motor/handwriting/depth
perception; Students with squints (common with
students who have D.S) need to have annual vision
assessments by an ophthalmologist as this can lead to
blindness
 Strategies:- Sit at the front of the group or if
students have A pattern vision (where their vision field
is in an A frame) they should be seated in the middle
of the group; sloping desks for handwriting; larger
print; uncluttered pages
Visual Perception:- difficulties writing on a line,
discrimination of letter/words
 Strategies:- use solid outlines for tracing and cutting;
access vision assessment and visual impairment
services
Motor Skills: Poor motor skills due to hypertonia in arms and
hand/back/neck/stomach muscles; shorter
limbs/digits/reduced stamina
 Implications:- Handwriting is oversized and/or
undersized; turning books in a page is difficult and
slower; size of furniture may be inappropriate (EG:feet don’t touch floor; arms under the base of the
chair is too wide; gap between their chair and height
of the table is too big); do not yet have a dominate
hand
 Strategies:- Use of sensory cushion behind chairs;
lower tables/chairs; assessment dominate hand;
sticker on the writing hand and verbal reminders to
use this hand for variety of fine motor activities(EG:writing, painting); pencil grip (air-conditioning tubing
most effective/cheap)
Speech and Language Difficulties/Abnormalities
 Characteristics:- Structural abnormalities in the
mouth/throat; difficulty with motor planning of speech
sounds/putting words together; difficulties with correct
grammar and sentence formulation; speech modulation
(speed, fluency, volume)
 Strategies:- Speech Modulation (EG:- volume; speed;
fluency); rhythm; stress; timing; tone of speech; (To
assist students who run their words together when
talking, stress specific words within a sentence by slow
speech and increased pitch.); emphasis on conjunctions by
using tone, pitch and speed; Say ‘Stop. Slow Down. I don’t
understand’.
Specific Learning Difficulties
 Be aware of other learning difficulties; diagnoses when
using strategies
 Need to manage layers of disabilities (EG:- may have
dyslexia, ADHD,ADD)
Attending Skills for Students with II/DS/GL: Easily distracted by noises and movement
 Put off if task looks too difficult/too big/boring
 More difficulty attending to verbal information in a group
 Difficulty focussing on and respond to key elements or
verbal information/tasks
 Can remember a maximum number of 2 – 3 digits/sounds
(EG:- computer = 3 sounds)
Strategies: Think about the complexity of the instruction
 Give only 5-6 word instructions
 Limit to 4-5 sounds for instructions
 Emphasize key words (pitch, tone, speed)
Auditory Perception: Implications:- Difficulty discriminating similar sounding
words
 Function of the brain, not ear
 Processing Problems
 Strategies:- Use words in context; support verbal
information by signing/visuals
Auditory Processing
 Strategies:- allow response time (5- 10 seconds); repeat
the same instructions/questions at least three times;
ignore inappropriate responses; provide visual/tactile
support with instructions; provide statement to help
student get to the correct response; provide correct
response if they are still unsure. (EG:- The colour of my
jacket is ……. (look towards face/ensure eye contact/use
signing) The colour of my jacket is ….. The colour of my
jacket is …: (Support with deep pressure) The colour of
my jacket is red.)
Generalization
 Implications:- Difficulty generalizing skills taught in a
context
 Strategies:- practice new skill in a number of settings
with the same cues and materials; teach categories when
introducing new vocabulary (EG:- cup. This is a cup. We
use this to drink with.)
Long Term Memory
 Implications:- Information is not retained without over
learning, revisiting and applying to everyday experiences;
irrelevant information is stored and is not able to be
applied to other contexts
Short Term Memory
 Implications:- poor working memory (can’t store spoken
information long enough to process and interpret it);
difficulty with complex instructions; don’t have skills to
go back to trigger their memory
 Strategies:- physical cues to remind them (note in hand);
train staff/parents not to interrupt; Give Verbal
Reminding Cue ‘Where are you going?’; learn best through
real life skills and concrete learning
Learning Styles
 Failure avoiders
 Errorless learning is very important (ensure they can be
successful) (EG:-Hand over hand support for handwriting;
give praise; reduce physical prompt)
Getting Started in Reading
Comprehension through Shared Text
 Indicators:- Students at this level attend to pictures, use
pictures to get information they need, student does not
read text
 Overview: Stage 1 – Understanding Pictures
 Stage 2 – Recall information from familiar books
 Stage 3 – Understand vocabulary
 Stage 4 - Recall Understanding
 Stage 5 - Sequencing Pictures
 Stage 6 –
Reading and Moving On (Sue Buckley)
 For students who are reading text.
 Challenges:- comprehension (reading ability can be far
greater than meaning); interpreting text; processing
questions; sequencing (sequential memory); failure
avoidance; life experiences;
Overview (Moving On): Stage 1 – Teach New Vocabulary with Meaning
(teacher selects variety of books at their level and of
interest; 92% of words are known words; selection of
life skill readers; (any reading material that grabs
their attention bus timetable, comic, magazine,
instructions on appliances)
 Stage 2  Stage 3 – Read Alongside the student (write down
words they miss and place into a lotto game; talk
about the meaning of the word when playing the
lotto game; get students to put the word in a
sentence)
 Stage 4 –
 Stage 5 – Practise lotto games before reading the
book (3 days of practising unknown words)
 Stage 6 – Reading the Text (Student to read the
text unsupported; discuss meaning)
(Explicitly teach decoding skills – This can also be done
in conjunction with reading/exploring text in reading
material).
Teaching Decoding Skills when Reading
Level 1 – Picture Cues
 Look at the pictures
 Make a guess at the word
 Re-read the sentence
Level 2 – Initial Letter Clues
 Identify initial letters and their sounds
Level 3 – Context Rules
 Teach meaning in context
 Use of cloze exercises (with or without inserted words)
Level 4 – Base Word Clues
 Reading/Understanding spelling with suffixes/prefixes
 Student reads base word and suffix/prefix
 Model examples
 Teach the student to ask for help
Comprehension
 Hyper readers – read text fluently without meaning
 Teach the language of instruction so students can
understand directions/instructions given in tasks (EG:explain/provide support visuals for concepts including
colour, cut, paste, draw, find me, show me) (Cooking
Terms: pour, mix, fold, beat, etc..)
 Select books which are relevant and assist with life skills
(EG:- calendars, gardening; using kitchen appliances;
shopping, form filling, reading medicine labels, timetables,
reading/understanding text, email language)
 When delivering work ask yourself: ‘Can they interpret
the question, sequence, understand true/false language,
and have an understanding of concepts used in
instructions?’
 Interpreting Posters/Pictures:- Difficult skill for these
students to do, need to teach students to get information
from pictures
 Critically Look at Worksheets: break into small sections,
explain text unknown, ensure questions are clear and not
misleading, use yes and no instead of true and false,
support by visuals, add extra information to worksheet if
needed for understanding, provide plenty of repetition
and practise for students to retain new information
 Selecting Readers: Ensure series are age appropriate,
photo images work well for students; low
text/appropriate reading level
 PM GEMS: Computer Readers
 Cross Words: Create your own (Computer Programs), use
of given known words student understands, find/tell the
meaning of words with the student
 Cloze Text: (Without words to choose from) Work first
on nouns; verbs, conjunctions; teach students to answer
questions from the text; cloze does not have to be one
word only/fine to insert more if it makes sense, ensure
student re-reads text after completing the close to
check comprehension
Spelling:
 Focus for these students is spelling words they use in
everyday writing accurately and with confidence
 Learn spelling in context, not in isolation
 Being at a pre-phonetic stage
 These students have a digit memory span of only 2 – 3
digits
Spelling Difficulties:
 Long Term Memory
 Visual difficulties
 Developmental delay
 Failed to learn sounds of spelling
 Permanent/intermittent hearing loss
Spell to Write:(Detailed information will be provided on CD Rom)
1. Learn Personal Words (3 – 4 letters only) (EG:- mum, dad)
2. Learn sight words as carrier phrases (EG:- I, can, see)
3. Learn more Personal Words longer than 4 letters
4. Learn words derived from class events and or celebratory
topics (EG:- mother’s day, Christmas)
5. Learn words for Personal Writing (these will be words
which previously have been spelt incorrectly)
6. Learn sight words
7. Learn Relevant words from class spelling lists/Life skill
words
8. Learn Genre Writing Words
Spelling Words:- Laminated Board Strategy
 See Example Shown
 Check letters are in the correct position/not upside
down
 Put X to learn failure if not correct the first time
 Put when the student is correct
 Cover written word/give them a peep for as long as
it takes then cover the word for them
 Students are to do this 5 times successfully
 Add distracter cards to the table (EG:- extra
letters)
 Write name on laminated sheet on the back with a
white board marker from memory
Word Amount
Begin with learning one word a week. Once students have
mastered this accurately with speed they can move onto two
words a week. Eventually they will be working on 4 words a
week. For some students writing words will still be very
difficult due to fine motor. Use letter cards instead.
Handwriting
 Hand over hand
 Pattern (Verbal Guide)
 Don’t use dotted lines
 Use of grid (one letter in each grid) if students have
difficulty with spacing
 Use of finger space after grid
 Lined Paper very confusing for these students
 Write without lines until students have letter formations
 Tracing letters alone does not teach letter formation;
need to trace with straight lines, begin trying letter
formation after tracing
 Use letters of interest to the students (EG:- letters
from their name, personal words)
Moving On:
 Provide sentence beginnings on A4 sheet and glue into
students’ books to refer to
 Cross off beginnings as they use them in their story to
avoid repetition of beginnings
Scaffold Writing: Provide scaffolding when writing so
students know where to begin (EG:- name what is in the
picture, who is in the picture, colour used, etc..)
 Sequencing cards (age appropriate) involving themselves
others (digital photos)
 Talk about what they want to write about and note down
key words to cue them when writing
 List ideas from an activity/weekend (EG:- Show = rides,
fairy floss, people, fun, hot dogs, stalls)
 Provide scaffolding/brainstorming structures (See
Examples)
 Draft Copies – only expect copies if they student is
motived to do so for a specific purpose
 Scaffolding for Living Skill Writing:- Taking Telephone
Messages (EG:- Provide Visuals, Family Name – others to
spell out, telephone number, time home, tick if they
wanted mum to call back)
Reading Skills
 Oral Language:- Morning Talk, peers to ask who/what
questioning, use of visual writing support (Here is a ….),
student required to practise and re-read card several
times before day, give the card to someone on the other
side of the room, teacher supports students if other
when/where questions come up to assist the student with
processing (EG:- You went to Melbourne to watch the …..)
Teaching Questions
From What to Why – CD Rom
 Level 1 – 2 (Only Photos with Questions)
 Level 3 – 4 (Work with students to understand and teach
questions at this level if they are ready for this stage)
Resources to purchase:
My Home Skills Supplement – SERU Publication
Maths and Money Program
Foundation Skills – Starter Kit (includes Reading; Pre-writing;
Scissors Program) $50.00
From What to Why – Teaching Questioning
Spell to Write – CD Rom
Comprehension through Shared Text
Moving On – Sue Buckley