Emergent Balanced Literacy for Students with Significant Disabilities - Apps Included! - 659-684

The prospect of teaching students with significant disabilities to begin to read with comprehension and begin to write generatively can seem overwhelming. Often we decide to teach only ‘functional’ skills.  But what is more functional than literacy? This presentation will cover:  assessment for students who are difficult to assess, shared reading (developing a love of reading, and supporting language through reading), emergent writing (beginning to write with symbols, words, and the alphabet), self-selected story listening (listening to a range of engaging, age-respectful books), and an introduction to phonics (developing letter-sound connections) and phonemic awareness (understanding spoken language at the word, syllable, and letter level). Throughout the day, you will see student samples, videos, and creative use of apps.  Use of age-respectful activities and materials will be considered for each section.

About the presenter: Dr. Caroline Musselwhite is an assistive technology specialist and an international author, presenter and researcher with more than 30 years of experience working with students with severe disabilities and those who need alternative and augmentative communication. Caroline has worked in a variety of settings, including Head Start, developmental day programs, and public schools, and she has also taught courses at several universities, including West Virginia University, and Western Carolina University. 

Dr. Musselwhite has authored a number of textbooks and “how-to” books on a range of topics, including Emergent Literacy Success, Communication Programming for Persons with Severe Handicaps, and Reading Activities Project for Older Students (R.A.P.S.). She has also authored a number of software programs (Write to Talk, Social Scripts) and books (Learning to Work) for youth with disabilities. She has presented thousands of workshops throughout the world, and is a founding member of the Board of Directors for the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC).

Honors include: Foundation Fellowship (West Virginia University), Educator of the Year (Association for Retarded Citizens, North Carolina), Honors of the Association, (North Carolina Augmentative Communication Association), and DiCarlo Outstanding Clinician Award (North Carolina Speech-Language-Hearing Association), and ISAAC Fellow. 

Cost: AT Academy Members Free; all other $125/person

Bring your iPad or laptop, presentation will not cover Chromebooks.

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