Accessible Educational Materials (AEM)
aka
Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM)
by Valerie Wilson
West Virginia’s Landscape
Demographic Data
State Enrollment by Special Education Status Trend
Special Education Status by Race for 2014-2015
LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENTS
WEST VIRGINIA
DECEMBER 1, 2014
General Education:
Full Time (LRE=0)
64%
Correctional
Facility (LRE=9)
0%
Parentally Placed
in Privace School
(LRE=8)
Residential
Placements (LE=6)
0%
OSE
(LRE=5)
1%
Special
Education:Separat
e Schools (LRE=3)
0%
Special
Education
: Separate
Class
(LRE=2)
8%
General Education:
Part-Time (LRE=1)
25%
Student demographics, SY 2013-2014
All students
Grades: PK - 12
Of all students,
48% qualify as
Low-SES
Of all students,
15% qualify as
SWD
62% of SWD
qualify as
Low-SES
Data source: End of Year Certified Enrollment file, 2013 – 2014
Notes: Results incorporate all school districts (including WVSDB & Institutional Programs), Grades Pre-K – 12, analysis
excludes exceptionally gifted (EG) and gifted (GF) from SWD classification
West Virginia Students with Disabilities Demographics
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
43,250 of West Virginia’s 274,363 students have IEPs Ages 3-21
Represent 15-16% of the student population
Special education status by race between 16% of White and 16% of Black
or African American subgroups
Largest eligibility groups are speech language impaired at 29% and specific
learning disabled at 29%
16% of students intellectually disabled including mild, moderate, and severe
84% of SWDs within average range of intelligence
Approximately 62% are low socio-economic status (SES)
West Virginia’s percentage of students with disabilities ages 6-21 is 2.8%
higher than the nation
West Virginia’s percentage of students with disabilities ages 3-5 is 2.6%
higher than the nation
Online at http://wvde.state.wv.us/osp/accessiblematerials.html
What is AEM?
• AEM are materials that are designed or converted in a way
that makes them usable across the widest range of student
variability in any format (print, digital, graphical, audio, video).
• IDEA specifically focuses on accessible formats of
print instructional materials. In relation to IDEA, the term
AEM refers to print educational materials that have been
transformed into the specialized formats of braille, large print,
audio, or digital text.
• AEM provides exactly the same content in a format that
makes the information usable by the widest range of students.
Accommodations vs.
Modifications
Accommodations and Modifications:
How They’re Different
Formats for AEM
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ACTUAL PASSAGE:
LEARNING DISABILITY SIMULATION
I suspect that children with learning disabilities
may experience an "Alice in Wonderland"
existence. They may become confused by
symbols we give them, may feel pressured by
the length of time in which to do it and may
become frustrated by failure. Often, students
with learning disabilities do not learn the
traditional way, so we must teach them
differently.
Do you have students:
1. who are not reading “typical” grade level
instructional materials? or
2. whose problem solving teams believe
progress would increase if barriers to
accessing instructional materials were
lowered?
• Then you have students who need AEM!
Data Disconnect
• WV Data Disconnect:
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–
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August 2011 - 292 students served
August 2012 - 611 student served
August 2014 – 749 students served
August 2015 – 1272 students served
• Physical disability – 38%
• Visual Impairment – 16%
• Learning Disability – 47%
• National Studies:
– Statistical Probability (approx 2- 4% of general pop)–
5,643 - 11,285 in WV
– Statistical Probability for Students with IEPs (20% - 40%) 8,852 - 17,703 in WV
• 2013 WESTEST2 Read Aloud Accommodation:
– All grades: 18,926
– 3 – 11 grades: 16,743
What Is the Relationship to
FAPE?
“Timely access to appropriate and accessible instructional
materials is an inherent component of [an LEA’s/SEA’s] our
obligation under [IDEA] to ensure:
• that FAPE is available for children with disabilities and
• that children with disabilities participate in the general
education curriculum as specified in their IEPs.”
–Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), 71 Fed Reg. 46618
AEM-Related Responsibilities
of Decision-Making Teams
1. Establish need for instructional materials in
specialized format(s)
2. Select specialized format(s) needed by a student
for educational participation and achievement
3. Commence the defined steps to acquire needed
format(s) in a timely manner
4. Determine supports needed for effective use for
educational participation and achievement.
#1
Establish the need for instructional
materials in specialized format(s)
Who Needs AEM?
• Students whose disability presents
difficulty accessing traditional instructional
materials, such as print or locked digital
materials effectively.
• Students with sensory, orthopedic or
learning-related impairments
Who Needs AEM?
• Struggling readers?
• Students lacking English proficiency?
Who Needs AEM?
• Students who simply prefer options for
different tasks or for use in different
environments.
Who Needs AEM?
• If any student is unable to read traditional
grade level print instructional materials
• at a sufficient rate and with adequate
comprehension to complete academic tasks
with success, relative to same-age peers,
• or cannot do this independently, or cannot do
this across environments and tasks,
• then the student may need AEM.
Video
Students Speak Out on Accessible
Educational Materials
#2
Select specialized format(s) needed
by a student for educational
participation and achievement
The AEM Navigator
• A process facilitator to help educators, families,
and students make decisions about AEM for an
individual student
– (Not a screening or evaluative tool)
The AIM Explorer
A free downloadable simulation tool that combines
grade-leveled digital text with access features
common to most text readers and supported
reading software.
#3
Commence the defined steps to
acquire needed format(s) in a
timely manner
Bookshare and Learning Ally
Who qualifies to use these resources?
http://www.bookshare.org/ - free
http://www.learningally.org/ - paid
Online Comparison
Acceptable Devices
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PC
Mac (app available on iTunes)
Android (app available on Google Play)
iOS Apple devices (ipod, ipod Touch, iPad)
NIMAC
National Instructional Materials
Accessibility Center
Who Qualifies for NIMAC?
*Not all web based materials are
Authorized Users of
NIMAC in WV:
Bookshare and
Learning Ally
Timely Provision of AEM
Page 17 of the AEM-WV guidance
document shows the steps to
acquire AIM for students with an IEP
or 504 plan and a print disability.
Page18 of the AEM-WV guidance
document shows the steps to acquire AEM
for students who do not meet the criteria
for copyright law but may benefit from AEM
Tools for Students Who Don’t
Qualify for AEM
• Read&Write for Google (Chrome Required)
– Read Write Gold
– Kurzweil 3000
• Access Tools From WVTIS
#4
Determine supports needed for
effective use for educational
participation and achievement
Technology
Assistive Technology
SETT Process
WVATS
Training
Instructional Strategies
Support Services
REMINDER:
Accommodations and
Modifications
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AEM Navigator
http://aem.cast.org/navigating/aem-navigator.html#.VWouS1xVikp
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AIM Explorer
http://aem.cast.org/navigating/aim-explorer.html#.VWouc1xViko
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AEM-WV Guidance Document
http://wvde.state.wv.us/osp/AIMwvguidanceMay2015.pdf
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Audio Supported Reading
http://aim.cast.org/learn/student_learning/ASR/forBVI#.U1_QGfldWSo
•
Jeff Diedrich, CCC-SLP, Director, Michigan’s Integrated Technology Supports Ruth
Ziolkowski, MBA, OTR, President, Don Johnston Incorporated Presentation at ATIA
2009, Orlando, Florida
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National Center on Accessible Educational Material
http://aem.cast.org/
•
Accommodations and Modifications: How They’re Different
•
•
SETT Process
http://www.joyzabala.com/Documents.html
Free Android and iOS Text-toSpeech
• Most new android and iOS devices have
text to speech built in
http://www.dummies.com/howto/content/how-to-prep-for-dictation-on-thesamsung-galaxy-ta.html
• Text to speech translator can be used
translating from English to English
Other AT web extensions
• www.readability.com Takes away
distracting information from a webpage
http://www.readability.com/bookmarklets
• Chrome extension: TLDR (Too Long,
Didn’t Read) makes a summary of the
webpage of information
West Virginia Library Commision
• Visit their website:
http://www.librarycommission.wv.gov/
– Under Services, select “Special Services
Library”
• http://www.librarycommission.wv.gov/servi
ces/specialservices/Pages/default.aspx
• Download an application
Talking books
• Receive in the mail, free of charge a Daisy
reader
• Receive a catalog with new book available
every 3 months
• Email titles and numbers for books you want
to talkbks@wvlc.lib.wv.us
• Receive in the mail, listen, and return
• Materials are free as long as you are using
them
Features
• Easy navigation (unlike cd’s)
– Page
– Chapter in the Table of Contents
• Controls for speed, and tone without distortion of
speaker’s voice
• Bookmarking to save your place
• Narration by real people; also includes charts,
graphs, and pictures
• Easy search by isbn, autor, title, keyword
• Many current popular fiction available with
VoiceText
Great resource
Free Technology Toolkit for UDL in All
Classrooms
http://udltechtoolkit.wikispaces.com/home
Ticket out the Door
What are the 4 formats of accessible instructional
materials (AEM) described in IDEA?
What 2 attributes must a student have to qualify for free
AEM from the NIMAC (National Instructional Materials
Access Center)?
The AEM Navigator tool should be used during an IEP
meeting.
(T or F)
What is wrong with this
picture?