CENTER FOR DISABILITY STUDIES IN
LITERACY, LANGUAGE & LEARNING
at the University of Northern Iowa
In This Issue:
Empowerment
Least Restrictive Classroom
Future Dreams
Literacy at Home
CDSLLL Resources
November/December 2010
Dear Families,
On behalf of the CDSLLL, I am pleased to send you the first edition of the Family
Advocate. I hope you find its content interesting and informative! Each month I
plan to introduce a fun, family oriented activity that you could do regarding
literacy. Each issue will also discuss topics I hope will be of interest to you.
I have had the pleasure to meet approximately 70 parents all across Iowa, whose
children are participating in either the Literacy or Communication Projects. Some
families have asked for information about supporting literacy at home. Others
have wanted more demonstration about how to use the communication systems
that their children are using at school. With the holiday season fast approaching, I
have chosen to focus on developing some video clips to be able to demonstrate
some of these ideas. This is a work-in-progress, so I will provide more details in
issues to come.
As always, my door is always open to you. If you have questions, ideas or just need
a listening ear, I would be glad to visit with you!
Happy Holidays!
“If you want to see competence, it is helpful if you look for it.”
--Douglas Biklen
Susie Lund,
Family Coordinator
Center for Disability
Studies in Literacy,
Language and Learning
(319) 273-2728
slund@uni.edu
If your child has difficulty communicating verbally, it may not be easy to tell how
much he or she actually knows. It is important to remind others that the,
“absence of evidence isn’t evidence of absence” (Donnellan, 1984). The following
strategies can help your child feel like a valued member of their learning
community:
 Assume the child’s interests and activities are similar to those of typically
developing children of the same age.
 Make sure your tone of voice is developmentally appropriate – no baby talk.
 Help others to interpret potentially confusing behavior.
 Do not allow others to speak in front of your child as if he or she were not
present.
 In conversation, refer to the child in a way that includes him/her in the
discussion.
 Ask permission from the child before sharing information with others.
Kasa-Hendrickson, C. & Buswell, W, 2007
2
What are your dreams for your
child? What do you hope that he
or she accomplishes in life? Many
parents find that visualizing and
developing a dream for their child
helps them identify skills and
abilities that they would like their
school to focus on during an IEP
meeting.
Serving as a parent advocate, I recently attended
the best IEP meeting I’ve ever attended (and I’ve
been to a lot!). At the end of the meeting, several
team members emailed the parent expressing that
they, too, had never been to such a positive,
collaboratively written IEP meeting. Penny Reed
developed the approach that we used. The following
are the steps she recommends:
Reading Books with Repeated Lines
A great way to help a child to have repetition with
high frequency words is by reading books with
repeated lines and doing activities related to the
book. You can find a list of books that repeat at:
http://www.aacintervention.com/repeatl.htm. Most
of the books on this list can be found at your local
library. Here are some activity ideas:

Read the book together one time through.
If your child uses a switch, record the
repeated line on a switch, for your child to hit
when the repeated line is read.
1. All IEP Committee members, including parents,
come to the IEP meeting prepared to discuss the
child, but without having written any goals.
2. One of the members who is an employee of the
school district, serves as the facilitator/
recorder.

Write or type one of the repeated lines in
large print. Cut out individual words and
shuffle them. Help your child put the words
back in the correct order. Check the book to
make sure you are right. Then glue the words
to a sheet of paper and draw a picture to go
with the sentence.

Make up your own version of the repeated
book, using experiences from the child’s life

Ask your child’s teacher for suggested titles
of repeated line books that are appropriate
for his/her age and reading level.
3. The IEP meeting begins by asking the parent(s)
to describe their long term goals for their child.
4. After the parent has spoken, other IEP
Committee members may add some additional
items.
5. Using each of the long term goals as a focus, the
committee members then describe what the child
can do now that relates to each of the long term
goals.
6. Next, the committee members discuss what they
think would be realistic for the child to be able to
do one year from now in each of the areas of
focus.
7. Finally, the committee members discuss what the
school needs to provide during the year to help
achieve these goals. (Retrieved from
www.chsepta.com/PLAN%20the%20IEP.pdf)
Using these steps, our team was able to articulate
skills, abilities and goals for the child in a positive,
collaborative manner.
If you need other modifications to help your child
be successful in this activity, please don’t
hesitate to call the CDSLLL!
3
An informed parent is a powerful partner in their child’s
education plan. Each month, we will include information
regarding the law to empower your participation in the IEP
process.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
requires that children with disabilities are educated in the
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). What does this truly
mean? LRE means that children with disabilities are
educated to the greatest extent possible with typically
developing peers. The Iowa Code states:
Special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of
children with disabilities from the general education
environment occurs only if the nature or severity of the
disability is such that education in regular classes with
the use of supplementary aides and services cannot be
achieved satisfactorily [281 I.A.C. § 41.114(2)(b)].
Web:
www.askresource.org
www.disabilityisnatural.com
www.wrightslaw.com
www.tarheelreader.org
Recommended Reading:
Disability is Natural by Kathie Snow
Revolutionary Common Sense for Raising
Successful Children with Disabilities
Available at http://www.disabilityisnatural.com/
Another aspect of the law that does not seem to be widely
known is,
“A child with a disability shall not be removed from
education in age-appropriate regular classrooms solely
because of needed modifications in the general education
curriculum” [281 I.A.C. § 41.116(3)(e)].
This means that just because a child’s skills are not equal to
those of their peers, this is not a justification for a child to be
in a more restrictive setting. In fact, Iowa Code goes on to
require that IEP teams answer the following questions in
order to justify a more restrictive placement:
1) What accommodations, modifications and
2)
3)
4)
5)
adaptations does the individual require to be
successful in a general education environment?
Why is it not possible for these accommodations,
modifications and adaptations to be provided within
the general education environment?
What supports are needed to assist the teacher and
other personnel in providing these accommodations,
modifications and adaptations?
How will receipt of special education services and
activities in the general education environment
impact this individual?
How will provision of special education services and
activities in the general education environment
impact other students? [281 I.A.C. § 41.116(4)(a)].
In essence, Iowa Law requires that children with disabilities
are educated as much as possible in regular classrooms with
typically-developing peers.
What are questions that you, as a parent, have
regarding special education services? What are
some strategies you’ve used to assert your
child’s rights? How can we help you feel
prepared and empowered to be an active partner
in your child’s education? We would welcome
your questions and/or comments via e-mail,
phone, mail or through your child’s educator.
You are the expert on raising your child and we
want and need your input to make this
newsletter meaningful.
Center for Disability Studies in
Literacy, Language & Learning
University of Northern Iowa
119 Price Lab School
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-3593
The Center for Disability Studies in Literacy, Language and Learning was established in December 2009. It
began as a collaborative effort of five faculty members with research interests and expertise in working
with children with significant disabilities, it draws together faculty and graduate students from the UNI
Departments of Communication Science and Disorders, Special Education, Educational Psychology, Computer
Science, and Literacy. The Center’s mission is to explore, promote, and support the literacy and
communication development of children with significant disabilities. The Center has four main areas of
focus: (a) Professional development, (b) Family support, (c) Policy, and (d) Scholarship.
Faculty Members:
Dr. Evette Edmister is an Assistant Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at UNI.
Dr. Jennifer Garrett is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and
Disorders.
Dr. Chris Kliewer is a Full Professor in the Department of Special Education at UNI.
Dr. Amy Petersen an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education at UNI directs the
Instructional Strategist II program at UNI.
Dr. Amy Staples is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education at the UNI.
-
Supporting Team Members:
Grad Assistants – Assist with data collection and
analysis and help develop AAC devices.
Susie Lund – Family Coordinator
Beth Huber – Researcher
-
- Tricia Frericks – SLP/Clinical Supervisor
- Lora Hickman – Program Coordinator
- Jen King – Communication & Mktg Specialist
- AT/SLP Support Personnel