Engaging
Interactions:
Writing to Read
for students who are deafblind or blind/VI with multiple
disabilities
Megan Mogan, CCC-SLP
Getting in Touch With Literacy
Albuquerque, New Mexico
November 20, 2015
Outcomes
• Identify ways in which to correspond early communication and
literacy goals with functional daily classroom activities.
• Learn how to implement a lesson-planning framework that
considers using the unique background experiences and intense
interests of the deaf-blind early communicator as topics of
engaging literacy and communication interactions.
• Observe video, photo, and hard-copy examples of accessible
literacy materials used within activities for students with a range
of early language and communication needs
© Mogan, 2015
NTAC Outcomes and
Performance Indicators (OPIs)
• Learn strategies for implementing appropriate receptive and
expressive language and communication throughout the day.
(SP.07.e)
• Learn strategies for providing opportunities for emergent
literacy learning throughout the classroom and throughout
the day.
(SP.12.c)
• Learn to provide opportunities for social interactions across a
variety of individuals and environments (e.g., classroom,
cafeteria, school yard). (SP.15.h)
© Mogan, 2015
Session Overview:
Writing to Read
1. Expanding the Definition of
“Writing”
1. Literacy Across the Day
1. Writing to Read
– Activity Examples
© Mogan, 2015
What do think of when you hear the word
“Writing?”
© Mogan, 2015
“People hoping to enlarge
literacy opportunities for
people who are deaf-blind
need to continue to invent
ways to make literacy
available. The possibilities are
countless.”
– Barbara Miles
© Mogan, 2015
Christianson, K.
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Writing is the same as Sending
Partner sends communication to
another person (Expressive)
Student sends
communication to another
person (Expressive)
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Expressive Communication Forms
Unconventional Forms
Conventional,
Symbolic Forms
Body Movements
Head turns
Eye Gaze
Actions on people and objects
Conventional Forms
Signals
Gestures and Pointing
Vocalizations
© Mogan, 2015
Pictures
Photos
Drawings
Objects
Partial Objects
Sign Language
Speech
Braille
Print
Literacy Across the Day
For students in self-contained classrooms…
Instructional time is frequently lost to other
activities such as repairing technology, moving in
and between classrooms, toileting, eating, and
attending therapies. (Koppenhaver & Yoder, 1993)
© Mogan, 2015
1) limited use of
conventional
communication forms
2) limited instructional
time for a student with
significant sensory, motor,
and/or cognitive needs?
© Mogan, 2015
Less time spent
with meaningful
Literacy
Materials he/she
can understand
and share with
others.
Literacy Across the Day
“Good Kindergarten Teachers read
from at least 12 different texts a
day!” (Pressley et al, 2001)
© Mogan, 2015
Where do I begin?
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Literacy Across the Day
Consider Minimizing the Importance of
Communicative Form as a Goal (Hagood)
Many students who only know one
form (such as speech or sign
language) use them less for a
restricted number of
• topics
• purposes
• partners
© Mogan, 2015
Literacy Across the Day
Consider Minimizing the Importance of
Communicative Form as a Goal (Hagood)
Less Abstract forms
(gestures, objects, photos of real
objects)
• more functional for many
students
• more universally understood by
partners
© Mogan, 2015
Instead, listen……..
• To my hands
• To my movements
• To my touch
• To my pallor
• To my breathing
• For my laughter
© Mogan, 2015
Christianson, K.
Quick Activity (if time)
Find your partner and choose a sender and a receiver.
Position yourselves so the receiver’s back is to the screen
(if possible)
The Sender should be able to read the messages that will
appear on the slides and then send those messages to the
partner
The receiver will write down
1) the form(s) being used to send the message
2) his/her best guess at the message
© Mogan, 2015
Takeaways
We need to become skilled
“listeners” to our student’s
many communication
forms.
Responding and Attaching
meaning to the sender’s
forms builds expressive
communication…….and
LITERACY!
© Mogan, 2015
Literacy Across the Day
Let’s Shift our Focus…
Use a student’s current forms to increase
• the number of contexts across which she can
communicate (expanding skills)
• the number of people with whom he can
communicate (building interactions)
….The amount of texts and higher forms he/she will
eventually have access to!
© Mogan, 2015
Review
Remember… We already have topics
 Chosen by the Student
 Hands-on
 High-Interest
 Experience-Based
We already have a learning medium
 Multiple, preferred forms, with special
attention to the sense of touch
 After a lot of INPUT and modeling in natural
contexts
© Mogan, 2015
Now Let’s get Writing!
Make your own Library of Reading
Materials to access all day long!
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–
–
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Student-centered
Age-appropriate
Familiar, Experience-Based
Written in understandable forms
(with opportunities to learn new
forms)
– Opportunities for social
interactions with others
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Making a Permanent Library
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–
–
–
–
Tactile books
Story Boxes/Bags
Anthology collections
Tape Recorder
Single-Button AAC
devices
– Student-led
Performances
– Regular in-class
readings (invite guest
readers)
– Bulletin Board displays
“BURP!
Excuse me.”
President Obama reading aloud in a library
© Mogan, 2015
Helpful Book-Making Materials
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Sharpies!
Glue Gun!
Post-It Notes
3 ½ x 5 notecards
Magic Markers
Paper (Braille, Copy,
Lined, Cardstock, etc.)
Ziploc bags and
containers
Pencils (for jotting quick
notes on pages)
Stapler
3-hole punch
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Tape
Scissors
APH textured paper
APH braillable Label Sheets
Foam
Brailler, Laptop, keyboard
Recording Device
Velcro
Mini Photo Albums
Binders
File holders
Lo-Tech AAC devices
© Mogan, 2015
Materials
© Mogan, 2015
Where do I go?
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What should we consider our goals for “Writing”
with students who are blind/Deaf-blind with
additional disabilities?
• The student should be able to share (READ)
his/her finished work at his/her highest level of
independence with different people, at
different times
• Someone who was not present for the writing
activity/experience should be able to
understand the student’s finished work
© Mogan, 2015
Writing to Read
Examples of Original Works
•
•
•
•
•
Poetry/Chants/Melodies
Experience Books
Journaling
Adapted Adapted Literature
Literacy Skill Builders
© Mogan, 2015
Years from Now
"Although I cannot see your face
As you flip these poems awhile,
Somewhere from some far-off place
I hear you laughing-and I smile."
Shel Silverstein
Poetry, Chants, and Melodies
• Promotes Movement
• Crosses Cultures!
• Repetitive, Patterned
• Can use short phrases, single
words, nonsense sounds, or just
actions/movements
• Can “recycle” existing melodies
and poems
© Mogan, 2015
Caption: Student uses his body
as an instrument during a
movement-based chant
Poetry/Chants/Rhythms
Video and Audio examples
© Mogan, 2015
Poetry/Chants/Rhythms
Using Patterned Text
http://www.pathstoliteracy.org/creat
e-original-patterned-text
© Mogan, 2015
Experience Books
(Hagood, Pathstoliteracy.org)
• Acknowledges/Confirms student’s thoughts and ideas
• Connects and organizes people and events
• Builds relationships through writing together
• Establishes perspective needed to read and hear other
peoples’ stories
• Develop identity (cultural or other) through creation of
artifacts
© Mogan, 2015
Experience Books (how to)
1) Have accessible, bookmaking materials available
2) Participate in a motivating
student-centered experience
3) Observe your student and
identify the parts of the
experience that were
important to him/her
© Mogan, 2015
Experience Books (how to)
4) Collect artifacts or objects
that remind the student of
his/her favorite parts of the
experience
5) Record the student’s favorite
parts of the experience with the
student, using his/her preferred
mode of communication
6) Label the page(s) of the
Experience book in permanent
forms (print, braille)
© Mogan, 2015
Experience Books (how to)
7) Read the book with
your student (many
times!)
8) Model how to share
the book with others
(include hints in the
book for others to read
in order to indicate how
the student prefers to
share his/her
Experience Book)
© Mogan, 2015
Experience Books
Video and/or Audio Example
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Journaling
• Use a single word, piece of an
object (with a print/braille
label), an object in a plastic zipbaggie, an iPad app, a photo, a
black and white line drawing
• Can bridge communication
between school and home
• Makes you a little more
creative and hands-on, so your
student has something to
journal about!
© Mogan, 2015
Journaling
Some Resources:
School-Home Journals
http://www.pathstoliteracy.org/school-homejournals
Orientation and Mobility “Route” Journals
http://www.pathstoliteracy.org/o-and-mliteracy-routes-journals
© Mogan, 2015
Adapted Adapted Literature
Take the concepts, ideas, and formats from stories,
fables, and poems in the curriculum and re-write
them with your students by using:
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The students as the characters
The immediate classroom environment as the setting
Recent experiences and daily routines as the plot
Quality Learning Media to represent vocabulary and
concepts from students’ own experiences.
© Mogan, 2015
Adapted Adapted Literature
Video and/or Audio Example
© Mogan, 2015
Adapted Adapted Literature
Reader’s Theatre
Bark, George
By Jules Feiffer
I Ain’t Gonna Paint no More
By Karen Beaumont
Stone Soup
Traditional folktale
© Mogan, 2015
Making your own “tools” to
develop tactile (or other) literacy skills
• Alphabet Books
http://www.pathstoliteracy.org/strategies/motivating-olderadolescents-who-are-emerging-readers
• Tactile Alphabet Wall
http://www.pathstoliteracy.org/accessible-communicationand-literacy-building-tactile-alphabet-charts
• Tracking Sheets
http://www.pathstoliteracy.org/its-not-silly-me-literacy-andcommunication-activities-students-visual-impairment-andautism
© Mogan, 2015
Remember
Writing= Sending:
Use your student’s current communication
forms to WRITE original works she can
share/read
• with different people
• at different times
at her highest level of independence
© Mogan, 2015
References
Bloom, L.,& Lahey, M. (1978). Language development and language disorders. New York: Wiley.
Christianson, Karen. “Intentional Communication.” Powerpoint Presentation, 2011.
Hagood, Linda. Communication: A Guide for Teaching Students with Visual and Multiple Impairments.
Austin, TX: Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, 1997. Print.
Hagood, Linda. “Paths to Literacy.” Writing CAN be Child’s Play: A Collaborative Writing Program for
Children with Disabilities. Web. 17 June 2015)
Miles, B. (2003 October). Talking the Language of the Hands to the Hands. Monmouth, OR: DB-LINK,
The National Information Clearinghouse on Children Who Are Deaf-Blind.
Musselwhite, C. (2001). AAC and Topic-Setting: Getting the Most Bang for your Buck.
AACintervention.com. Retrieved from:
http://aacintervention.com/home/180009852/180009852/tips/2001/08aug2001/topic%20setting.pdf
© Mogan, 2015