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Access and Attain:

Active Learning for Students with Significant Disabilities

Padmaja Sarathy Consultant and Author

[email protected] Infinite Possibilities

www.infinitepossibilities-sped.com

DADD Conference January, 2012

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.infinitepossibilities-sped.com/




Avenues for Access

Adjust and Adapt instructional delivery

to provide Access to Active Learning for

students with severe and multiple

disabilities.

Understand and respond to learner

characteristics, needs and preferences.

Enable students to Attain Success with

the appropriate Techniques, Tools and

Technology

Padmaja Sarathy -Infinite Possibilities

Understanding

Learner Characteristics and Needs

The student with severe and multiple disabilities may experience difficulty with:

Responding to name.

Understanding cause and effect relationship.

Communicating verbally.

Ability to separate self from the environment - understand that there is something to do with the object or to exchange information with someone.

Attending to lesson or task for more than a few minutes (May exhibit high distractibility levels).

Padmaja Sarathy-Infinite Possibilities

Communication

May have limited speech or verbal

communication skills:

From minimal responses indicated through

crying, vocalizations and/or body movements to gestures, combination of

gestures and/or a few words, smile in

response to input or pushing objects away.


Student may respond through any of the

following ways or with a combination:

Eye gaze (Fixate on and track an object)

Eye blink

Vocalization

Body orientation

Facial Expression

Acknowledging through manipulating, touching,

feeling, etc.

Activate an assistive technology device

Communication Modes


Avenues for Access

Reduce the impact and barriers to learning

imposed by communication, motor,

cognitive and behavioral difficulties:

Apply Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

principles (Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)

Adapt and adjust:

The lesson design –adjusting the delivery of

content and the complexity level

Student response.

With providing personalized supports.

With regular and assistive technology.


IDEA Requires…

The use of supplementary aids and

services to enable children with disabilities

to be educated with non-disabled children

to the maximum extent appropriate.

These include accommodations, assistive

technology, electronic and information

technology, UDL, curriculum modifications.


UDL UDL principles consider the range of user

abilities at the design stage of the

curriculum and incorporates

accommodations at that point.

Multiple Means of Representation

Multiple Means of Engagement

Multiple Means of Action and Expression

UDL offers "built-in" access for a wide

range of users. (Center for Applied Special Technology

–CAST: http://www.cast.org/research/udl/index.html)


http://www.cast.org/research/udl/index.html


UDL-Multiple Means of Representation

Information is presented in various

formats, at different levels of complexity

and to address different learning styles. Examples:

Representational objects and picture

symbols paired with text

Simplified summary of story or content

passage

Interactive documents created with multi-

media tools

Power-point presentations (Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)

http://www.cast.org/research/udl/index.html)


A MI Inventory for Adults-highlighted.docx


Multiple Means of Engagement

Various opportunities are provided to

engage student’s interest, offer

appropriate challenges, and increase

motivation. Examples:

Using photos

Using Video clips

Providing auditory, visual and tactile cues

Providing simplified text (Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)




Multiple Means of Action and Expression

Students have a variety of formats for

responding, and demonstrating what

they know. For example:

Manipulate laminated symbols/objects with

Velcro-backing on a story board (for e.g., a

mini white board or clip board)

Use assistive technology tools to

communicate , make choices, and

respond to questions. (Center for Applied Special Technology –CAST;



Recommendations for Practice… Use of real life mathematics activities to provide

meaningful context (From research on teaching money skills) (Browder, 2008)

Use of real life activities (From research on personal aspects of science found for students with significant cognitive disabilities) (Browder, 2008)

Teaching big ideas, prioritized objectives and conspicuous strategies. (From research on teaching mathematics to students with high incidence disabilities) (Browder, 2008)

Use of systematic prompting and fading where

applicable (From overall research on mathematics

for students with significant cognitive disabilities) (Browder, 2008)


Transform Instruction

Use a structured ‘Lesson Design’ process:

Build it based on the Student Profile.

Consider needs and preferences

Focus on current strengths instead of

targeting student’s deficits and limitations.

Be creative with the delivery of academic

content and match it to student needs.

Adapt the materials.

Use Data Probe to monitor progress (Re-

teach? Modify strategies?)


Designing the Lesson Framework…

Focus on the ‘Big idea’ embedded in the

academic content.

Integrate ‘Academic with Functional’.

Include real-life experiences to sustain

interest and motivation.

Involve the learner in active learning -

highly interactive and engaging activities.

Ensure age-appropriate activities and

materials are used.


A Custom-designed Example

A Biology unit Power Point lesson


Biology-LS.pptx

Interactive Instructional Strategies

• Employ interactive instructional strategies to capture and maintain student attention: Animated story-reading

Choral-reading

Story-telling/Story re-telling

Drama

Personal experience stories

Simulated real-life situations Role Play

Interviewing Techniques

Frame story-writing using predictable text

Student-authored thematic books

Mock store

Literacy/Math Games


Instructional Techniques

Use brain-friendly instructional techniques.

Teach for diverse learning styles:

Graphic Organizer

Venn-diagrams

Timelines

Chart and graphs

Use of ‘Cloze’ exercises and frame sentences

Use Multi-sensory Activities to tap into all of their senses. Examples: Use cotton balls when discussing snow.

Ice to demonstrate how cold snow feels

A stop sign when presenting the shape ‘Octagon’.


FLITe-instructional tools.pptx



Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligence

Be guided by and address diverse learning styles.

Use Multi-sensory Activities to tap into all of their senses. Examples:

Use cotton balls when discussing snow.

Ice to demonstrate how cold snow feels

A stop sign when presenting the shape ‘Octagon’.


Multiple Ways to Present a Lesson

Transforming Instruction to provide curriculum

access…

The Giving Tree


The Giving Tree.pptx

The Giving Tree.pptx

Create the ‘Giving Tree’ Graphic Organizer with Objects

Leaf

Apple

Seed

Wood

Flower



Techniques…


Similarities and Differences

Justice

Timeline

The Giving Tree -

Questions

Adjust and adapt the comprehension

questions (the complexity level) to match

student skill level.

Ask simple recall questions (of some students): o Who are the characters in the story?

o Identify the sequence of events from the story.

o What did the tree give the boy when he was a

child?

– What did the boy ask the tree when he was a

young man?

o Where does the story take place?


A Graphic Organizer Begin with brainstorming to generate

discussion on the topic A graphic organizer for

‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’.

What should

Jem and Scout

do when other

students harass

them?


A Photo Wall

• Create a word-photo wall of the key

words.

• Pair photos/objects to teach vocabulary

words:

verdict, prejudice, justice, fairness, solitary

Play vocabulary games: Act out the words

using ‘charades’ game.


Writing Activity

Prepare a frame story for the students to complete the fill-in-the-blank sentences.

The student composes sentences to build the story or completes the sentence with supplying the missing word or with pictures and/or photos:

This story is about ______________________.

Mr. Finch has two children. They are ___________ and ___________.

Mr. Finch defends Tom Robinson because ___________.


Integrating Reading and Writing

Teach ‘emotion’ words. Pair each emotion with a

picture. Have students create an ‘emotions’ book

of incidents that triggered a certain feeling in them:

I felt scared when…__________.

I was saddened when…____________.

I felt frustrated when…_______.

I was surprised…___________.

I felt lonely…_____________.


Student Response

Facilitate multiple ways for student to respond:

In complete sentences/phrases/single words.

Reading the text with the aid of the

picture/object cues.

Pointing to pictures/objects related to story as story or text passage is read.

Making a choice of the picture/object with 2-3

options given.

Place pictures or objects to complete ‘Fill-in’

sentences about the story/teacher-made text.

Activate an assistive technology device.


Systematic Instruction • Use systematic instruction with errorless

prompting to teach new concepts and vocabulary words.

• When teaching vocabulary words, pair them with objects initially. – Move from concrete to representational to

abstract.

– Teach meaningful words that can be represented concretely with real photos or objects (eye, dog, etc.) before introducing abstract words (‘could’, ‘sometimes’, ‘that’ etc.)

• Break complex tasks down into smaller parts.

• Provide multiple opportunities to practice.


Tools • Get the Student Actively Engaged!

• Grab student’s attention by tapping on the

picture (and/or object) symbol associated with the story.

Use mini white board, flash light and objects.

Maintain attention by illuminating the pictures and key words in the (adapted text) book with shining a light from behind (Downing, 2005).

Provide appropriate level of cues and prompts to gain student attention to focus on the book or word cards and match it to photos/objects.


Tools



Use a sorting tray to teach counting

and numeral identification.


Measurement Tools


http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/dt/dtclip/textiles_alb/images/tape measure_JPG.jpg&imgrefurl=http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/dt/dtclip/textiles_alb/pages/tape measure_JPG.htm&usg=__5oliW7aRLar0tgjEjAza9_YlPJY=&h=354&w=467&sz=34&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=9aAX_ykqmB9SaM:&tbnh=97&tbnw=128&prev=/images?q=tape+measure&gbv=2&hl=en

Sequence Card Event 1 Event 2

Arrival at school Music at School

Place/attach with Velcro Place/attach with

representational object- Velcro a musical

for bus/book/pencil instrument.


Math

Attach (with Velcro) objects (spoons, markers, small

musical instruments, etc.) in the sequence card.


Total #

Students:

9

Watching

Videos

Time with

Friends

Listening to

Music

Playing

Video

Games

Playing

Sports/

Games

Alan

Rachel

Melissa

Jerrod

Ali

Dina

Tarsha

Jose

Elaine

Total 0 4 3 1 1

Leisure Activities


Time with

Friends

Listen

to

Music

Play

Video

Games

Play

Sports

A Graphing Chart

Favorite Leisure Activity: Time with Friends

Watch

video


A Mock Store


Integrating Assistive Technology (AT) into On-going Instruction

Provides students who are non-verbal a voice and a tool to communicate. Gives opportunities during classroom activities for

communication and participation

To express wants and needs.

Enables greater control over their lives: control their environment and facilitate independence.

Stimulates and encourages language growth.

Enhances cognitive performance: Teaches link between actions and outcomes;

teaches turn taking; Teaches choice making.


Assistive Technology A Dual Message Communicator

ITalk2 Communicator

from Ablenet, Inc.

“Mid-tech” Communication Devices

Big Mac - Record a page or a repeating phrase

or the name of a character from the story

Step by Step – Sequence story actions or different

characters in sequence

Cheap Talk – Four characters from the story with

pictures

All Turn-it Spinner – Play a game or choose a character from the story to dramatize.

Other: I Talk2 Communicator, Talking Brix, Super

Talker, PowerLink, Talking Photo Album, etc.


Data Probe

• Use a ‘Data Documentation’ regularly (2-3

times a week) to monitor and document

progress on concepts/skills taught.

A data probe will check for student’s learning

of the targeted objective in the ‘Lesson Unit’

and if instruction has been effective in

teaching the concept.

Note the correct and incorrect responses

along with the level of prompts accurately and immediately.

• Follow consistently the chosen method for

monitoring progress.


Resources Striking a balance between NCLB and IDEA for

Students with Significant Disabilities: Techniques and

Tools for Aligning Standards-based Instruction,

Alternate Assessment and IEP., Sarathy, P. (2008). LRP

Publications, PA.

Serving Students with Severe and Multiple Disabilities:

A Guide to Strategies for Successful Learning., Sarathy, P. (2005). LRP Publications, PA

Teaching Language Arts, Math, & Science to Students

with Significant Cognitive Disabilities., By Browder,

D.M., & Spooner, F. (Eds.). (2006). Brookes Publishing,

MD

Teaching Literacy to Students with Significant

Disabilities., Downing, J.E. (2005). Corwin Press, CA


Resources

UDL website: (Center for Applied Special

Technology (CAST)

http://www.cast.org/research/udl/index.ht

ml

To develop a menu of support ideas, see list

of numerous ideas provided by Denham

(2004), which can be downloaded from

http://www.ihdi.uky.edu.




http://www.ihdi.uky.edu/

Thank You.

Padmaja Sarathy

Consultant and Author

Infinite Possibilities [email protected]

www.infinitepossibilities-sped.com

mailto:[email protected]




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