LIT 501 Book Club

Kristy DiRabboMeghan Garvey

Shelby GriggMallory MohrLacey Moore

Did you know? “Autism is one of the most common

developmental disorders” (p. 2) “It is 4 to 5 times more likely to occur in boys

than girls” (p. 2) “1 in 150 children in this country are on the

Autism spectrum” (p. 2) Two models: Medical and Social.

The medical model states that “individuals with autism have ‘delayed or abnormal functioning’ in at least one of the following areas: 1)social interaction; 2)communication; and/or 3) restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities”. (p. 2)

The social model recognizes that “some people have severe struggles, challenges, and impairments due to their disability, but also understand that these same individuals may be more or as disabled by the barriers that exist in a society that do not take account of their needs and differences”. (p. 3)

Common Characteristics Are… Movement differences Sensory differences Communication differences (me) Social differences Learning differences

*Remember:“No two students with Autism will look, behave, communicate, or learn in exactly the same way” (p. 6)

Movement Differences Movement differences describe symptoms

involving excessive and unusual movement and the lack of usual movement

For children with autism, even the simplest tasks can be problematic

Students with movement problems often struggle with literacy instruction, especially in classrooms with strict expectations for student behavior

Sensory Differences

Differences and difficulties that occur in hearing, touching, smelling, sight, and taste

“I hear things that people can’t hear. For example, I can be in one room of the house and hear what my mother is saying on the telephone even when she has the door shut. There are certain sounds that are painful to listen to like the microwave, the telephone ring, lawnmowers, the blender, babies crying, vacuum cleaners, and my mom’s VW van when it starts up”

Communication Differences

All individuals will differEcholaliaDifficulties knowing how to enter or

exit a conversationAffect on literacy= great (may not be

able to communicate their understandings)

Social Differences Often times, students with autism are not interested in

social relationships But, sometimes they desire friendships, but find it difficult

to maintain them Individuals with autism may not be able to read subtle

social signals Even the most basic social situations can be challenging Other students may not understand their attempts at being

social Students should be taught explicitly about the demands of

several social situations to avoid anxiety and panic

Learning Differences

Struggles with remembering and organizing information

Information retrieval Staying focused Student’s tendency to perseverate

on certain materials or activities in an unusual way

Guiding Principles Principles of literacy are that: All literacies are valuable All literacies are social All literacies are functional

“Respect comes with love and understanding each kid’s abilities and the desire to teach so therefore teachers must

have a desire to teach everyone. They must realize that their dreams are not ours. Ask us

what we will need to be an independent person later in our life. Teach good skills in a respectful way. Conversations with me will

tell you if I’m happy”. (Burke, 2005, p. 250) (p. 43)

Think about it…

Principles for Promoting Inclusive Literacy Practices

Maintain high expectationsProvide models of literate behaviorElicit students’ perspectivesPromote diversity as a positive

resourceAdopt “elastic” instructional

approachesUse flexible grouping strategiesDifferentiate instruction

Maintain High Expectations

Be systematic about asking reflective questions

Take notes based on responses to help inform future instruction

Set up goals for students to meet and brainstorm ways to do so

Put clear expectations into practice (p. 45-47)

Provide Models of Literate Behavior

The teacher should talk with students extensively about what, how and for what purposes you read and write.

Elicit Students’ Perspectives

Be aware of the “big disconnect” Try to collect information about

every learner, rather than over generalizing

Figure out ways to incorporate “thumbs up/down” and “initials”

Listen, carry out conferences Know your students as

individuals

Promote Diversity as a Positive Resource

• A wider range of literacy skills and strategies developed in home and community contexts to adopt and adapt for academic tasks

• A wider range of background experience for the group to call of when reading and responding to literature

• Increased opportunities for students to serve as tutors and develop a greater awareness of what they now and can do well as literacy learners.

• A greater awareness of differences that exist in the world beyond school, where people are rarely sorted and segregated from each other on the basis of narrow bands of ability.

Adopt “Elastic” Instructional Approaches

Use Flexible Grouping Strategies

Students are put in temporary groupings based on students’ varying instructional needs as a way for teachers to support individuals’ continuous growth and development

Differentiate Instruction

Classroom Climate and EnvironmentTeaching StrategiesGoals and StandardsMaterialsLesson Formats

Formal Assessments

Definition: approaches to assessing literacy that involve standardized administration and standardized norms for interpreting results

It is believed that these sorts of measures do more harm than good for most learners on the autism spectrum

Informal Assessments

ObservationConferences and InterviewsAnalysis of Student Work SamplesPresentations and Performances

(me)IEP ChecklistsPortfolios

Presentations and Performances

Help with application and synthesis of learned information from reading, writing, and listening

Exhibitions Allows the chance to act increasing

self-confidence; consider your students comfort levels

Instructional Approaches to Teach P.A, Phonics, and Word

Recognition Rhythm and Movement Tactile Letter Recognition Alphabet Books Word and Letter Sorts Sight Word Recognition Plus

Rhythm and Movement

Including physical movement with sound may be useful for all students Clapping out syllables “Say-It-and-Move-It” Poems, chants, and songs

Tactile Letter RecognitionStudents with autism may

experience print differently, they often pay too much attention to features of print, this approach will help them tell one letter from another

Teachers allow their students to feel letters cut from sandpaper, or drawn with shaving cream, or form the letters themselves with clay.

Alphabet Books

Assist in letter recognition and early phonics connections

Create your own

Sight Word Recognition Plus

• Report special strengths and visual learning

• Introduce to personalized sets of flash cards with words tied to their families, interests, and experiences

• Levels 1-3– Level 1: Matching word card to some word on

grid– Level 2: Selecting a word on request– Level 3: Saying or signing the word

Instructional Approaches for Reading Fluency

Read Alouds Collaborative Oral Reading Repeated Reading Reader’s Theater

Read Alouds

Repeated Reading In Repeated Reading, first the learner reads a designated passage

along with a teacher, parent, or more competent peer to ensure comprehension

Next, the learner is asked to read the passage in the same length of time it would take a fluent reader to do so at a moderate pace (usually between 200 and 350 words/minute)

The student then reads the passage as many times as is necessary to achieve that goal, timing him or herself with a stopwatch and recording how long it takes for each reading (Some versions also require students to keep track of their errors)

Repeated reading activities may appeal to some students with autism because clear targets are set, for example, “The student will read a 100-word passage in 40 seconds.”

However, some might not understand how rereading something can be beneficial, or may become to hung up on their immediate goals for a passage rather than the bigger picture of developing fluency

So, teachers should vary activities in which repeated reading can be used

Reader’s Theater (RT)

Five steps Choose a script Adapt the script Assign parts Highlights parts and rehearse (Bulk of

fluency practice here) Perform

Don’t be afraid to integrate assistive technology (i.e: Step by Step Communicator)

Instructional Approaches for Reading Comprehension

Boosting Background Knowledge Think Alouds Reciprocal Teaching Retellings

Instructional Approaches for Vocabulary Knowledge

Fascination-focused Books Word Walls Vocabulary Squares Semantic Mapping

Word Walls

Ongoing displayInspiration for vocabulary games

(i.e: BINGO)Create portable versions or personal

versions

Vocabulary Squares

Semantic Mapping Students create a graphic organizer, such

as a web, to show relationships between a main concept and related words

Useful for students with autism because it can capitalize on visual strengths by linking graphics and meanings

And, helps students separate main ideas from smaller details

“Kidspiration” http://www.inspiration.com/Parents/Getting-Started

Instructional Approaches for Developing Writing Fluency

Language Experience Approach Scribing Silent Discussions Differentiating Materials Writing “here, there, everywhere”

Language Experience Approach (LEA)

Six stepsCollaborative and values student

inputDigital LEA may be even more

beneficial

Differentiating Materials

One way to encourage fluency is to use a wide range of materials and provide choice in how the learner will complete writing tasks

Implements Surfaces Related ToolsPencils Paper MagazinesMarkers Computer Screen Glue SticksStamps Chalkboard StickersChalk Sidewalk Etch a SketchPaintbrushes Paper plates Post it notes

Writing “here, there, everywhere”

This approach assists with students writing and also communication, in general

Students may be asked to write notes to friends, requests to teachers, or emails to pen pals

The purpose should be clear, the time commitment should be manageable, and the experience should be fun

Instructional Approaches for Planning and Organizing Texts

Speak and Write

Framed Paragraphs

Graphic Organizers

Story Kits

Color-coded Notes

Speak and WriteInvolves listening to students’

conversations or engaging in conversation with learners and suggesting which pieces of the discussion might be starting points for an essay, story, or other written products

Framed Paragraphs• This weekend I went to:

___ mall___ toy store___ Grandparents___ the lake…

Graphic Organizers

Useful for students with autism (as well as students without disabilities) because they can express abstract ideas, store and recall information, find relationships between concepts, and organize ideas

Must be modeled!!!! Might assist students in meeting

their goals and IEP objectives

Story Kits

• May contain: books, videos, puppets, flannel boards, songs, finger plays etc.

• Used to introduce, enrich, and review different stories

• Help Autistic students understand abstract concepts

• Great for giving students clues about what they should add to their writing

• Great example: Island of the Blue Dolphins

Color-coded NotesInclusion of visual

cuesMakes relationships

more salientSix steps or ways to

think about incorporation

Use this with something of interest

“Autism isn’t something a person has, or a ‘shell’ that a person is trapped inside. There’s no normal child hidden behind autism. Autism is a way of being. It is pervasive: it colors every experience, every sensation, perception, thought, emotion, and encounter, every aspect of existence. It is not possible to separate the autism from the person- and if it were possible, the person you’d have left would not be the same person you started with”. (p. 5).

“I was the last person in my fourth grade to get the penmanship award. This was a big deal to the children because when the penmanship was good enough, the teacher designated you as ‘scribe’ and you were given a set of colored pencils. I didn’t care so much about the ‘title’ , but I coveted the colored pencils. I tried very hard and still I was last to qualify… Leaning math was even more difficult because I had a British teacher, Mr. Brown. He was a very proper Englishman and made the class do the math problems with a fountain pen. We had to rule the plus and minus signs and be ever so neat. It was bad enough trying to understand math but having to be neat besides was impossible. No matter how hard I tried, my papers were splattered with ink”. (p. 8).

“I think in pictures. Words are like a second language to me. I translate both spoken and written words into full-color movies, complete with sound, which run like a VCR tape in my head. When somebody speaks to me, his words are instantly translated into pictures… I value my ability to think visually and I would never want to lose that”. (p. 10)

“I sometimes know in my head what words are but they do not always come out. Sometimes when I really need to speak and I just cannot, the frustration is terrible… I usually end up giving up in despair, and terrible it feels too. When I get like this, no amount of trying to do anything about it makes a difference”. (p. 14).

“You see my mind is very active and thoughts jump around like popcorn being popped. I have very interesting thoughts. It’s just that they keep firing off so fast that it’s hard to stop them unless someone helps to focus my attention on something. You can imagine how hard it is to get anything done with a roller coaster mind without any clear destination” (p. 21)