Literacy Supports for Children on the Autism Spectrum
By Giovanetti, Laura; Closing the Gap, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 1, 10-12Publication Date: June/July 2006
Article focuses on literacy supports for children with autism as used by the author, who is the Project Coordinator at the Assistive Technology (AT) Center at Cooperative Education Services in Trumbull, Connecticut. The author advocates for the use of a variety of low- and high-tech applications, as students’ basic listening skills are often developed through music, poems, and rhyming books. Visual supports are created with Boardmaker that provide both pictures and words to accompany these basic listening activities. Single-message voice output devices are also incorporated so that students can fill in the repeated line of the story. My Own Bookshelf from SoftTouch can be used to create digital books on the computer as well as printed books with accompanying pictures, while the News-2-You weekly newspaper contains picture-supported text. Clicker 5 allows the teacher to create picture grids, while students can compose their own stories or answer comprehension questions using words and pictures. Clozepro is also mentioned as a software application that teachers can use to create similar activities for students who are reading at a broad range of levels. The author contends that students with autism who have limited attention and language skills often respond well to such AT-based literacy interventions. Contact information for the AT Center is provided.
Assistive Products Discussed: CLICKER 6
BOARDMAKER (INTERNATIONAL)
MY OWN BOOKSHELF
CLOZEPRO
Published by: Closing the Gap, Inc. (Website:http://www.closingthegap.com)
