Using Assistive Technology to
Access the General Curriculum
Pam Cook, M.Ed., ABC Consulting
Services (http://www.ABCadvocacy.net). See: “A.T./U.D.L.”
Children
need to be skilled in reading and math and
have good “people skills” to flourish in 21st
century jobs. Children learn from their
parents and teachers that they are expected to master the curriculum and keep
pace with their peers. Poor reading skills often present a major roadblock to
these expectations.
The report of
the National Reading Panel was issued in April
2000 and provided a roadmap to
decrease reading failure rates from approximately 40% to levels below 10%. (Teaching Children to Read: http://www.nationalreadingpanel.org/
)
The No Child
Left Behind Act of 2001 requires
schools to be accountable for the progress of students–all students–not just
“the best and brightest”(http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/nclb.byrne.gazette.htm).
In 2004, The Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) required that students with disabilities be involved
in and make progress in the general
education curriculum.
In February 2008, the Allegheny Conference
on Community Development released its annual “Proficiency by 10” report for
southwestern Pennsylvania school districts. In 2002 more students were
proficient in reading than in math. In
2007, math scores increased by nearly 20 percent but reading proficiency was
nearly the same as 2002. (http://www.alleghenyconference.org/PEL/PDFs/ProficiencyBy10Report2007.pdf).
On
March 20, 2008, the New York Times
published an article citing researchers who found that many states use inflated
graduation rates to meet NCLB requirements.
These federal figures have hidden a dropout epidemic so severe that
about 30 percent of the one million American students who start ninth grade
each year fail to graduate four years later. Prior to this report, the drop-out
rate was believed to be between 10 and 15%. (“States’ Data
Obscure How Few Finish High School” http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/education/20graduation.html?incamp=article_popular_5).
Second grade is broadly
viewed as the children’s last chance.
Those who are not on track by 3rd grade have little chance of
ever catching up. 75% of high school dropouts report difficulties learning to read. (Preventing Reading
Difficulties in Young Children
http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=030906418X&page=212)
Edyburn, D. 2006). Failure is NOT an Option, Learning & Leading with Technology. http://www.2learn.ca/institute/institute2007/institute07resources/L&L2006.pdf
While
inclusion has facilitated physical access to the general education
classroom, the general education
curriculum remains largely inaccessible to most students with learning or
cognitive disabilities. How long do we allow students to fail at a given task before we
provide them with appropriate performance support tools? (“Failure is NOT an Option” (2006), Edyburn -
http://www.2learn.ca/institute/institute2007/institute07resources/L&L2006.pdf)
Ideally, children learn to read by the time they leave 3rd grade. After 3rd grade, children are
expected to read to learn in their academic classes (For example, they
must read grade level social studies textbooks.) While struggling older children can and
should continue to be taught to read using research-based programs, they must also
learn from academic textbooks that may be several grade levels above their
reading levels. How can a child be expected
to read and understand an 8th grade social studies textbook when he
is reading 2 or 3 grade levels below this textbook?
Is it likely this child will pass the test on the material
in Chapter 3? Clearly, the traditional
one-size-fits-all curriculum is not working for students with reading
difficulties.
(“Learning from Text”, (2003), Edyburn, http://www.uwm.edu/%7eedyburn/LearningfromText.pdf)
The
decline in oral reading rate over the years is marked.
What happens when a student fails to learn to read? Historically, educators try to find different
instructional methods or materials. They
seldom raise the question: Are there other ways of performing the task? Continuing failure to reach proficiency with
the printed word should trigger consideration of assistive technology, a
compensatory approach when remediation has met with limited success. (“Rethinking Assistive Technology” (2004),
Edyburn, http://www.uwm.edu/~edyburn/RethinkingAT.pdf)
According
to Dave Edyburn of the University of Wisconsin, “Because the question about
remediation vs. compensation is not routinely asked, it is common for
struggling students to drop out of school without learning how to read. Further, they enter the world of work without
compensatory skills that enable them to overcome the lifelong handicap of not
being able to read. “ (“Learning from Text” (2003), Edyburn, http://www.uwm.edu/%7eedyburn/LearningfromText.pdf)
Dr. Anita Archer, author of the highly regarded Rewards reading program for older
students, described a compelling reason why parents and schools should be
concerned about the ability of students to access the general curriculum. Doctor Archer gave an example of two boys. “Let’s say two eighth-graders have identical
class schedules. Marcus reads 180
correct oral words per minute, whereas James reads only 60 correct words per
minute. One particular evening, Marcus’
homework assignments required two hours of reading. If James were able to stay on task, it would
take him six hours to accomplish the same reading assignments. It is unlikely that James will be tenacious
enough to complete his work.
This distinction is critical. Many times teachers misjudge James, believing
that he is an irresponsible or resistant student. However, in James’ case, the problem is not
that he won’t do the reading assignments but that he actually can’t do the
reading.”
(Archer, A. (2003).
Decoding and Fluency: Foundation Skills for Struggling Older Readers. Learning Disability Quarterly, 26,
89-101.)
Eighty to
ninety percent of 4th through 12th grade math and science classrooms
use textbooks and that figure is similar for reading and language arts
instruction. The use of textbooks by
students with disabilities increases steadily as these students progress
through the educational system. It's estimated that anywhere from 85 to 95 percent of the content
addressed in social studies comes from the textbook. As a curriculum area
driven by content coverage unlike any other, social studies teachers face a
particular challenge in helping students access and make sense of social
studies material. (ReadingQuest,
http://www.readingquest.org/intro.html)
Struggling
students can gain access to the general curriculum by using materials that
allow them to hear text spoken out loud, displayed in custom
color combinations, in different fonts, in larger sizes, or in any of these
combinations. This
flexibility is key in moving schools towards universal design for learning
or UDL. UDL is designed to meet the needs of all students—including
students with disabilities.
For
a student who can’t hear, see, or talk, or who requires equipment to move or
write, this technology is compulsory. Specialized keyboards and switches
provide students with motor access. Augmentative and alternative communication
devices give nonverbal students access to expression. Braille writers offer
access to the visually impaired, while FM systems provide it for those with
hearing impairments. Software that features word prediction, text-to-speech
capabilities, and math formatting offer access to those facing learning,
processing, and motor barriers. All these A.T. programs give students access to
the same curriculum presented to other members of the class.
According to Dr. Edyburn, the use of technology tools and
cognitive supports represent essential and underutilized interventions for
enhancing the academic performance of struggling students. A.T. must be considered for every student
with an IEP and may be considered for a student with a 504 plan. A.T. tools, if required by the student to
access his/her curriculum, are NOT optional.
(“Failure is NOT an Option” (2006), Edyburn, http://www.2learn.ca/institute/institute2007/institute07resources/L&L2006.pdf
The Americans
with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 have
repeatedly reinforced the rights of students with disabilities to equal
learning opportunities, including access to appropriate and accessible
textbooks.
According to the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act of 2004, (IDEA 2004), Early Intervening
Services (EIS)
are a set of coordinated services for students in kindergarten through grade 12
(with
a particular emphasis on students in kindergarten through grade three) who are not currently
identified as needing special education or related services, but who need
additional academic and behavioral support to succeed in a general education
environment. In Pennsylvania, Response to Intervention (R.t.I.) is a three-step early intervening approach to provide
early academic and behavioral supports to struggling students rather than
waiting for a child to fail before offering help. Early
intervening funding provisions include professional development for educators
“to deliver scientifically based academic and behavioral interventions,
including scientifically based literacy instruction, and where
appropriate, instruction on the use of adaptive and instructional software”.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education is currently training
educators in the Response to Intervention (or RTI) model. (See: Early
Intervening Services (EIS) and Response to Intervention (RtI) at http://www.pattan.k12.pa.us/files/RTI/EIS-RtI-Ftsht.pdf
and “Response to Intervention: What It Is and What It’s Not” at http://www.pattan.k12.pa.us/files/RtI/RtI-WhatItI.pdf).
A.T. experts recommend beginning with no-tech or low-tech
options and standard technology tools such as Microsoft accessibility features
because they are considered the LRE and are available to all students and
teachers. However, if such assistive
technology is not available, the student’s teachers are unfamiliar with
existing technology, or the technology does not prove to be helpful to the
student, an explanation is included at this web site on how to work with
educators to obtain digital instructional materials. (See “A.T. Action Plan”, “Strategies
for Assistive Technology Negotiations”,” A.T. Resources for Parents”, and “A.T.
in IDEA and PA Chapter 14”.)
It is no longer acceptable to allow students to fail before
they are provided with appropriate tools to access the general curriculum.