# data[].attributes.headline
Supporting Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders’ Comprehension and Reading Fluency.

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Supporting Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders’ Comprehension and Reading Fluency.

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References

Allday, R. A., Hinkson-Lee, K., Hudson, T., Neilsen-Gatti, S., Kleinke, A., Russel, C. S. (2012). Training general educators to increase behavior-specific praise: Effects on students with EBD. Behavioral Disorders, 37, 87-98. |
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Supporting Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders' Comprehension and Reading Fluency - Justin D. Garwood, Stephen Ciullo, Nelson Brunsting, 2017

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References Allday, R. A., Hinkson-Lee, K., Hudson, T., Neilsen-Gatti, S., Kleinke, A., Russel, C. S. (2012). Training general educators to increase behavior-specific praise: Effects on students with EBD. Behavioral Disorders, 37, 87-98. | Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI Benner, G. J., Nelson, J. R., Ralston, N. C., Mooney, P.

# data[].attributes.headline
 Data-Based Individualization in Reading: Intensifying Interventions for Students With Significant Reading Disabilities. 

# data[].attributes.subject
 Data-Based Individualization in Reading: Intensifying Interventions for Students With Significant Reading Disabilities. 

# data[].attributes.headline
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions: Using Data to Make Instructional Decisions for Struggling Readers.

# data[].attributes.subject
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions: Using Data to Make Instructional Decisions for Struggling Readers.

# data[].attributes.headline
Reading Comprehension Strategies for High School Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Reading Comprehension Strategies for High School Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder

# data[].attributes.headline
Fluency Practice: Techniques for Building Automaticity in Foundational Knowledge and Skills

# data[].attributes.subject
Fluency Practice: Techniques for Building Automaticity in Foundational Knowledge and Skills

# data[].attributes.headline
Effective Questioning for teachers to use in classrooms. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Effective Questioning for teachers to use in classrooms. 

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Lakeside Union School District teachers, principals, and students discuss the importance of using "Effective Questioning" strategies in the classroom.

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Mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors

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Mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors

# data[].attributes.body
Rudine Sims Bishop uses "Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors" as an analogy to discuss the importance of diversity in books and the authors who write them. We need books in which children can see reflections of themselves – but also look through and see other worlds.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors

# data[].attributes.headline
Garwood, J. D., Ciullo, S., & Brunsting, N. (2017). Supporting Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders’ Comprehension and Reading Fluency. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 49(6), 391–401. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059917707434

# data[].attributes.subject
Garwood, J. D., Ciullo, S., & Brunsting, N. (2017). Supporting Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders’ Comprehension and Reading Fluency. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 49(6), 391–401. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059917707434

# data[].attributes.headline
Lemons, C. J., Kearns, D. M., & Davidson, K. A. (2014). Data-Based Individualization in Reading: Intensifying Interventions for Students With Significant Reading Disabilities. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 46(4), 20–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059914522978

# data[].attributes.subject
Lemons, C. J., Kearns, D. M., & Davidson, K. A. (2014). Data-Based Individualization in Reading: Intensifying Interventions for Students With Significant Reading Disabilities. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 46(4), 20–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059914522978

# data[].attributes.headline
Filderman, M. J., & Toste, J. R. (2018). Decisions, Decisions, Decisions: Using Data to Make Instructional Decisions for Struggling Readers. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 50(3), 130–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059917740701

# data[].attributes.subject
Filderman, M. J., & Toste, J. R. (2018). Decisions, Decisions, Decisions: Using Data to Make Instructional Decisions for Struggling Readers. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 50(3), 130–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059917740701

# data[].attributes.headline
Brum, C., Hall, L. J., Reutebuch, C., & Perkins, Y. (2019). Reading Comprehension Strategies for High School Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 52(2), 88–97. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059919878663

# data[].attributes.subject
Brum, C., Hall, L. J., Reutebuch, C., & Perkins, Y. (2019). Reading Comprehension Strategies for High School Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 52(2), 88–97. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059919878663

# data[].attributes.headline
Datchuk, S. M., & Hier, B. O. (2019). Fluency Practice: Techniques for Building Automaticity in Foundational Knowledge and Skills. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 51(6), 424–435. https://doi.org/10.1177/004005991984721

# data[].attributes.subject
Datchuk, S. M., & Hier, B. O. (2019). Fluency Practice: Techniques for Building Automaticity in Foundational Knowledge and Skills. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 51(6), 424–435. https://doi.org/10.1177/004005991984721

# data[].attributes.headline
Effective questioning. YouTube. (2015, October 24). Retrieved May 20, 2022, from https://youtu.be/Jdp_EQBoi0s

# data[].attributes.subject
Effective questioning. YouTube. (2015, October 24). Retrieved May 20, 2022, from https://youtu.be/Jdp_EQBoi0s

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wetalearningmedia. (2015, January 30). Mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors. YouTube. Retrieved June 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AAu58SNSyc 

# data[].attributes.subject
wetalearningmedia. (2015, January 30). Mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors. YouTube. Retrieved June 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AAu58SNSyc 

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100 best special education books of all time

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100 best special education books of all time

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73 Best Special Education Books of All Time

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The 73 best special education books recommended by Mollie King, Anna Kennedy, Nick Gillespie, Sydette @ Ord Camp and Monica Burns Ed.d. Edtech.

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16 shelf-worthy children's books about disabilities for all students.

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16 Shelf-Worthy Children’s Books About Disabilities For All Students

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Increase disability representation in your classroom library with these hand-picked children’s books about disabilities.

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100 best special education books of all time. BookAuthority. (n.d.). Retrieved June 11, 2022, from https://bookauthority.org/books/best-special-education-books  

# data[].attributes.subject
100 best special education books of all time. BookAuthority. (n.d.). Retrieved June 11, 2022, from https://bookauthority.org/books/best-special-education-books  

# data[].attributes.headline
Lindsay Barrett on August 18, 2021 .contest-social .share-links svg. (2021, August 25). 16 shelf-worthy children's books about disabilities for all students. We Are Teachers. Retrieved June 11, 2022, from https://www.weareteachers.com/childrens-books-about-disabilities/  

# data[].attributes.subject
Lindsay Barrett on August 18, 2021 .contest-social .share-links svg. (2021, August 25). 16 shelf-worthy children's books about disabilities for all students. We Are Teachers. Retrieved June 11, 2022, from https://www.weareteachers.com/childrens-books-about-disabilities/  

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Teaching literacy to children with special needs 

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Teaching literacy to children with special needs 

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eSpecial Needs sits down with early childhood special education reading specialist, Mary Blanner, to talk about the importance of literacy and the tips and tools to make it as effective as possible.

This podcast was originally published April 25, 2019

Generated transcript below:

1
00:00:09,890 -> 00:00:12,686
Welcome to episode three of the Especial Needs Podcast.

2
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I'm your host, Katherine Blanner.

3
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This week on our podcast, we have our guest, Mary Blanner.

4
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She's an early childhood special education reading specialist, and she also happens to be my mom.

5
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We're going to go over the importance of reading, how to read to your kids the best, and why they should keep reading.

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So stay tuned.

7
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So without further Ado, we're going to talk about you.

8
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So give us a little background on your education and your experience.

9
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I spent off and on about 25 years working as a special Ed teacher in a variety of settings.

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I worked in early childhood special Ed as the classroom teacher and as a facilitator for Rec therapy class at the YMCA.

11
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I've tutored students one on one.

12
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I've taught reading classes with children of varying ability levels, and recently I returned to the early childhood setting.

13
00:01:09,910 -> 00:01:15,050
But I found myself working one on one again with the children who needed additional assistance.

14
00:01:16,390 -> 00:01:22,598
And currently, I am a graduate student at the University of Missouri St.

15
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Louis, studying for my reading specialist certification for grades.

16
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I think it's pre K through 12th grade.

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Congratulations.

18
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Thanks.

19
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Good job.

20
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And she taught me how to read.

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I did.

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So I am literate before kindergarten.

23
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You were stubborn.

24
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I think I remember just memorizing the words in the book, and then instead of actually reading it, I would just recite the memorize the lines back to you.

25
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So you're under the impression that I can read, but I couldn't.

26
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Good working memory.

27
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So we're going to talk a little bit more about.

28
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So why did you choose this career field exactly? I started out in art education, and I thought that was really an interesting medium for working with children.

29
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And anytime I've seen children who just kind of seem on the outside of things looking in, I just feel the need to kind of do whatever I can to bring them in.

30
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And so when I started art education, I couldn't really find a program.

31
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This was back in the 1990s, so there wasn't really programs to pursue that in the area that I wanted to be.

32
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So I studied special Ed.

33
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You're doing great.

34
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I just wanted to help children, whether they have severe disabilities or whether they have mild to moderate learning disabilities.

35
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In the areas of breeding.

36
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I've worked with children who are autistic, children who had holopro Encephaly, children with autism, children who have down syndrome.

37
00:03:11,550 -> 00:03:13,630
So whole gamut is fine.

38
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I just feel called to interpret what I know to something they can understand and grow from.

39
00:03:24,790 -> 00:03:30,520
So tell us about why it's important for kids to read.

40
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When they read, they acquire more information about their world.

41
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They're more capable of navigating their experiences, and they feel more confident when they're in a situation socially or emotionally or something new.

42
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It gives them the strategies they need to proceed in life.

43
00:03:55,936 -> 00:04:02,034
And also when it's from the early childhood level, there's different responses.

44
00:04:02,082 -> 00:04:12,834
The primary reason that children learn to read in that birth to five age range is that they appreciate just the time in another person's lap.

45
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That's so significant.

46
00:04:15,810 -> 00:04:30,374
So it's not necessarily the words and the pictures as much as it is the feel and the sensory input of being near someone's cheek or their face or sitting in another person's lap and turning the page.

47
00:04:30,472 -> 00:04:36,938
And it's all of those kind of pre reading skills that really is embedded in a child from birth to five.

48
00:04:37,084 -> 00:04:41,438
So would you say it also gives them a better relationship with whomever is reading to them? Yes.

49
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Their person to person experiences and the socialization exchanges are impacted.

50
00:04:47,190 -> 00:04:54,110
Could you speak a bit more to that? Like it's influential in the growth of attachment.

51
00:04:55,570 -> 00:05:13,770
And so how often would you say that parents should sit down and read with their kids a minimum of about 15 minutes per day, which may sound like a lot, but if you think about when you're just sitting and eating breakfast or wherever, you can find a spot, if your child is in the bathtub, read to them in the bathtub.

52
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If they're potty training, read to them while they're potty training.

53
00:05:16,960 -> 00:05:23,810
If you're making dinner and you're waiting for noodles to boil, read to them while you're waiting those ten minutes for the noodles.

54
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If there's a bigger push now to use a screen to read, which is also good, but it does take away from that person, the person contacting that attachment.

55
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So would you advise parents to go to the library and pick up books for their kids? I think it's important for you to go to the library.

56
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I think it's important for kids to go to the library, and I think it's important for the parents to offer suggestions.

57
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But I think when you give children the opportunity to choose the books themselves, they're more interested if they see the cover.

58
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If you give maybe a short introduction about what the story is about.

59
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Obviously in the younger ages, they can't read the titles, but as they get older, giving options.

60
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When I take my children to be honest, I look ahead and I find the books that are the most awarded or the most interesting, the ones that might be appealing to a subject area that I wanted to discuss with my child, maybe socially or academically or emotionally, or if there's a holiday of some sort coming up, then I'll offer maybe three choices.

61
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What about this book? What about this book? And then I'll give them the opportunity to go through and find other books on their own, too.

62
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Yeah, because that encourages independence and self reliance and probably some self esteem with passing control to the reader.

63
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Right? Exactly.

64
00:06:45,970 -> 00:07:02,740
So when we talk about reading, how important is it to have a good foundation of reading for anyone of any ability, not just special needs, not just disabilities, how important is it to have that good foundation to bridge into reading and writing and learning.

65
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When you think about the children that I've worked with, I had mentioned early childhood special Ed, polarproz Encephaly, autism, down syndrome, undiagnosed Williams syndrome, fragile X.

66
00:07:18,490 -> 00:07:28,698
There's a lot of ranges of students when they can have that ability to draw from their working memory just simply from the left to right progression.

67
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You're building those pathways in both hemispheres of their brain, as you would when you offer a toy at midline to an infant and they reach with one hand or the other, they're building those pathways.

68
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They're strengthening both hemispheres of their brain.

69
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And when it comes to a child with autism, I've worked with students before at the PreK level, and they would use a book as a social script.

70
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So if you read the same book over and over, for example, and someone in Paw Patrol, for example, would be having an exchange with one of the pups and the voice said something specific, and then that became their social script.

71
00:08:17,950 -> 00:08:20,086
So they may or may not be verbal.

72
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They may be at a level where receptive language is developing more quickly than expressive language.

73
00:08:26,122 -> 00:08:31,290
But by reading the same book, the repetition strengthens working memory.

74
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The words that they receive over and over become a script.

75
00:08:36,226 -> 00:08:40,378
And they're able to at one point translate that into their own experiences.

76
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I've seen that happen.

77
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That's really cool.

78
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I didn't know that was the thing.

79
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So you're saying that individuals with autism who have difficulty communicating and difficulty relating to other people and relating to their environment will be benefited by literature because of the fact that they can understand social situations from books.

80
00:09:00,334 -> 00:09:01,374
It translates, yes.

81
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It gives them the tools that they need once they're in that situation.

82
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And then their caregiver or a parent can drop on that and say off to the side quietly, do you remember when Elmo was scared to go to the dentist, for example? Yeah.

83
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So it's like building narrative social stories.

84
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Correct.

85
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From reading.

86
00:09:19,954 -> 00:09:25,650
And that seems kind of like an inadvertent way to do that instead of just sitting down and looking at, like, emotions cards.

87
00:09:26,510 -> 00:09:30,750
Emotions cards are good because it's a part, the whole thought process and sort of an Aba way.

88
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But breaking it down into the simple structure of a book, one page at a time, the consistent repetition of a child likes Elmo or whoever helps them learn the repetition and the constant reading of the same book.

89
00:09:48,404 -> 00:09:52,902
As you know, a lot of times children with autism may persevere on the same things.

90
00:09:53,036 -> 00:10:01,590
So if they have the same book that they're connected to or Arthur, I've had another student who was really into Arthur books.

91
00:10:03,050 -> 00:10:05,074
So transitioning from reading to writing.

92
00:10:05,242 -> 00:10:12,366
I know that you are in your practicum right now, or you were in your practicum last semester and you're doing both right now.

93
00:10:12,488 -> 00:10:14,554
Practicum last semester and the semester.

94
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Do you still the same student no.

95
00:10:16,028 -> 00:10:16,470
Okay.

96
00:10:16,580 -> 00:10:20,898
But I know last semester you had a student that just out of case study.

97
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We don't have to mention whom this was, but I do remember that she had difficulty focusing and difficulty reading lines.

98
00:10:31,250 -> 00:10:51,462
So can you speak to what exactly you did to help her with her reading and literacy? The first thing I did to help her focus was use a timer that I had actually gotten a special needs and a multitude of timers because she would get bored with the same timer.

99
00:10:51,486 -> 00:10:52,650
She wanted a different timer.

100
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One timer was good for four minutes.

101
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One timer was good for 1 minute.

102
00:10:55,764 -> 00:10:58,674
And then at one point she wanted to keep the timer.

103
00:10:58,782 -> 00:11:00,954
So weren't they drop timers.

104
00:11:01,122 -> 00:11:05,238
They had these bubbles in them, and you could turn them over almost like an egg timer.

105
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But anyway, so she really appreciated that, and it gave her, again that level of control that she felt like she was in charge.

106
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She could look at that and feel like she could make the decision on how she spent her time in terms of writing because that was her most difficult thing.

107
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I was asking about how you helped her read online.

108
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Yes.

109
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She had difficulty with that left or right progression.

110
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She would lose her spot.

111
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And the text, as you get older, becomes closer together and the font size becomes smaller.

112
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So she was ten years old and she had a difficult time.

113
00:11:40,852 -> 00:11:51,962
And so for me, special needs, I was able to obtain this book Mask, and essentially it highlighted individual lines of text.

114
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And then she was able to improve her fluency and comprehension just by using that one tool.

115
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So did you ever help do you help children with writing abilities as well? Writing is kind of the extension of the reading activity.

116
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And anytime you put something in a child's hands and it becomes a sensory experience for them because not only are they reading it following along with their finger underneath the words on a page, but they're engaging their hand and tactically and auditorily, they have to say out loud what they're thinking about writing.

117
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They're connecting their hand kinesthetically with their brain, and they're putting multisensory effort into whatever it is they're putting on the page.

118
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And for some children, possibly with Dyslexia or Apraxia, that could be extremely difficult.

119
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So obviously have to modify the instrument that you're using.

120
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It doesn't necessarily have to be writing.

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It could be something simple like magnetic letters or Velcro letters where they can manipulate the individual parts of a word themselves, but just making that connection from their hand to their brain to what's in front of them tactically, it's wonderful.

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That's really cool.

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So let's talk about first steps of the writing process for someone with a disability.

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So how do you transition them from reading to writing? It's kind of an innate characteristic.

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so you will see children.

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When they are younger, typically developing children will start to make prewriting strokes onto a page.

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And you may see things that look like little hashmarks or little scribbly.

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Specific, fine motor characters that they believe to be letters.

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And so in a typically developing child, that's just something that becomes the next logical step from having read books, say, perhaps from birth on to maybe by the age of about two and a half, you'll see them attempting to put a character on the page.

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And around the age of two and a half to three, a child will start being more specific and deliberate in their writing by making a face with specific eye placement and specific nose, mouth, legs, hands, arms.

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Not perfectly, but specific.

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And so when they begin to write, they're trying to make characters on a page.

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And then when it comes to children with special needs, that can be more difficult because of challenges with fine motor.

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As I said, the Praxia dyslexia what they believe they're putting on the page may not actually be what they're putting on the page.

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So strengthening gross motor and ultimately finetuning it until it becomes fine motor through multiple activities that an occupational therapist would introduce.

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Cutting clothes, pin pinching, all those little fine motor tactile experiences, tripod crafts.

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There are so many things that have to be in place for a child to be able to begin writing, painting.

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That's also good.

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Okay.

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So just find out our activities that can be both sensory and practical.

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thank you so much for tuning into the Especialneeds podcast for this episode.

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We want to give you a chance to pick up some of the things that Mary Blander was talking about.

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We have the Sensory Liquids Drop Timer Set and reading focus cards for you at a discount.

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Just use the Code podcast ten when you get to the checkout specifically on those two items.

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Offer Code is valid between April 25 and May 25, so make sure you pick them up between that time and happy reading.

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Let's talk about when we get to the writing stage.

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So if an individual has special needs and they have difficulty writing, what are the next steps? For example, I think the first thing, the first thing that you can do is kind of model for a child.

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The worst thing that could be done would be to expect them to have a piece of paper in front of them and immediately expect something on the paper that's just too overwhelming, too defeating, too much.

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So by using a graphic organizer, for example, and just putting down what you want them to write, maybe using a whiteboard or a dry erase board or chalkboard, anything that could be more tolerated, asking questions to build a sentence.

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That can be a very difficult thing for every child, not just a child with special needs.

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If you ask even a first grader, what do you see on the road that's a very broad, very wide open question.

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people.

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So when they have that, then from there you can help a child build sentences.

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You can have another section that said, what do you see on the road, the sun.

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You could describe weather conditions.

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Just teaching kids to put things into categories.

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When you isolate it in that way, then they have something from which to build.

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And then you can model or demonstrate the articles of speech.

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The car is on the road.

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It doesn't seem like a very complex sentence, but writing that for a first grader, a typically developing first grader would be an extremely difficult skill to accomplish.

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So even by just using, like I said, even magnetic letters and manipulating those, putting those basic sight words that they've built an ability to recognize just by frequent introduction of books from the time they're six months, at least the car is on the road, they can recognize the they could recognize car and then put those all together in a sequence after they've seen you demonstrate.

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And from there they could learn to copy that.

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It's all very complex and very difficult.

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These are things that I don't know about personally and obviously have undergone because you want my mom, you didn't teach me how to read.

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When you're talking about a child with down syndrome, it's so important to remember that so many of the children have hearing challenges.

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It's a very common trait.

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So working memory difficulties may contribute to speech and language delays that limit the amount a child can organize and say clearly in the sentence.

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So there's such a direct correlation between language and obviously the written word.

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And if there's an obstruction to receiving language, then first you have to address that.

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There's very many layers.

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And once they have the receptive language, then their own expressive language can usually launch, yeah.

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Can we talk about receptive and expressive language really quick just so we can have a little description? Expressive language is what a child is able to generate spontaneously.

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And a receptive language would be what the child receives that they may not be able to articulate.

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So, for example, in a one year old, when they are thirsty, you would say, cup, do you want cup? The child's caregiver would offer that and provide the language and model that for the child.

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And then when the child is involving an expressive language, they would say, be able to articulate one cup, usually two word phrases, one word phrase, two word phrases.

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They all just build over time.

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Oh, and you can build on receptive language.

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Obviously, this was one of your favorite things.

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Catherine, as a baby was signing.

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And so when you're able to introduce signing to a child who has the ability to use their hands to work together.

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It doesn't matter what age.

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It's an excellent way to bridge the gap between what they hear receptively and what they wish to express.

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Because if they aren't capable of expressive language, they are capable of assigned.

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Just in the same way that you would teach child to sing Wheels on the Bus, you would always use the hand motions.

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And before they can sing the song Wheels on the Bus, they can roll their arms for the round and round part of the song.

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Same concept.

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Cool.

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You're very good at that.

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More, what's your favorite? More, which was that? Okay.

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Yes.

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Eat more, I believe was her favorite.

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What are ways the special education system can help children with learning disabilities build their literacy abilities over time? Pediatricians have had a greater amount, of coursework, in which they've had to be introduced to age appropriate expectancies for language and speech.

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And so they're usually the initial line of response.

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If you feel like there's a concern consistently with the parent and the child or the caregiver and the child, and they can recognize growth, whether it's slower growth or accelerated growth, they're able to establish an initial benchmark at twelve months based on the number of expressive words the child may have or may not have yet.

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And from there, if there's a concern or if a child is in the neonatal intensive care unit, it's a common practice that children's hearing is screened.

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So there's multiple lines of defense.

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If a child has down syndrome and they're referred to first steps, they'll be screened early, early.

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But assessment is kind of the special education system help that's in place.

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And recently in Missouri, there was a Missouri Autism Rapid Response Initiative through the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

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And it's accessible to all Missouri residents.

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And autism is a lifelong developmental disability that appears during the first three years of life.

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And studies show that it can be diagnosed as early as 18 months.

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And the current autism prevalence rate in children is about one in 110.

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And the diagnosis of autism has increased more than tenfold in the last decade.

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So usually the person who is primarily with the child will recognize that there may be a lack of eye contact or a lack of regression of language that perhaps they had said Mama, and then at one point they won't say it.

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And so when people are able to recognize that, then they usually consult the pediatrician.

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The pediatrician makes a referral, and then they pursue it through there.

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And the other thing that is actually new this year is that there's legislation.

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It's Senate Bill 638, and it requires that the Department of elementary and Secondary Education has developed guidelines for the appropriate screening of students for dyslexia and related disorders to develop the necessary classroom support for such students.

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So this is required just this year, 2018 to 19 school year.

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And it's for all children entering kindergarten.

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So there's more heightened awareness of screening and it's become mandated.

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I didn't know that.

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That's cool screen.

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Let's talk about do you have a thing? Well, there is one thing that I wanted to mention that is about literacy in the new media age.

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And there's an author who has recognized that the image is quickly replacing writing as the dominant form of meaning making and that the screen is becoming just as important as the page.

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And I think that that's really important to mention because it's become so commonplace if you're in your car, if you're scrambling to get home from work or get children home from school, just that crunch time between five and 730 or 800 at night is difficult for everyone with children.

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And it's common to want to pass your tablet or an ereader or anything that can occupy your child because obviously everyone has things to do Cook food, do laundry, get ready for the next day of work and school.

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And so there are many helps out.

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There even something I stumbled upon today, and it's through Scholastic, and I'm not sure if you remember, like weekly readers, it's a small brief reading, but it's very condensed.

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And even weekly readers for children in, say, 4th, fifth, and 6th grade are now accessible to students.

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So point being, if you're going to resort to that because it happens, everybody has to resort to passing that to their child.

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It's less preferred in birth to two.

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I know that I read something recently that said that the use of screens is up 200% compared to even a year ago when parents were surveyed.

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So that's disheartening because those person to person contact and the growth of attachment from reading is obviously decreased when you're putting a screen in someone's hand, but into your child's hand.

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But if you're going to put that into your child's hand, really, the emphasis should be on age appropriate reading.

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Very simple.

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Something that's not as comparable to a video or a DVD or a movie, but still is academic regardless of your child's age.

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And even the repetition of the same story, again can be so beneficial.

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So iPads are fine as long as discretion okay with discretion, as long as they use at least some form of education, because it is a really good resource for a lot of parents.

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And so giving them something that they like to have anyway, like kids like iPads, it's just kind of their eyes are just drawn to it.

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Their hands are just drawn to what they know what to do.

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But giving them an iPad with something that's smart on it or something that can even just there's links on PBS and Scholastic.

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I didn't write down websites, but there's just so many literacy websites that if you Googled your child's age and literacy or ereading, obviously Amazon even has things you can download for free.

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The public library has ebooks that you can download for free and they're well within your child's age range, so there's so many options to consider.

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So, yeah, just be smarter about your smart devices.

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Correct.

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Okay.

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Thank you.

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Cool.

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Yes, I try to make things distinct so as kind of just like a wrap up.

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Unless you have anything else you want to say right now, expose your child to print as often as you can, even if it means you're putting sticky notes on your cabinets that say the word C-A-B-I-N-E-T-F-R-I-D-G-E, fridge, desk, desk.

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Any exposure to print, simple.

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Print your own handwritten print that's excellent.

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As much as you can expose them to print is ideal.

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All right.

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So going forward, let's say, what is your advice to a parent that has a child that has just been diagnosed with either like a learning delay or disability? What is your advice to them? I think it's important to just emphasize that they're still your child and obviously what you can do with them, regardless of what your school or evaluator or assessor can provide, you know your child better than anyone else and go with your guts because you've known them for longer than any of the people there.

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There were two people that I mentioned as far in my mind as influential, and there's one who has an educational philosopher and her name is Nell Nottings.

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And she had this care philosophy, and I think that's so important.

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And she said she herself was the mother of ten children and she's still living.

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I think she's almost 90 and she believes that if you take time out of every day to just show the children that you care about them, then their learning actually accelerates.

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I think that's just really important.

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Don't forget to care about them.

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Don't worry about achieving the benchmarks as much as caring for them, because a lot of times they may not reach the benchmarks or they may reach the benchmarks at a different level of expectation than their IEP suggests or that the teachers are comfortable with, but they will still continue to succeed and thrive over time.

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We have this phrase here.

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It says Be the turtle, where it's like just go at your own pace, just keep forward is forward.

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Just keep going eternal slow and steady.

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Win three.

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Is there anything else you'd like to speak to? Just a final thought, anything that I didn't cover.

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Just read to your child because it's fun and it's good attachment with them.

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And no matter what I've seen people where now the person is in their 30s, and just the sound of that voice, that consistent sound of your voice can have such an impact.

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And a lot of times you can't measure the impact.

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So the consistency of it is of great value regardless of the results.

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Measurable results.

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Children who are read to know that books are fun and provide entertainment.

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Children who are read too often have larger vocabularies and they will know that the words on the page have meaning and tell the story.

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Exposure to print enhances children's interest in writing.

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Children's recognition of left to right progression during reading similarly influences writing.

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The ability to read and write facilitates easier access to general knowledge and supports skills necessary for problem solving and thinking strategies.

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Reading provides opportunities to practice saying sentences a child is unable to generate spontaneously in their expressive language, though they may understand it through their receptive language.

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To recognize that a child has internalized a new skill or internalized an element of knowledge translates into information that's understandable and has understandable elements.

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By working oneonone with children using the most foundational system of acquiring information books, my hope is to strengthen interest enthusiasm for reading regardless of student abilities at a young age.

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Consistent repetition of familiar text can provide for children a social script of sorts, enhancing preschool age children's social interactions.

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Thank you, Mary Blender for coming on the E Special Needs Podcast.

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We really appreciate it.

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Thanks for bringing your wealth of knowledge, your information, and your experience.

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I'm sure our listeners really appreciate everything that you've had to say today and there's been a lot of really good stuff that you've given me, even just that I've learned sitting down with you.

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So I appreciate that you took your time out of your busy schedule.

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She has eight kids.

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Thanks for all your hard work for children with special needs.

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Never overlook.

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Thank you for listening to episode three of the Especial Needs Podcast and a big thank you to Mary Blanner for giving us all those important tips and tricks and now some legal disclaimers.

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The opinions and viewpoints expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and viewpoints of each special needs of the organization.

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In addition, the tips and advice that is expressed in this podcast might not work for everyone.

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It might work for some might not work for all.

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Always consult the pediatrician occupational therapist or teacher before you do any of these ideas.

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Don't forget you're doing great things and we'll see you in two weeks.

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Teaching Literacy to Children with Special Needs (podcast) - eSpecial Needs Blog

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eSpecial Needs sits down with early childhood special education reading specialist, Mary Blanner, to talk about the importance of literacy and the tips and tools to make it as effective as possible. This podcast was originally published April 25, 2019 Generated transcript below: 100:00:09,890 -> 00:00:12,686Welcome to episode three of the Especial Needs Podcast.

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A little girl who was diagnosed with epilepsy and global developmental delay. Kelly tells her story on how literacy is universal and more than just being able to read or write, it is a key component of learning, development, communication, and a richer life.

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Literacy Opens the World to a Child with Disabilities

When Maddie Lewis was born full term and healthy six years ago, everything seemed storybook perfect. By the time she was nine months old, however, the tale began to take an unexpected twist. Maddie wasn't crawling, and her language abilities, along with other skills, were slowing. Concerned, her mother, Kelly, had her evaluated, and Maddie began receiving early intervention services. Shortly thereafter, in January 2003, Kelly received the news that her first-born child had epilepsy and global developmental delay.

The news came as a shock, but Kelly was determined to rewrite the story into something with a better ending than was foreshadowed. She's doing it in part by focusing on literacy. "Literacy is universal," she says. More than just being able to read or write, it is a key component of learning, development, communication, and a richer life. "It's not only about being understood, it's about being able to comprehend your world," Kelly explains.

For Maddie, the oldest of three children, both diagnoses influence her ability to learn. Global developmental delay affects her fine and gross motor skills, social-emotional development, daily skills, and cognitive abilities. Her epilepsy manifests as absence seizures-short, subtle slowdowns in her brain. Kelly describes the seizures as like a "pause/play" button that slows Maddie's processing and learning.

"Focusing long enough to absorb a letter or sight word has been hard for her," Kelly explains. "The seizures slow her cognition, and she processes at a slower pace."

To compensate, Kelly uses several approaches to help Maddie learn. One way is by focusing on multiple learning styles-visual, auditory, tactile, musical, kinesthetic, and more. "Maybe looking at an apple isn't enough," Kelly says. "Maybe she needs to hold an apple, bite it, do an apple puzzle. She needs to wake her body up.

"There's more than one intelligence," Kelly adds, "so I might put clay on a plate and have her write her name in it. She sees it and feels it; she moves and controls it with her finger. You look at your child's primary way of learning, but that's not all you use. You raise the bar so they don't feel intimidated but challenged."

Another approach is to help her look at picture books and talk about what she sees. It improves Maddie's "ability to recognize pictures, what's happening in it, and generalize it into her environment," Kelly says. "If you can't understand the picture and what's happening, you can't associate it with the label or the letter."

Predicting what's going to happen next in a story is also part of learning and literacy. "A child has to be able to sequence-to listen to a story and know what's coming," Kelly says. "She needs to learn how to anticipate and be able to describe what she sees. One of the tools we use is taking pictures out of a magazine and focusing on the subject, the noun, and verb. I say, 'tell me a story.' It gets her to think about what she sees-are the children in the picture happy or sad? Are they running?" When she can do that, she has increased her attention, and that means she can better focus and learn. By looking at people's faces and body language in a story, Maddie also learns nonverbal cues of communication.

At school, Kelly has worked closely with staff to identify ways to reach specific literacy goals for Maddie. They made her a classroom helper to help her attend and learn sequencing. They changed her speech and occupational therapy to focus on letters and are using computer-based literacy games to support reading and literacy skills. They're also finding library books on audio so she can pace herself.

Literacy also helps Maddie learn about herself and her feelings. One book she loves is "Today I Feel Silly & Other Moods That Make My Day," by Jamie Lee Curtis. A fun rhyming book about emotions, it ends with the question "how do you feel today?" and includes a mood wheel where readers can manipulate a character's eyes and mouth to show their own emotions. "The most important thing I can give my child is self-love," Kelly says. "I want her to know her feelings." When Maddie reaches that last page, "she now actively says, 'Here give me the page, I'll tell you,'" Kelly says. "We end our day with it. She is able to self-reflect. If she can do that, she can get her needs met."

Literacy is more than knowing letters and words and reading. It is the main character in a lifelong story about learning, communication, self-awareness, and fulfillment. By finding a variety of ways for Maddie to gain those literacy skills, "I'm creating her potential," Kelly says. "You want the child to love learning like a dog to a bone," she adds. "It's a lifeline to maximize the child's potential into the future."

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Literacy Opens the World to a Child with Disabilities

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When Maddie Lewis was born full term and healthy six years ago, everything seemed storybook perfect. By the time she was nine months old, however, the tale began to take an unexpected twist. Maddie wasn't crawling, and her language abilities, along with other skills, were slowing.

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Literacy opens the world to a child with disabilities. PACER Center - Champions for Children with Disabilities. (n.d.). Retrieved June 30, 2022, from https://www.pacer.org/ec/early-literacy/literacy-opens-the-world.asp 

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Literacy opens the world to a child with disabilities. PACER Center - Champions for Children with Disabilities. (n.d.). Retrieved June 30, 2022, from https://www.pacer.org/ec/early-literacy/literacy-opens-the-world.asp 

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iPads can be used for visual learning. They can hold many applications that are often free to help students in literacy. They have sound, pictures, and video to help students. Student can also use headphones and is used 1:1. iPads are normally used as a reward choice by students. They cost below or above $500. Schools tend to provide them or you can get them through grants, or in some cases, parents.

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These are used to capture lectures and discussions that students with auditory processing disorder might miss.

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This includes standing desks and adjustable seating, can help students with mobility issues.

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This is simple and easy to use program where students are able to learn vocabulary through flashcards with audio pronunciation. This builds vocabulary for students with disabilities by strengthening their communication skills and fluency while reading. This software is also generally provided through the schools.

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Capture teachers’ voices more clearly with microphones that connect to a personal speaker or earpiece via FM radio waves, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.

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Basic physical objects and software-based tools, can help students with attention deficit disorder and the visually impaired.

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This program is free for many educators. This program uses interactive lessons in literacy. The lessons are completely personalized to the needs of the students and progress is accessible for parents or guardians.

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Enable students with fine motor skill problems to use writing utensils.

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Address a range of learning needs, from braille for the visually impaired to alternative layouts that address physical and cognitive disabilities.

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Nova chat is ideal for students with reading disabilities. This uses a text-to-text speech style program by the text being read aloud and speech created by the student converted into text. This is more advanced and designed for higher needs students. This device cost around $2,500 and can be funded by school programs.

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- Resists or reclectand towards reading tasks
- Limited background knowledge
- Read without a clear purpose
- Set minimal to no goals

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- Limited vocabulary and attention span
- Need guidance during reading task
- Lack of fluency and motivation
- Does not (know how to) monitor comprehension
- Does not ask questions or create mental images while reading
- Gives up when task is too difficult

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- Forget or mix up information
- Do not read outside of school
- Rely on the teacher for information
- Express negative feelings about reading
- Avoid reading at all costs

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The importance of assistive technology in the virtual and physical classroom. Assistive Technology in the Virtual and Physical Classroom | American University. (n.d.). Retrieved June 30, 2022, from https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/assistive-technology-in-the-classroom 

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The importance of assistive technology in the virtual and physical classroom. Assistive Technology in the Virtual and Physical Classroom | American University. (n.d.). Retrieved June 30, 2022, from https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/assistive-technology-in-the-classroom 

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Gzz, L. (2017, February 8). Characteristics of struggling and strong readers. Academia.edu. Retrieved June 30, 2022, from https://www.academia.edu/31315831/CHARACTERISTICS_OF_STRUGGLING_AND_STRONG_READERS 

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Gzz, L. (2017, February 8). Characteristics of struggling and strong readers. Academia.edu. Retrieved June 30, 2022, from https://www.academia.edu/31315831/CHARACTERISTICS_OF_STRUGGLING_AND_STRONG_READERS 

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last comment that got cut off - Be more specific here - what do you mean by succeed?

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Murray, J. (2022, February 7). Teaching literacy to children with special needs (podcast). eSpecial Needs Blog. Retrieved June 11, 2022, from https://www.especialneeds.com/blog/teaching-literacy-to-children-with-special-needs-podcast/ 

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Murray, J. (2022, February 7). Teaching literacy to children with special needs (podcast). eSpecial Needs Blog. Retrieved June 11, 2022, from https://www.especialneeds.com/blog/teaching-literacy-to-children-with-special-needs-podcast/ 