Expanding Literacy for Middle & Secondary Students with Visual Impairments, Deafblindness, and Multiple Disabilities
Are you wanting to expand literacy opportunities for your middle and secondary students?
Recently, Lisha Yochimowitz and I connected to discuss this important topic of expanding literacy opportunities for our teenagers with visual impairments, deafblindness, and/or multiple disabilities. We are seeking educators, specialists, educational assistants, researchers, parents and anyone interested in collaborative problem solving to join a discussion group focused on this important work.
I am a teacher with the Provincial Outreach Program for Students with Deafblindness (POPDB) in British Columbia, Canada. As a team, we support students from kindergarten to Grade 12 in the public and private schools throughout the province. As stated on our website, we are “providing the most effective techniques and strategies that grow with the changing needs of the student.” As a team, we have embarked on ways to bring literacy enrichment opportunities into the lives of our students. I have specifically been exploring ways to broaden the literacy worlds of my middle and high school students with deafblindness and multiple disabilities.
One of the students I am honoured to support is a senior in high school who loves music and spending time with her friends. Her school team and I realised that many of the literacy experiences available to her have been limited to primary-age materials and resources.
This raised a bigger question:
How can we meaningfully expand the literacy experiences of our teenagers with complex access needs?
The school team and I have begun exploring accessible options to unlock new worlds and expand her learning through AI tools, audiobooks, recordable sound buttons, immersive experiences and other alternative supports, yet we believe there are other brilliant literacy ideas for teenagers being implemented in classrooms every day.
- Do you have literacy ideas to share?
- Have you ever wondered whether there are more engaging literacy modes and modalities that could unlock a greater potential in your students?
If you’re interested in sharing ideas, exploring innovative approaches, or participating in ongoing collaborative discussions, come join us.
Let’s work together to reimagine what literacy can look like for teenagers with complex needs and by doing so, we will open their minds and hearts to wonderful new worlds and adventures!
Contact:
Ann Pimentel: apimentel@sd38.bc.ca
Lisha Yochimowitz: lyochimowitz@perkins.org
