Page 36 - Literacy Based Speech Language Therapy Activities Digital Version

Literacy-Based Speech Language Therapy Activities

Supporting Low‐Incidence Populations
It is now time to talk about those of us who have the important job of supporting our low-incidence

populations. Who does this refer to? This applies to students and clients we see with autism,
intellectual disabilities, low vision and blindness, hard-of-hearing and deafness, significant
developmental delays, physical impairments and complex health needs.

So, why is this applicable in a book related to literacy-based activities? First, let’s talk about the

academic expectations for students in general education. It relates to academic and literacy
outcomes. In contrast, IEPs for our students in low-incidence populations are typically reflective of
social skills and functional life skills. Know that it is possible to address the functional and academic

literacy needs of students—with meaningful accommodations and modifications in place.

First, we want to point out that there are three ways to read: reading the book, looking at the
pictures and acting out the story. With this idea in mind, think of how all students can read. We

have seen a two-year old holding a picture book and talking about the pictures using one to two-
word utterances (e.g., moo cow!) as the pages turn. This is reading. We have seen a group of high
school students in a Life Skills classroom walk over to the classroom’s library, choose a book, hold it

correctly, turn the pages appropriately and view the visuals conveying the plots of the story. This is
also reading. We have seen a fifth grader using a speech output device to tell a story using his Core
Vocabulary—hang on. We have more on this at the end of this section!

Special Considerations for Low‐Incidence Populations

Physical Impairments: For students with physical impairments, we must keep materials mobile so
that they are easily accessible. Instead of requiring children to come up to the board, for example, we

can use a small board that goes to the student.

Visual Impairments: For students with visual impairments we suggest using a variety of auditory
clips or tactile objects that go with each lesson.

Auditory Impairments: For students with auditory impairments, supplement your instruction with
a variety of visual aids and also suggest using specific signs to target concepts in the story.

Augmentative Communication: For students with AAC devices, create communication boards
with the core vocabulary from the story. These can be low-tech images of the characters and places

that the student can point at in order to answer questions.

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