INTRODUCTION This series of articles is specifically focused on the importance of providing emergent literacy instruction to students with significant disabilities including cortical vision impairments (CVI) and complex communication needs (CCN). Emergent literacy instruction is quite different from conventional literacy instruction. Conventional literacy instruction focuses on areas such as sight word identification, phonics, spelling, and learning formal comprehension strategies. Emergent literacy focuses on all of the foundational skills that precede conventional literacy, such as simply learning that print carries meaning, how books work, what it means to be a writer, alphabet knowledge and sound awareness skills. Due to their vision, verbal and physical issues, students with CVI have had extremely limited experiences with reading, writing and language. Many of them clearly need rich emergent literacy instruction. Erickson (2017) suggests that emergent literacy comprehensive instruction should include: shared reading, independent reading, independent writing, alphabet instruction and shared writing. Communication opportunities using AAC must be woven throughout each of these areas, as literacy learning occurs through rich social interactions. Instruction needs to be designed in such a way that CVI does not become the gate keeper that limits literacy learning. This article can be used to start a discussion with the educational team about how to weave AAC and communication opportunities throughout the school day, including emergent literacy activities that target meaningful choice-making opportunities. OVERVIEW OF CORTICAL VISION IMPAIRMENT CVI is a neurological disorder which impacts the processing of visual information in the brain. It is frequently undiagnosed or unrecognized due to multiple physical/cognitive impairments. In the past decade, knowledge about CVI has grown rapidly (Ro- man-Lantzy, 2018; Lueck & Dutton, 2015). Roman-Lantzy (2018) developed the CVI Range Assessment tool to functionally define the impact based on 10 specific characteristics, and guide diagnostic interventions. The 10 characteristics are: color preferences, visual field preferences, need for light, need for movement, problems with visual complexity and visual novelty, problems with using vision to guide their reach, visual latency, atypical visual reflexes and problems with distance viewing. The score on the CVI Range categorizes students’ abilities into phases of severity. Phase 1 = Building Visual Behaviors. Students have little functional vision and are learning to simply use their vision to look at something. Phase 2 = Integrating Vision and Function. Students are learning about what they are looking at and attaching meaning. Phase 3 = Developing Visual Curiosity. Students have a great deal of vision but require specific instructional support More information about the general implications for literacy can be found in the October article of this series (Hanser, Mussel- white & Wagner, 2019). Students with CVI may be challenged and at times frustrated by the complexities of communication. They may have difficulties visually attending to facial expressions, looking where somebody else is pointing and discriminating im- ages/symbols on communication displays. It’s important for the Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) and the speech/language pathologist (SLP) to collaborate on AAC interventions, so that potential language and communication growth is not limited by visual challenges. COMMUNICATION & EMERGENT LITERACY INSTRUCTION While students are learning about the functions of reading and writing, they are also developing language to communicate their thoughts and ideas. Literacy and language are built through experiences. There are no prerequisite skills. Students who have limited verbal abilities will be developing literacy and AAC skills concurrently. Educational goals for emergent literacy and emergent communication by their very nature overlap. Although literacy learning occurs through rich communicative interac- tions with others, students who don’t yet know how to communicate in symbolic ways can still benefit from participation in literacy activities. Figuring out how letters and words work takes time and effort. In order to grow, students need opportunities to communicate about these experiences.
During emergent literacy instruction, students are learning to communicate by: • Requesting or choosing (e.g., selecting a book to read) • Describing things (e.g., which colors they want to use for writing or drawing) • Naming people, places and things (e.g., saying which friend goes next) • Sharing their own ideas (e.g., during predictable chart writing) • Commenting and asking questions (e.g., during shared reading) • Selecting letters and sounds (e.g., during alphabet and sound awareness activities) • Selecting letters on an alternative pencil (e.g., during independent writing)
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