Accessible and Adapted Books

Reading and Literacy

“No student is too anything to be able to read and write.” – David Koppenhaver

It is never too late or too early to teach reading and literacy skills. If you look at TEA’s website, you will see that one piece of Commissioner’s Strategic Plan is “Build a foundation of reading and math.”

To be a good reader you need practice. You need to read. This is even more important for students with disabilities, who often have fewer opportunities to access a book. Books need to be available and accessible to all students even those with disabilities. They need to be engaging, entertaining, and age appropriate.

What Are We?

This page shows different types of accessible and adapted books. There is a variety of commercially produced books and home-made books for students of all ages. The term ‘adapted book’ refers to a book that was altered in some fashion to make it more accessible to people with disabilities. There are different ways of modifying books including:

Simplifying or revising the text,
Adding AAC symbols to the text,
Changing the format (e.g., cutting it apart, binding it at the top, and reassembling, make an electronic copy of the book)
Using page fluffers, tabs, or other methods of separating the pages to make them easier to turn, and,
Adding interactive elements or removable pieces.

From PrAACtical AAC: http://praacticalaac.org/praactical/using-adapted-books-with-aac-learners-3-important-questions-to-ask/

Think About It

After exploring these resources, think about how you might use them with a student in your classroom. Jot down your ideas.

Old McDonald Had a Farm: Interactive Storybook

This book is one of a series created by a Speech-Language Pathologist for working with children with communication, motor, cognitive, and behavioral challenges. This book is from a series from Beth E. Breakstone. It has velcro page fluffers. Old McDonald and the animals in this book are attached by velcro so that they can be removed and replaced to make the reading experience more interactive.

Adapted Novels from the University of North Carolina - Charlotte.

Below you see adapted novels that have had the content simplified and picture symbols added. When using this technique, you must have a copy of the original text for each adapted book you make. Source: Assorted General Curriculum Projects Adapted Texts: https://bit.ly/2OsQEPi.

Tarheel Reader

This is a collection of free, easy-to-read, and accessible books on a wide range of topics. This is a web-based program. It is accessible on many platforms and devices. Each book can be speech enabled and accessed using multiple interfaces, including touch screens, and switches.

Home-made Books

The simple book shown below was made using Microsoft word and pictures from the student's family. The pictures can be pulled off the library page and attached to the book pages. This was one made to help a student learning about feelings.

Open book with cupboard on left page and the right has this text, "Old Mother Hubbard went to her cupboard To get her poor dog a bone, But when she got there, the cupboard was bare, And so the poor dog had" and a pictures of a Cheerios Box.

Old Mother Hubbard: Environmental Print

Here's a book template and instructions on making your own adapted book for Early Childhood. It is a book with a standard text, but uses pictures from the environment to make a connection between words and their use. You can take this idea and create books for any student.

Readtopia

Readtopia is a subscripton-based product from Don Johnston. It is a comprehensive reading curriculum for middle and high school students with autism and other complex needs. It is online and has the program components: Teacher's Guide, Videos, Leveled Text Graphic Novels, Informational Text, Phonics/Sight Words/Vocabulary, and Assessment.

Resources

TEA Strategic Plan: https://tea.texas.gov/About_TEA/Welcome_and_Overview/TEA_Strategic_Plan/
Accessible and Adapted Books: https://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=282668.
Bookshare Texas: https://www.bookshare.org/cms/state/texas
Learning Ally: https://learningally.org/Educators/school-grants/Texas
Paths to Literacy: http://www.pathstoliteracy.org/topic/struggling-readers
Paul Sherlock Center: http://www.ric.edu/sherlockcenter/wwslist.html
Literacy for Everyone with Adapted Books: http://praacticalaac.org/strategy/literacy-for-everyone-through-adapted-books/
Power Point E-Books on Paths to Literacy: http://www.pathstoliteracy.org/power-point-e-books
Dynamic Learning Maps Professional Development: https://www.dlmpd.com/all-modules-organized-by-claim/
- ELA claim 1: Students will comprehend text in increasingly complex ways
Readtopia & Start to Finish Library: Online commercial product: https://learningtools.donjohnston.com/

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