What is a print disability?
A print disability can be a learning disability, a visual impairment or a physical disability. Although the manners in which the disability occurs are very different, they all share one characteristic: individuals diagnosed with a print disability cannot access print in the standard way.
What can a person with print disabilities do to improve their educational experience?
The Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA) states that all learners must be provided with equal access to educational materials. It is the legal responsibility of the school to ensure that this occurs, but students can take an active role by:
- Educating themselves about their disability
- Becoming their own advocates. Students should familiarize themselves with IDEA and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to make sure they are getting all of the rights they are entitled to. Students often know what strategy or accommodation works best for them and they should share this with their teachers
- Obtaining accessible print materials. For example, students with print disabilities can order their books from RFB&D in a digitally recorded CD format (RFB&D’s AudioPlus® books) or in a downloadable format (AudioAccessSM and AudioPlus®).
- Implementing assistive technology (AT) tools
- Joining Internet (e.g. listservs) or in-person support groups
What are some techniques teachers can implement to help students with print disabilities?
There are countless strategies that help students with print disabilities, but there is not one strategy that will work on every single person. Below are some ideas that may benefit students with print disabilities:
- Divide tasks and directions into small, manageable chunks
- Provide direct instruction
- Give students feedback on their work and progress on a regular basis
- Use visuals to enhance lessons including graphs, charts, gestures and diagrams
- Provide students with graphic organizers
- Know your students' learning styles in order to determine how they learn best and discover what they are interested in
- Be organized. Tell students the schedule at the beginning of the day and maintain consistency when possible.
- State lesson goals and objectives at the beginning of the lesson so that students know what is expected of them