The I-M-ABLE

1. The I-M-ABLE (Formerly the “Functional Approach”)

2. I-M-ABLE • Individualized • Meaning-Centered • Approach to • Braille • Literacy • Education • the “Functional Approach”

3. Essential Elements

4. Different At Risk Learners • Adult learner who is adventitiously blinded • School-aged learner, adventitiously blinded • Learner with mild –moderate cognitive impairment • Learner with severe to profound cognitive impairment • Learner with multiple impairments including physical impairments • Learner with deaf-blindness

5. Emphasis on: • Assuring early determination of literacy medium • Providing early exposure to braille – a braille rich environment • Creating stories in print and braille that are based upon the child’s prior experiences • Beginning formal reading instruction with whole words rather than letters • Selecting individualized reading vocabulary words that engage the learner

6. Emphasis on: (cont.) • Teaching efficient hand movements when reading • Incorporating Language Experience Approach Stories • Utilizing “whole-to-part phonics” • Incorporating writing with reading • Moving towards functional uses of reading and writing

7. Whole words not letters • Letters are more abstract and don’t have implicit meaning – we don’t speak in letters • Words or phrases = meaningful units • Words with which students have had experience provide for instant comprehension when reading • Words have distinct features which can help with identification, including tactually distinct letters within the words

8. Design of Research Study • Design of Practice Guide • Solicit applications from teachers • Select ten TVIs to participate (based upon student criteria) • Convene TVIs for a two day workshop in the use of the I-M-ABLE Practice Guide • Collect Baseline Data • Begin implementation • Mentoring/website/observations

9. DPI Funded for July 1, 2011 start date • Study was approved by the NCCU IRB. • Permission forms obtained for all participants

10. Design of Practice Guide – Initial Draft • Section 1 - Introduction to I-M-ABLE • Section 2 - Getting Started • Section 3 - Helping Students Select Key Vocabulary Words or Phrases for Reading • Section 4 - Introducing the Key Vocabulary • Section 5 - Teaching Students to Track

11. Design of Practice Guide (cont.) • Section 6 - Creating Key Vocabulary Stories • Section 7 - Teaching Phonics, Letter Recognition and Contractions • Section 8 - Helping Students Write Their Own Stories • Section 9 - Expanding the Student’s Reading and Writing Vocabulary • Section 10 – Collecting Baseline Data • Section 11 - Record Keeping Forms

12. Design of Practice Guide (cont.) • References and Bibliography • Appendix A – Hannah’s Story

13. Teacher selection/Child criteria Student with whom you will work • is legally blind and on the APH Quota Registration • is 8 to 18 years of age • has additional cognitive impairments (mild to moderate) • (may have other disabilities -- physical disability, on autism spectrum, etc.) • has a primary literacy medium as reported on the APH Quota Registration of N(non-reader), A(Auditory) or B(Braille)

14. Teacher selection/Child criteria (cont.) • has not demonstrated success in reading (not all letters of the alphabet learned, not currently reading more than a few words consistently, inconsistent performance on words and letters) • may or may not know how to write braille letters on any device

15. Teacher Incentives • Flip Video Camera • Califone Talking Magnetic Card Reader and starter pack of 50 magnetic cards • APH Word Playhouse • Two workshops • One October 17-18, 2011 – Initial training • One January 27, 2012 – follow up training • Paid attendance at NCCVIB – in March • Ning Website (private social networking with Chat and Discussion Board features)

16. Student Incentives • Teachers explained that they would be using their own special words to learn braille • Students were told they would be able to be videotaped • Students were told they would be able to use a card reader to help them learn their new words.

17. Participants • Ten Teacher-Student pairs • Selected from 14 applications • Received interest from 25 individuals • Settings of instruction • Two resource; eight itinerant – • One special school (developmental center); others all public school settings • Eight counties represented • Mountains to coast participation

18. Teacher characteristics • Training programs: • 7 different training programs represented • Years of Experience • 0 – 30 years; mode 12 years • Date passed Literary Braille Course • 1978 – 2011; mode 1999

19. Student Characteristics • Age range • 8 – 14 years old • Youngest just turned 8 • 8 – 2 • 9 – 1 • 10 – 0 • 11 – 2 • 12 – 2 • 13 – 1 • 14 - 2

20. .Student Characteristics (cont.) • TBI – 1 • TBI with mild physical involvement – 2 • Autism – 2 • Autistic Tendencies ESL, extreme attentional issues – 1 • Physical Disabilities – 1 • Speech-language impairment – 1 • Second LD – 1 • Communication Delay - 1

21. Baseline Data - Reading • Letter Recognition • 7 - 0 letters • 1 - 6 letters • 2 - 8-9 letters • Name Recognition • o/3 times – 2 • 1/3 times – 2 • 2/3 times – 4 • 3/3 times - 2

22. Baseline Data – Reading (cont.) • Word Recognition • 8 - 0 words • 1 - 2 words • 1 - 18+ words • C0ntractions known • 0 contractions – 10 students

23. Baseline Data – Writing • Letter writing • 5 - 0 letters • 1 - 11 letters • 1 - 17 letters • 2 - 18-19 letters • 1 - 18-26 letters • Writes own name • No – 6 • Yes - 4

24. Baseline Data – Writing • Word Writing • 5 children - 0 words • 3–2-8 words • 1 - 36 words • 1 - Yes, ? (same student wrote 19 letters)

25. Baseline Data – TPRI Results • Word rhyming – 8 – 0; 1 – 3; 1 – 5 • Blending Onset/rhymes – • 5 – 0; 1 – 1; 1 – 2; 1 – 3; 2 – 5 • Blending phonemes – 7 – 0; 1 – 4; 2 – 5 • Remove last sound – 7 – 0; 3 – 5 • Remove initial sound – 6 – 0; 1 – 1; 1 – 3; 1 – 4; 1 – 5 • One student had all 5’s; one had three 5’s

26. Amount of Instructional Time • Varies from teacher to teacher. • Minimum of 2 times per week required. • Some have 5 days a week for an hour a day minimum. • One has already increased her time with her student. • Involvement of others is also being documented.

27. Fidelity of Implementation Checklist • Developed to assist teachers in evaluating themselves • Used by PI and Mentors to observe teachers during lessons and observe using videos taped by teachers • Will be modified as necessary for future research and for inclusion in the Practice Guide.

28. What questions have teachers had? • Mechanics – concerning how to share videos using the flip camera, when to introduce the card reader, how long to make the cards, should they have the student record the word • Questions about when to introduce different aspects of the approach – when to create stories, when to create tracking stories, when to introduce another word, how many to introduce • Questions about teaching hand movements -

29. What progress have we made? • Teachers began implementing the approach after October 31. Most began from November 1 through the 10th. School year ended June 13. • All reported increased motivation on the part of their students to learn braille. Some report that behaviors have disappeared – more engagement – liking the card reader and liking the word cards • Individual progress varied:

30. Individual progress • All reported improvements in tracking words even with students who didn’t want to touch braille previously. • Number of words read at end ranges from four to around 80 to 100 words. • General patterns in data collection emerging: • More time equals more success. • More involvement on part of others equals more success

31. More comments about progress • Teachers report that their students are being seen as “readers” now • Two students will move into a higher category of instructional placement due to this • All teachers commented that they realized that they needed to have daily lessons with their student • Highlighting “James”

32. James(pseudonym) 1st grade 8 years old as of December 2011

33. Etiology • Congenital Cataracts • Glaucoma • Persistent Fetal Vasculature

34. Additional Disabilities and Hindrances • Intellectual Disability • Autistic tendencies • Severe Attention difficulties • English as a Second Language

35. Previous Attempts with Braille • Pre – Braille activities • Building on Patterns Language difficulties and attention issues prevented progress.

36. Time Served • Worked 5 hours a week with VI teacher. • November 1st – June5th • Teacher & assistant listened to him read daily.

37. Activities • Word cards – sorting and Monster Munch • Card reader • Stories – Tracking and Short stories • Student Stories • APH Word Playhouse

38. First Words Introduced • “bumpy ball” – a favorite toy, VERY motivating • “scratchy” – his term for the velcro • “ball” – he dropped “bumpy” in his story • “Mommy” • “cupcake” – Birthday treat

39. Major Progress Noted • Excitement for Braille • Asking for words • Language Development – HUGE! • Choosing to read for free time

40. Progress During I-M-ABLE

41. To be continued . . . . . . . • I will be so happy when I M ABLE to tell you “the rest of the story.”