Description
Teachers are going to love this book! Passionate and practical, it moves beyond "sight words" and other functional literacy skills and provides the know-how for bringing quality, meaningful literacy instruction to students with autism. Authored by respected, dynamic scholars in autism and literacy, the book breaks new ground as it focuses specifically on ways in which educators can improve literacy outcomes for students with autism spectrum disorders in Grades K–12 classrooms.
Teachers will learn:
- research-based practices in reading and writing instruction, including those consistent with the recommendations of Reading First
- ideas for planning lessons, differentiating instruction, and designing a classroom environment that promotes literacy learning while addressing the individual needs of learners with autism
- techniques for assessing students who do not or cannot show their literacy learning in traditional ways due to communication or learning differences
- strategies for including students with autism in a wide range of classroom literacy activities
- teaching tips from the words and experiences of people with autism spectrum labels and from the authors' own extensive classroom experience
This guidebook brings cutting-edge literacy concepts to special educators who are already familiar with autism but may not have specific training in teaching reading skills and is an essential "literacy meets autism" primer for general educators and reading specialists. For all readers, the book underscores the ways in which literacy can help every learner achieve a more fulfilling, rich, and inclusive academic life."
Reviews
Review: CHOICE
"May indeed revolutionize the way educators teach literacy to autistic students, regardless of the severity of autism and apparent capability of each individual."
Review: Positively Autism
"A much needed and essential guide for any teacher of students on the spectrum."
Review: Education Review
"Readers will be inspired and instructed by this book.It should prove to be an important resource for students and teachers looking for strategies to use with their own students"
Review by: A. James, Midwest Book Review
"Superbly co-written, organized and presented, "A Land We Can Share" is thoroughly user-friendly and should be considered essential reading for all teachers at the primary and secondary levels having to work with autistic students within a classroom environment."
Review: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
"A comprehensive overviewContextualiz[es] our current knowledge in the broader framework of teaching literacy to all-both typically developing and those with special needs-children in the US."
Review: Autism Asperger's Digest
"A book that will change the face of inclusion...The authors give us an insider's view into what successful inclusion looks like, brilliantly showing us that it is a reachable goal."
Review by: Barry Prizant, Adjunct Professor, Center for the Study of Human Development, Brown University
"A book we all must share for promoting literacy development of students with ASD. Respectful, insightful, engaging and focused on strengths rather than weaknesses."
Review by: Stephen Shore, author and consultant on matters pertaining to the autism spectrum; Board of Directors for the Autism Society of America, the Asperger's Association of New England, and MAAP Services
"Jam–packed with easy to implement and practical solutions for addressing some of the most challenging situations facing those teaching literacy to students on the autism spectrum at all levels."
Review by: Monica Delano, University of Louisville
"A dynamic text filled with practical examples that will motivate and inspire readers to view all individuals as capable, successful literacy learners."
Review by: Morton Gernsbacher, Vilas Research Professor and Sir Frederick Bartlett Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison
"Literacy is a right of every individual in our society. Through creativity, accommodation, respect, and unconventionality, Kluth and Chandler-Olcott demonstrate how to enable that right."
Review by: Liane Holliday Willey, author of Pretending to be Normal: Living with Asperger's Syndrome & Asperger Syndrome in the Family: Redefining Normal
"Finally! An entire book on autism and literacy. [This] is one of the most important books in autism education I have ever had the pleasure of reading."
Review by: Kelly Whalon, Assistant Professor of Special Education, The College of William and Mary
"Informative and engaging . . . provide[s] educators with inspiring, practical, strengths–based instructional recommendations to build literacy skills."
Review by: Curt Dudley-Marling, Professor of Education, Lynch School of Education, Boston College
"An accessible, well-researched text that respects the competence of students with autism and the teachers who work with them."
Review by: Chris Kliewer, Professor of Special Education, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA
"Not only a treatise describing literate possibility for all students, but also a powerful meditation on rethinking the very nature of autism . . . will dramatically impact classroom instructional practices and the underlying educational theory."
Review by: Lynn Koegel, Clinical Director, Koegel Autism Center, University of California, Santa Barbara
"Literacy is such an important, and often neglected, area for children with autism. This book is filled with great ideas and suggestions for making literacy a reality for children with autism."
Review by: Chris Kliewer, Professor of Special Education, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA
"Not only a treatise describing literate possibility for all students, but also a powerful meditation on rethinking the very nature of autism . . . will dramatically impact classroom instructional practices and the underlying educational theory."
Review by: Anne Donnellan, Professor, School of Leadership and Education Sciences, and Director, USD Autism Institute, University of San Diego
"You're going to love this book! It offers much needed practical insights into reading for individuals with significant developmental differences."
Review by: Patrick Schwarz, Professor and Chair, Diversity in Learning & Development Department, National-Louis University, Chicago
"Demolishes the great wall of exclusion that has often kept learners with autism segregated from literacy, reading, and language arts activities, the final frontier of inclusion. It is a must!"
Review by: Douglas Fisher, Professor of Language and Literacy Education, San Diego State University and Co-Director, Center for Advancement of Reading, California State University Chancellor's Office
"Delivers on a promise - ensuring that students with autism become literate citizens who use their knowledge of language to participate in real lives."
Table of Contents
About the Authors
Foreword - Douglas Biklen
Foreword - Angela Notari-Syverson
Acknowledgments
Introduction
- What Is Autism?
- What Is Literacy?
- Promoting Literacy Development in Inclusive Classrooms
- Assessing Literacy Learning
- Focus on Reading
- Focus on Writing and Representation
- Literacy Learning for Students with Significant Disabilities: Yes, Those Students, Too
Bibliography
References
Literary and Film References
Recommended Reading
Recommended Web Sites on Literacy, Differentiated Instruction, and Disability
Index