I have been working with a student who has Joubert Syndrome for the past year or so. He is in middle school and the parents love him dearly. They struggle with Autistic-like issues as well as orthopedic and cognitive difficulties. One of the key successes for him is his love of the computer. We have set up a laptop and a Big Keys Keyboard for him. We use some online tools, but the program we have seen the most success with is the Intellitools Classroom Suite.
We have been able to adapt his curriculum content so that he can have it set up to select on-screen "buttons"and have content read to him. He can use the Intellitalk to be able to type and hear back what he writes immediately. Since his academic goals tend to be foundational aspects of numbers and letters, the activities are a natural for him. We have been adapting activities to contain high interest topics for him and yet teach the concepts he needs to learn.
Print Disability Access:
Our newest addition is accessing Bookshare.org with his own account to get texts that he can hear. With the access to this, an on-screen reader and Classroom Suite, we are able to modify content so he can have access to the curriculum needed at his level.
The Joubert Syndrome Foundation website has some great information and support links. I would highly recommend checking them out to learn more.
Remember to check into the latest edition of our AT Blog Carnival and the interview with Patricia Sublette coming up this morning on No Limits to Learning Live.
All the best to you!
Lon
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4 comments:
We have a little guy in our agency, a first grader, who is doing amazing things on a Dynavox V. I don't work with him directly, but my colleagues are so excited by what he is doing. He is the second little on I have known with Joubert Syndrome, I taught a second grader for summer school about ten years ago. So much potential these students have an AT is such a great way to tap it!
Thanks Kate. I was with him again yesterday setting up activities and he has his emotional good and bad days. We are wanting to see him happy at school and enjoying learning at his level with something motivating for him.
Another accomodation for textbooks is Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic. Most of the K-12 texts have already been recorded and they are in human speech instead of synthetic speech. Check out the website at www.rfbd.org.
Thanks for the added resource. I will check it out!
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