Opening doors: how new media helps kids with developmental disabilities

Again, students were readily able to point and click and choose the next direction. On the first run through, students were not unduly upset or did not want to stop after clicking on an incorrect button. Because each button was associated with a text and picture, students were able to determine what the button meant and to click on the button. Dialogue with students showed that answers were incorrect as students did not know which came first, mixing or buying, rather than not knowing which button represented mixing and which represented buying.

Reader responses

Students were enthusiastic about reading on the computer. Five out of seven in the first group chose the computer when asked whether they liked reading on the computer or in a book better. One boy who chose books said that there were not enough different exercises on the computer - indicating that if there were a sufficient range of choices, he too might prefer the computer.

Could the almost overwhelming preference for the computer be ascribed to the customised pictures and drawings? "Pictures make it a personal account, enabling the reader to remember more and be more engaged," notes Carl Parsons. This is a great advantage in the computer setting, as it is easy to add pictures of the students or student drawings to a professional looking layout. However, this group also had several custom made books with pictures of themselves or their drawings and a written sentence. Thus, I do not think that adding pictures is the entire story.

Asked why the students liked the computer (looking at pictures or choosing where to go next), none chose looking at pictures, all of the students chose where to go next. This sense of controlling the story was evident in all of the exercises - most students chose to re-read the story and on the second run through, controlled the reading by choosing where to go.

Three out of six in the second group chose the computer when asked. When asked why they liked computers better, two said they liked computer games, and one said she liked choosing where to go. Computer games have greatly facilitated these children's computer skills and learning expectations. Observational evidence suggests that students prefer interactive sessions - games may be raising these expectations in younger readers.

Three out of four in the third group chose the computer, citing reasons such as surfing the internet, choosing where to go, and adding their own pictures. For this group, being able to produce quality work quickly was a high motivator. The work produced looked exactly like the work that they had already seen on the computer, placing their efforts on a par with the professional efforts of web developers.

These exercises were merely to see if new media techniques could be applied to reading exercises for students with developmental disabilities. The experiment was enthusiastically received by both students and teachers, and I believe there is a great deal of potential in applying these techniques for reading at this level. Future inquiries are needed to provide an underlying pedagogical theory base for effective application.