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Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) May 12, 2008 Louisiana Department of Education Division of Educational Improvement and Assistance What is AIM? • Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) – specialized formats of curricular content that can be used by learners with print-disabilities – braille, audio, large print, electronic text • Required by IDEA, 2004 – Section on National Instructional Material Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) – State Education Agencies (SEAs) and/or Local Education Agencies (LEAs) "will provide instructional materials to blind persons or other persons with print disabilities in a timely manner" (Part B, Sec. 612(a)(23)(B) and Sec. 613(a)(6)(B)). Who needs AIM? • # of students in U.S. with print disabilities – more than 500,000 identified students – the actual number of those impacted may be much higher (http://aim.cast.org/who/) • IDEA and 504 requirement (accommodations and services) if needed – Blind, low-vision – Otherwise print disabled – Unable to use print-based materials to access or progress in the general education curriculum Advantages of e-text to create alternate formats Advantages 1. Small – more on one page. 2. High contrast 3. Line spacing 4. Primary font style, larger letters, more spacing between words. Examples of Alternate Formats Symbol-to-text or rebus format Text-to-speech, hi-lighted as read Hyperlinks and color coded words Research on TTS Virtual Manipulatives Scaffold levels in the same activity Accessible Curriculum "We need to examine what kind of support we can provide to make that regular curriculum a little more accessible to them. It might be as simple as providing text on a computer instead of in books so that if the students come to a word they don't know, they can click on it and the word is read to them or they are given a definition." Ted Hasselbring, Read 180 http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/x8385.xml How do I know if a student needs AIM? Core Questions 1. 2. 3. Does the student have difficulty gaining meaning from print-based instructional materials used in the content areas? What are the factors that contribute to the difficulty? • • • • • • Disability Lack of instruction LEP Response to Intervention Medical Environmental factors Would an alternate format benefit the student? • • • • Braille Large print Digital Audio Other Questions to Consider 1. Are there additional instruction, assistive technology, supports, services, and/or training that will be needed by the student and others to use the materials effectively? 2. What steps are required to obtain and/or prepare alternate formats that support need. • • • Order from LA Book Depository Order within District Resources Other (Describe): Where can I get more information on AIM? 1. LA-AIM Website www.atanswers.com/aim 2. LA Department of Education web http://www.louisianaschools.net/lde/eia/1538.html 3. National AIM Consortium Web http://aim.cast.org/ 4. Bookshare.org – Webinar May 21, 11:00 PDT Contacts LA Department of Education • 1-877-453-2721 • Jackie Bobbett, Ph.D, NIMAS Coordinator • Donna Broussard, Assistive Technology • Nanette Olivier, Significant Disabilities Region 6 Assistive Technology Center • 318-487-5488 • Charlotte Ducote, Lead Facilitator AIM, UDL, RtI UDL is RtI Quotation from Tom Hehir at CEC 2008, – Harvard Professor College of Ed – Director of the U.S. DOE Special Education Programs from 1993 to 1999 – Leading role in developing Clinton’s proposal for the 1997 reauthorization of the IDEA Think Abouts We don’t have the answers, but here are some questions to think about. • Where does it fit in the universal screening process? • Who is responsible for assessments, training, intervention and support? • How is it funded? • How do we resolve issues of “personalized instruction” and rigid state-wide assessment?