Go Talk Phonics: Phonics for Individuals with Disabilities

Purpose: Prior research demonstrates that younger students who are low- or non-verbal often have difficulty independently practicing skills that provide a foundation for early literacy. The proposed product will provide support to students who are low- or non-verbal to independently practice phonics skills associated with early literacy success. Project Activities: The design team will create an instructional phonics curriculum starting with hard consonants and short vowels. To develop the technology, an application (app) will be prototyped. Following this development, a writer and graphic artist will author several short books as supplemental reading to complement the words being taught in the phonics curriculum. Finally, teacher professional development materials will be developed. To assess implementation feasibility, the usability of the technology, and the promise of the product to support student literacy, 10 special education teachers with five students per class will use the product to supplement normal instruction over a 12-week period. The study will measure students' word learning, comprehension, and the overall accessibility and integration within existing practices.