DESIGNING, PRODUCING AND EVALUATING AN INTERACTIVE MICROWORLD FOR PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED PRESCHOOLERS WITH LANGUAGE DISABILITIES

CONCRETE EXPERIENCE AND INTERACTION WITH ONE'S ENVIRONMENT PROVIDE THE FOUNDATION FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT. PRESCHOOLERS WHO ARE PHYSICALLY DISABLED ARE OFTEN LIMITED IN THE KINDS OF INTERACTIONS THEY CAN INITIATE. THESE LIMITATIONS CAN AFFECT THEIR ABILITY TO DEVELOP LANGUAGE SKILLS WHICH IN TURN MAY CONTRIBUTE TO LONG TERM DIFFICULTIES IN ALL AREAS OF FUNCTIONING. TOUCHSTONE COMPUTER LEARNING CENTER INTENDS TO DESIGN, EVALUATE, PRODUCE, TEST AND MARKET A LANGUAGE MICROWORLD, WHICH COMBINES GRAPHICS, SOUND, TEXT AND ANIMATION TO ENHANCE ACQUISITION OF LANGUAGE SKILLS FOR PHYSICALLY DISABLED PRESCHOOLERS. IN PHASE I TOUCHSTONE WILL (1) COLLECT AND ANALYZE DATA ON LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT, CURRENT COMPUTER AND NON-COMPUTER INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS, NEEDS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION STAFF (2) COMPLETE THE CONTENT STORYBOARDS AND DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE PRODUCTION (ART, SOUND PRODUCTION, PROGRAMMING) AND FIELD TESTING WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE IN PHASE II. THE COMPLETED PROJECT WILL RESULT IN A CAREFULLY DESIGNED, MULTISENSORY LANGUAGE PROGRAM ON DISK OR CD-ROM STORAGE WITHAPPLICATIONS FOR ALL YOUNG CHILDREN WITH LANGUAGE DELAYS.