RESPONSIVE ENCODING AND DECODING INFORMATION TRANSLATOR FOR STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

WE PROPOSE TO RESEARCH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SOFTWARE INTERFACE FOR LD STUDENTS TO PROVIDE INDIVIDUALIZED ENHANCEDVIDEO AND AUDITORY CUES FOR READING AND MATHEMATICS. THE GOALS ARE TO: (1) PILOT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SOFTWARE INTERFACE FOR CREATING MULTI-ACCESS TEXT ENVIRONMENTS (MATE'S) TO ENABLE LD STUDENTS TO ACCOMMODATE FOR INDIVIDUALPERCEPTUAL DEFICITS BY CREATING SPECIFIC ENCODING AND DECODING CUES FOR READING AND MATHEMATICS; (2) CREATE A COMPUTERIZED DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT TEST TO IDENTIFY VISUAL PERCEPTUAL AND AUDITORY STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES; AND, (3) DESIGN INDIVIDUAL PRESCRIPTIVE MATE'S FOR LD STUDENTS. THE MAJOR OBJECTIVES ARE TO. (1) IDENTIFY AND CATEGORIZE THE VISUAL AND AUDITORY PERCEPTUAL AND INTEGRATION PROBLEMS OF LD STUDENTS AS WELL AS, VISUAL MEMORY AND ATTENTION ABILITIES WHICH MAY BE AMENABLE TO COMPUTER REPRESENTATION AND INSTRUCTION; (2) CREATE INDIVIDUAL PRESCRIPTIVE PROTOCOLS FOR ASSESSING VISUAL AND AUDITORY PERCEPTUAL ABILITIES; AND, (3) PROVIDE AN ENHANCED COMPUTER LEARNING ENVIRONMENT WHICH ENCOURAGES, MOTIVATES, REINFORCES, AND SUPPORTS LD STUDENTS TO ACHIEVE THEIR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL. THE PROJECT DESIGN IS BASED UPON THREE ESSENTIAL CONCEPTS: (1) COST EFFECTIVENESS TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS; (2) UTILIZATION AND ADAPTATION OF EXISTING COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY; AND, (3) NEED TO DECREASE THE AMOUNT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION SUPPORT SERVICES REQUIRED BY LD STUDENTS AND INCREASE THEIR ABILITY TO FUNCTION INDEPENDENTLY.