Digital books

One of the most challenging things for our students has been independently exploring books! Even if they managed to get their hands on a book physically, their impaired motor skills mean that they are not able to turn pages!
The next challenge they face is the reading itself! Many of our students are still reading at a preK or Kindergarten level even though chronologically they are at a much higher grade level. While it is still important for them to work on their actual reading level there is also a need for them to be able to access age appropriate materials.
There are more and more digital books available on line now and many free sites, just check out the books on these sites before you give your students access.
One of the things I most love about giving the students access to the books is the fact at they can explore at their own pace. They can look at a picture or page for as long as they want to.
Also having speech with the books means the students do not have to rely on anyone to read to them the book to them. More independent seems to mean more desire to interact with the books and this is definitely something we want to encourage!
Here are some examples of the sites we are currently using:
Free sites
Tarheelreader.org
Scribble press app
Paid sites
Onemorestory.com
Googling accessible books will provide you with many more sites.
Then with a switch box and jelly bean switch the students can have access to many books.




The Scribble Press App has also allowed us to create and publish our own books and this has led to an increasing library of books that the students connect to on a very personal level!
Below is a video of one of our students accessing a book via her laptop computer.

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