Enable students with complex communication needs to respond nonverbally by pointing to multiple-choice answer options during shared text reading¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 quant-synthesis), q3 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

In all studies conducted with students who were AAC users or minimally verbal, materials allowed them to answer questions by pointing to or selecting the right answer among multiple choices, presented on printed cards, communication boards, or an iPad or laptop screen. Some students with severe motor or vision impairments indicated answers by gaze or by selecting objects. Researchers also offered this nonverbal response mode to verbal students, and some studies prompted physical interaction with objects, pictures, or printed words in the text.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Multiple-choice answer options must be provided in a modality the student can access (cards, communication boards, screens, objects, or gaze).

Constraints¶

• One study (Cheek et al., 2019) instead asked the AAC user to point to answers in the original book's illustrations rather than a multiple-choice format.

Target Learners¶

• Students with intellectual disability who are minimally verbal or use augmentative and alternative communication systems

Target Learning Goals¶

• Participating in shared text reading and demonstrating listening comprehension

Claims¶

• Shared text reading benefits students with intellectual disability whether or not they need augmentative and alternative communication systems [+W]
• Technology use (read-aloud, response mode, or interactive instruction) does not significantly moderate shared text reading effects [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Adapt age-appropriate texts by shortening and simplifying them, and enrich them with pictures, objects, and vocabulary definitions during shared reading
• Communication Boards

Examples¶

-

Key Sources¶

• Rachel Sermier Dessemontet, Megan Geyer, Anne-Laure Linder, Myrto Atzemian, Catherine Martinet, Natalina Meuli, Catherine Audrin, Anne-Françoise de Chambrier. (2024). Effects of shared text reading for students with intellectual disability: A meta-analytical review of instructional strategies. Educational Research Review, 44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2024.100615