Because of great advances in literacy and brain research there are many new wonderful ways to teach literacy skills to children. While these ways are affective for many children, a literacy program for children with disabilities is much harder to find.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments of 1997 are leading to higher expectations and greater accountability for schools and students with disabilities.  Literacy skills are imperative to achieve total access to the general curriculum for special education students and therefor must be given to all students.  There are many efforts to increase literacy but there is still a great need for enhanced and intensive literacy efforts on behalf of students with disabilities.

Computer-based and web-based instruction is becoming more commonplace today and it is making good curriculum and learning tools more accessible. Assistive technology has increased the accessibility to these new curriculums and learning tools for everyone.  By using these tools to gain literacy skills, individuals with disabilities can have a greater quality of life.

In response to the need for literacy instruction for children with disabilities, the Helen A. Kellar Institute for Human disAbilities at George Mason University and the Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC) were awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education programs "Stepping Stones of Technology Innovation for Students with Disabilities Program" CFDA 84.327A.

Literacy Access Online will develop a universally accessible, web-based literacy learning tool for students in 9 through 14 with disabilities.

Literacy Access Online features will:

1. Utilize best practices in basic literacy instruction.
2. Incorporate existing and emerging assistive, web-based, and instructional technologies.
3. Include direct instruction to enhance learner/facilitator interactions.
4. Integrate current, age appropriate, real life literacy experiences into student centered learning activities.
5. Apply the principles of universal design to provide access to all students with disabilities.

Literacy Access Online is available at no charge to anyone with an Internet connection.

To follow the progress of Literacy Access Online visit the project website at
http://chd.gse.gmu.edu/LiteracyAccess/home.html
or contact
the George Mason University Kellar Institute for Human disAbilities
(703) 993-3670
or
PEATC (the Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center)
(703) 923-0010.

You can see and try out the LAO tool at www.literacyaccessonline.com.