Closing the Gap Solutions Newsletter, Feb/March 2013

The February/March, 2013 edition of Closing The Gap is now available online! In addition to the helpful articles and newly updated 2013 Resource Directory listings, four archived webinars have recently been added! LOG IN NOW TO SOLUTIONS! Have you lost or forgotten your password? Click here. Not an online subscriber? A one-year online subscription is only $110! No limits, just learning! Try a free 2-day trial. Learn more.   NEW! Closing The Gap recently joined Twitter! For additional news, updates and special promotions, we encourage you to follow us on Facebook and Twitter!     FEATURE ARTICLE  Getting Writing with the Alphabet on the  Radar for Students with Significant Physical and Intellectual Disabilities  (Download highlighted article PDF) By Gretchen Hanser, PhD   For children without disabilities, writing is an essential, unquestioned component of literacy development - from the very start. The active construction of print, through writing, plays a central role in nurturing children's understandings of print (Sulzby, 1990). In the early years of life, young children have hundreds of opportunities to draw, scribble and make pseudo letters - all of which can be characterized as "emergent writing." As students develop more knowledge about writing, their writing becomes readable and is "conventional" in nature. Central to this discussion is the principle that emergent writing opportunities play a necessary role in preparing children to write conventional, readable text (Teale & Sulzby, 1986).  It is no surprise that students with significant disabilities have radically different experiences with writing. Given their significant disabilities, they have dramatically fewer and qualitatively different early literacy experiences than children without disabilities peers (Koppenhaver, Coleman, Kalman, & Yoder, 1991; Light & McNaughton, 1993; Light & Smith, 1993; Pierce & McWilliam, 1993). For students with significant physical and intellectual disabilities who are unable to hold a pencil, writing may be laborious and frustrating and may not even be on the radar (Hanser, 2006).  In the recent decade, the importance of writing for this population has been recognized, however, the majority of attention has been focused on writing with words and/or phrases and less on using the alphabet (Musselwhite & Hanser, 2011). Given the importance of writing using the alphabet, this article will offer concepts, activities and strategies for getting emergent writing and early conventional writing on the radar for this population of students using the full alphabet.   Login to read entire article now! 31st ANNUAL CLOSING THE GAP CONFERENCE    Conference Dates Wednesday-Friday, October 9-11, 2013  Preconference Workshops   Monday and Tuesday, October 7-8, 2013  Minneapolis, Minnesota Registration available  April 1, 2013 Learn more about presenting Learn more about exhibiting

ARCHIVED WEBINARS   Included with any online subscription  NEW! Creating ePub Documents on the iPad NEW! Is Your Head in the Clouds?? This can be a Good Thing By Mo Buti   NEW! Switch Access on the iPad - Updated! By Dan Herlihy NEW! Student Response Apps for iPads, iPods and the Web By Dan Herlihy  Beyond Angry Birds - Fun Educational Apps By Mark Coppin Creating Your Own eBooks for the iPad, iPod or Nook Color  By Dan Herlihy Creative Teaching Ideas + Free and Low-Cost POWER Tools = Efficient Structured Teaching By Phyl Macomber iDevices - The Next Level  By Mark Coppin   Jumpstart Your iPad Experience with Free Apps! By Dan Herlihy The iPod and iPad as Assistive Technology By Mark Coppin   Using iPad Apps in Special Education By Mark Coppin Video Modeling and Visual Stories on the iPad By Mark Coppin ALSO IN THIS ISSUE OT + AT = Success Teaching Dressing Skills to Student in Schools By Kathy Foster TOP TEN Technology Tools to Support Students in Reading By Kindy Segovia The Writing Process - Apps for Writing By Donna Wakefield   Bring the Joy of Reading to Your Struggling Readers with Start-to-Finish Books By Mary Ann McGinn, Pam Guio and Joan Obial Log in to gain access to ALL articles, PDFs and archived webinars!