Adapted Books and Texts

Sometimes I adapt books or other texts so that students with complex needs can access age appropriate content in ways that match their strengths and abilities. Adapting text can increase student interest and engagement, support vocabulary, develop and strengthen understanding of concepts and experiences. To give my students access to the same texts their peers are reading, I may need to make a few adjustments. The type of adaptations needed to a text depends on each student's unique strengths and needs. Some students require simplified vocabulary or reduced text that maintains the key ideas. Others need visual supports, such as images or objects, added alongside the text to help connect the text to concrete ideas. Other students may need auditory, tactile, or even media elements, such as this QR code to assign language video to make connections to the content. Some students need adaptations like thicker pages, page turners, fluffers, or access to related sensory materials, which I keep in a book bucket. I adapt text for some of my students by using electronic slide decks where I can embed video clips, sounds, and animation to bring the text to life. Using a switch and a switch interface, I can make these stories switch accessible for students who require access to text in that way. No matter the format, when I create adapted books for my students, I maintain alignment to key concepts and vocabulary. Adapted books and texts are a creative way to integrate age appropriate literature into classroom lessons and activities while meeting the individual needs of my students. I encourage you to look at the texts in your own classroom and consider how simple adaptations might help more students participate and succeed.