Two years ago, my twin son’s preschool teacher gave them an assessment to identify common consumer products or stores like: Kroger, McDonald’s, and Walt Disney.

They both failed miserably. We were new to town and were used to shopping at the Commissary at our previous duty station. My kids, at barely 3-years-old, had not yet experience the magic of the golden arches or Mickey Mouse on repeat. I was offended by the vulgar consumerism in this assessment; not to mention the fact that my son with Down syndrome couldn’t yet verbalize his own name…how was he going to say “Kroger.”

Read Related Post Here: Promoting Inclusion Through Universal Design for Learning

So much about this assessment was wrong, but the essential idea behind it is important to understand. “Cultural Literacy,” coined by educator E.D. Hirsch, means having a familiarity with information that is common knowledge. His ideas became the basis of the common core standards. The problem is too many students with Down syndrome are not accessing the general education curriculum, and are therefore missing huge chunks of information that most Americans know and understand without explanation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joNh7p1HI3k

Special Educator, Janet Romo, says students with Down syndrome’s lack of cultural literacy only leads to unemployment, exclusion, and isolation. “My Master’s in Special Education really didn’t prepare me to teach students with intellectual disabilities. The textbooks will tell you these students need a lot of repetition, but often schools are just teaching life skills on repeat. I searched for modified lesson plans aligned to the general education curriculum, but there was nothing available. When my own daughter with Down syndrome reached middle school I realized there was no way for her to access the curriculum in a general education Social Studies class,” Janet explains.

So, Janet began creating her own. She now has a business and private Facebook group called Austin & Lily: Intellectual Disabilities and Education, that features tips for teachers and entire units of study aligned to general education curriculum at various reading comprehension levels. “I went back for my doctorate and focused on inclusion of students with Down syndrome. I now teach at the university level, and realized there was a great need for lesson plans to specifically teach these students grade-level curriculum at their level,” Janet says.

Read Related Post Here: 5 Tips to Include Students with Down Syndrome in the General Education Classroom

“It takes me about 8 hours to develop one book as part of a unit of study. I’ve stayed away from the high order thinking. I lay it out on a more basic level. They need to have pictures representating what you’re teaching. The research shows the more realistic the image the better, because they’re looking at these images literally,” Janet explains. Austin & Lily now has units of study for Social Studies and Current Events at all grade levels. You can find them here.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the recent Endrew Supreme Court Case require school districts provide meaningful benefit to students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment and with the general curriculum. Janet says many students with Down syndrome are good readers, but often can’t comprehend what they’re reading. Offering a visualization of the content can help build cultural literacy.

“I’m an advocate of the more background knowledge a person has the less difficult it is to visualize. Students with intellectual disabilities need to be exposed to a lot of vocabulary, people, places, things. Background knowledge needs to be built up. If you’re going to read a book about the Arctic, a good teacher must build up background knowledge, like a powerpoint about what happens in the Arctic, images, and words used there. All this prepares the student for the book. We’re preparing them for life by building up these schemas to help them understand,” Janet describes.

Janet says she plans to move on to creating units for other subjects, and says it will be a never-ending venture. Her goal is to sell licenses of her material to school districts. She wants all students with Down syndrome to have a basic understanding of common topics like Shakespeare, American Government, Biology and Current Events.

As for my twin boys, after living in Ohio for three years, both give a shout out to Kroger when we drive by now. They’ve only been to McDonald’s once, but my son with Down syndrome has an affinity for Mickey Mouse. Although I disagree with the way their preschool assessment was done, I do agree with Janet. Cultural literacy is one way to better inclusion in society.

Check out Austin & Lily’s products here, and join Janet’s private Facebook group here.

What successes and barriers to learning Cultural Literacy has your student with Down syndrome faced?

So, you have 35 years of evidence-based research and federal law behind you. Your child with Down syndrome has a teacher with an open heart and willingness to include him or her. But it’s the actual act of inclusion day in and day out that’s stumped teacher. It’s the “HOW” and “WHAT” to teach students with Down syndrome in the general education classroom that can often be difficult.

Let’s be honest, most general education teachers do not receive the proper training or support to include a child with an intellectual disability in their classroom. I have a Master’s in Education and only took two graduate level classes on special education. I received no hands-on training. So, I can empathize with teacher’s who are at a lost as to what and how to teach our children.

Related: 5 Tips for Including Students with Down Syndrome in the General Education Classroom  

The link above walks parents through 5 tips to help their child with Down syndrome be included. We know parents are the expert of their child, but it’s the teachers that need support. It’s a fact, that including a student with an intellectual disability takes some preparing and a village of support. Although following the law and having an open-heart is half the battle, teachers also need evidence-based resources that they can use tomorrow in class.

Here are 4 resources to help teachers include students with Down syndrome in their class:

1. The National Professional Resources, Inc.

• I took a fabulous inclusion workshop by Richard Villa this past summer at the National Down Syndrome Congress Convention in Sacramento. He helped me find NPRinc, which is a treasure trove of professional development products for teachers. This is a the “HOW” of teaching students with Down syndrome.
• Villa just published a quick-reference laminated guide to “Differentiated Instruction in the Inclusive Classroom.” You can find it here. NPRinc. also has hundreds of other books and quick reference guides to include students with disabilities. Look at the “Products by Topic” on the left, or enter “Down syndrome” in the search engine. You’ll find books on teaching students with Down syndrome to read and do math, as well as dozens of other topics.

Related: Federal Appeals Court to Decide if Student with Down Syndrome Can Stay In General Education Classroom

2. National Center on Universal Design for Learning

• Universal Design for Learning is the wave of the future. This approach takes into account the fact that all students learn in their own unique way. It’s another “HOW” in teaching students with Down syndrome. The National Center on UDL has teacher toolkits and great examples and resources that teachers can implement right away. There’s 3 basic ways to reach all learners according to UDL:
• Multiple means of representation to give learners various ways of acquiring information and knowledge,
• Multiple means of expression to provide learners alternatives for demonstrating what they know, and
• Multiple means of engagement to tap into learners’ interests, challenge them appropriately, and motivate them to learn.

Related: Promoting Inclusion through Universal Design for Learning

3. Common Core Essential Standards

• In answering the “WHAT” of teaching students with Down syndrome, this is a great place to start. Common Core is a controversial topic, but some amazing educators took the standards grade-level content and broke it down for students with disabilities. “The purpose of the Essential Elements is to build a bridge from the content in the Common Core State Standards to academic expectations for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.”
• You can check out essential standards for grades kindergarten through high school right here.

4. Down Syndrome Education International:

• I usually don’t like Down syndrome-specific learning techniques, because I think students with Down syndrome can learn like other students if the appropriate accommodations and modifications are used. But I do love Sue Buckley’s literacy and math techniques.
• Buckley is the creator of Down Syndrome Education International, and she has educator online training. These one to two hour webinars offer research-based techniques, practical advice, and work examples. I’ve seen Sue Buckley in action at several conventions, and she’s amazing! Click here to register.

If you’re an educator, share your biggest challenge in teaching a student with an intellectual disability below. If you’re a parent, what do you wish your child’s teacher knew more about? Share your journey with me below or send me a private email!