{"id":2500,"date":"2008-01-31T15:20:09","date_gmt":"2008-01-31T20:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/healthsciences\/clds\/projects\/deaf-blind-model-classroom\/matthews-story\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T11:18:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T16:18:42","slug":"matthews-story","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/healthsciences\/clds\/projects\/deaf-blind-model-classroom\/matthews-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew&#8217;s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Matthew is 10-year old who has been participating in the model classroom project since 2004.\u00a0 When Matthew began the DB project, he had few methods for formal communication, which included 15-20 crudely approximated signs (recognizable to only familiar communication partners), a single message device and a frequently thrown 8-location augmentative communication device.\u00a0 During many activities, Matthew had difficulty attending and required a special chair and a seat belt to prevent him from bolting.\u00a0 Efforts to educate Matthew at his home school were challenging, resulting in difficult behaviors and limited literacy and communication learning.\u00a0 Due to medical issues and behavior challenges, the team decided to provide Matthew\u2019s education through a homebound school program. Our efforts began with identifying a means for writing.<\/p>\n<h2>June 2004<\/h2>\n<p>Due to fine motor difficulties, writing activities consisted of hand over hand support from an adult to make marks, trace words and to write words.\u00a0 Given the critical role of writing in typical emergent literacy development, our first efforts focused on identifying ways for Matthew to independently explore and generate print. In this video, Matthew used an enlarged keyboard (IntelliKeys, IntelliTools) with software that provides auditory and visual feedback (IntelliTalk II, IntelliTools).\u00a0 For the very first time, using this \u201calternative pencil,\u201d Matthew was able to freely experiment and \u201cscribble\u201d with ease and most importantly, interest.<\/p>\n\n<!-- iframe plugin v.5.2 wordpress.org\/plugins\/iframe\/ -->\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"matthew-story\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/itHJUCDhIag\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" 0=\"allowfullscreen\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n<p>As with most students with significant disabilities and deaf-blindness, formal and accurate assessment is challenging.\u00a0 However, during this activity, a number of observations can be made about Matthew\u2019s interests, understandings, and sensory abilities.\u00a0 Given a mode of easy, independent writing his level of cognitive engagement is visible; he does need any prompts to attend or to remain in front of the computer.\u00a0 He appeared to follow the visual highlighting as it moved through the letters.\u00a0 He also noticed the auditory feedback of the letters being spoken and was aware of it when it stopped.\u00a0 As Matthew put the paper to his face to \u201cread\u201d it, he showed us that he knows that print is to be read.\u00a0 Mom\u2019s expectations were high and she celebrated his writing\u2026 communicating to him that writing is valuable and that he is a writer.\u00a0 After this activity, Mom immediately started a journal for Matthew and made sure he had daily opportunities to write.\u00a0 From that point on, Matthew was a writer.<\/p>\n<h2>July 2004<\/h2>\n<p>Early writers often begin writing by drawing pictures.\u00a0\u00a0 However, due to his fine motor difficulties, Matthew was unable to draw pictures. As a result, pictures were offered for him to write about.\u00a0 Matthew has chosen a picture about a favorite activity, swinging.\u00a0 Using the IntelliKeys, he writes a random string of letters.<\/p>\n<h3>Matthew\u2019s Home Journal<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" title=\"MatthewSwing\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/healthsciences\/clds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/859\/2018\/09\/MatthewSwing_000-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"MatthewSwing\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p>rrojjxwp ilkjthbn hlkj,,kwmkkd<br \/>\nWhile the above sample does not spell anything yet, (and should not spell anything- given his inexperience with writing), Matthew is learning about the alphabet by writing with the entire alphabet.\u00a0\u00a0 Similar to typically developing early writers, regular opportunities to continue this will lead to changes over time. Additionally, through this emergent writing, Matthew\u00a0 learns what writers do and that writing has a purpose.<\/p>\n<h2>September 2004<\/h2>\n<p>Matthew was not feeling well on this particular day.\u00a0 Mom talked about making an appointment to see the doctor.\u00a0 She brought out the contact information and phone number for the doctor\u2026Dr. Wells.\u00a0 As with most children with significant disabilities, vision testing is not always possible, however, here we can see that at this moment Matthew was able to use his vision to take in the information.<\/p>\n<h3>Matthew\u2019s Home Journal<\/h3>\n<p>9KJ<br \/>\nQJGTTGF;;.<br \/>\nSWEL12SQ1<br \/>\n,<\/p>\n<h2>February 2005<\/h2>\n<p>Matthew had visited a firehouse and got to sit up in the fire truck.\u00a0 After almost a year of daily emergent writing opportunities, we can see that his writings are changing and becoming more deliberate.\u00a0 Through his beginning use of spaces, he showed us that he is aware of words.<\/p>\n<h3>Matthew\u2019s Home Journal<\/h3>\n<p>Wee kkkrid md gfiejouxv kwrd vxx<\/p>\n<p>Writing has been a way to assess the impact of the emergent literacy activities that he and his mother have engaged in on a daily basis.\u00a0 Activities have included shared reading to build background knowledge, vocabulary, and concepts about print, while learning how to use an AAC device.\u00a0 Other opportunities have included writing books, working with different genres of text, alphabet activities, and sound awareness activities.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" title=\"Matthew5\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/healthsciences\/clds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/859\/2018\/09\/MWSharedRdg-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Matthew5\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><br \/>\nLearning to use a communication device during shared reading<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Matthew6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/healthsciences\/clds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/859\/2018\/09\/MWMyTown-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Matthew6\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><br \/>\nReading a variety of genres in print:\u00a0 storybooks, informational books, poetry, alphabet books, number books, recipes, maps<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Matthew7\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/healthsciences\/clds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/859\/2018\/09\/MWExpBooks-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Matthew7\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><br \/>\nWriting experience books<\/p>\n<h2>Spring 2005<\/h2>\n<p>Introduction of a High-Tech Dedicated AAC System<br \/>\nUntil this point, Matthew had used a single message device and an 8-location device for communication.\u00a0 Very quickly, it became apparent that his current AAC devices would not offer him the breadth of vocabulary.\u00a0 Matthew was evaluated for a formal AAC system.\u00a0 The team recommended a dedicated dynamic screen display device that had high visual and auditory feedback to meet his sensory needs.\u00a0 The device also had an ample amount of vocabulary that would support his growth as a reader and a writer.<\/p>\n<p>Using a Dynamic Screen Display AAC Device as a \u201d Pencil\u201d<br \/>\nTo support his literacy development, the suggested AAC device could act as a keyboard when interfaced with the computer.\u00a0 On the AAC device, Matthew had access to a full keyboard, high frequency word banks and pre-programmed phrases.\u00a0 Whatever Matthew selected would go directly into an open program on the computer, i.e. IntelliTalk, Write Outloud, Microsoft Word etc.\u00a0 This allowed him to write with the contents of his device\u2013an ideal way for him to learn about the device.\u00a0 Matthew used this \u201cpencil\u201d for his daily self-selected writing.<\/p>\n<p>Self-Selected Writing<br \/>\nAllowing children to choose what they want to write about is an easy way to motivate children to write and to write alot.\u00a0 With Matthew, self-selection was done by offering choices of things he cared about.\u00a0\u00a0 Mom frequently used pictures, memory books and verbal choices.\u00a0 She was always careful to include a message that would let her know he wasn\u2019t interested in the current choices, such as \u201cmore ideas\u201d or \u201cnone of these.\u201d\u00a0 The topic that Matthew selected provided a context for the adults to interpret the writing. Knowing the context was a way for adults to encourage and interact with Matthew about his writing.<\/p>\n<h2>March 2005<\/h2>\n<p>Matthew enjoys going to the library.\u00a0 Mom provided additional context: eating is a highly stressful activity.\u00a0 On this particular day, he could not go to the library until he finished his fruit.\u00a0 Based on the order of entries, he began with words, then went to the keyboard, and then returned to the word banks.\u00a0 Matthew is exploring and learning to go back and forth between the two separate areas on his AAC system.<\/p>\n<h3>Matthew\u2019s Home Journal<\/h3>\n<p>Self-Selected Topic:\u00a0 Going to the Library<\/p>\n<p>thank you vbbcvvvvvvvbnnn<br \/>\nqffruit fruit happy finished<\/p>\n<p>Given this information, we can see the beginning of Matthew writing words relevant to a topic that he has chosen-a very exciting development.\u00a0 Whether or not this was what he had intended, his mother took this writing, celebrated it and used it as a teaching opportunity.\u00a0 Similar to what mothers\u2019 of typically developing children do, together they showed everyone his writing, they talked about his writing and mom attributed meaning to his every attempt.\u00a0 Matthew is beginning to learn that writing can be used to express his ideas.<\/p>\n<h2>May 2005<\/h2>\n<h3>Matthew\u2019s Home Journal<\/h3>\n<p>Self-Selected Topic:\u00a0 Going Outside<\/p>\n<p>Write doesn\u2019t it want hello The<br \/>\nweather is sunny like oldggp nnn<\/p>\n<p>One of Matthew\u2019s favorite activities is to go outside.\u00a0 Writing with his AAC system, he has included single words, letters and a pre-programmed phrase.\u00a0 The phrase, \u201cThe weather is sunny,\u201d has some relevance to his topic.\u00a0 His attempt demonstrates a common response that AAC users often make.\u00a0 When they don\u2019t know where the vocabulary is, or if it not available, they tend to use the next closest vocabulary.\u00a0 In Matthew\u2019s case, he chosen a pre-programmed phrase.<\/p>\n<h2>October 2005<\/h2>\n<h3>Matthew\u2019s Home Journal<\/h3>\n<p>Self-Selected Topic:\u00a0 Going on Vacation<\/p>\n<p>p-o-o-l-ppp<br \/>\nbody music good brown pink much<br \/>\nlike to how old<\/p>\n<p>On a recent vacation, Matthew and his family stayed in a hotel.\u00a0 Matthew loves swimming and frequently followed the hotel signs to the pool.\u00a0 Similar to the Dr. Wells writing sample, Matthew spells something that he has seen at the hotel, demonstrating his awareness and knowledge of environmental print.\u00a0 He also chose words that are related to hanging out at the pool.\u00a0 Matthew\u2019s writing continues to serve as window through which we can look at understandings not only about writing but, about the world.<\/p>\n<h2>July 2006<\/h2>\n<h3>Matthew\u2019s Home Journal<\/h3>\n<p>Self-Selected Topic:\u00a0 Charlotte Philharmonic Orchestra<\/p>\n<p>How many good music awesome<br \/>\nvery good<br \/>\nlet\u2019s you\u2019re welcome I love how many sit<br \/>\nsunny teacher\u2026.what good good how<br \/>\nmuch were a very good a cracker sunny lie<br \/>\ndown people<\/p>\n<p>In comparison to July 2004, it is clear that Matthew\u2019s writing has reached a new level of sophistication.\u00a0\u00a0 Continuous opportunities for independent experimentation with the whole alphabet, words and phrases have paid off.\u00a0 Previous writings have required explanation of the context to make sense.\u00a0 For this writing sample, very little explanation is required\u2026On a sunny day, they went to a music concert, sat on a blanket and enjoyed it.\u00a0 His teacher came along.\u00a0 And, Matthew ate Chex Mix for the first time and liked it!<\/p>\n<h2>Fall 2006-Spring 2007<\/h2>\n<p>While recognizable words are still not present, Matthew\u2019s writing continues to change.<br \/>\nIn the fall, he is beginning to show us that he has emerging knowledge that letters are related to specific sounds.<br \/>\nIn his spring samples, his word approximations continued to become more sophisticated as he represents words with their initial consonant.<br \/>\nGiven the fact that Matthew is unable to make letters sounds or sound out words, emergent writing has been one way to assess his growing letter knowledge.<\/p>\n\n<table id=\"tablepress-3\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-3 tablepress-responsive\">\n<tbody class=\"row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-1 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Date<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Writing<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Self-Selected Writing Topic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-2 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">9\/06<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">cupqke<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Horseback riding on his favorite horse: Chuck.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">11\/06<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">foojpikiq<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">The current school unit: the human body.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">1\/07<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">printer internet<br \/>\nemail friend<br \/>\nnewspaper name<br \/>\np<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">An email to a favorite friend, Pete.\u00a0 Pete is a reporter at a newspaper!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-5 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">3\/07<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">let\u2019s not not fight<br \/>\nmom beautiful<br \/>\nbeautiful m<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">No explanation needed!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<h2>May 2007, Making Words<\/h2>\n<p>Given the fact that Matthew demonstrated an early understanding of specific letter-sound relationships, phonics instruction was started.\u00a0 Making Words (Cunningham &amp; Hall, 1994, 1997; Cunningham, 2000), a spelling based phonics program, was used.\u00a0 During these lessons, students use 5-7 letters to make many different words.\u00a0 Students learn to hear individual letters sounds in words and learn to represent them in spelling.\u00a0 The lessons also teaches students about common spelling patterns in words.\u00a0 Additionally, Making Words does not require any speech\u2014an essential feature for students who are unable to speak.<br \/>\nDuring this lesson, Matthew used o, n, s, t, w.\u00a0 He has already made the words: on, no, so, son.\u00a0 Here, Matthew was asked to make the word \u201cwon.\u201d\u00a0 He does this and is then asked to turn \u201cwon\u201d into \u201cton.\u201d\u00a0 After moments of intense, quiet studying\u2026success!<\/p>\n\n<!-- iframe plugin v.5.2 wordpress.org\/plugins\/iframe\/ -->\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"matthew-story-two\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xNJ8M8avGfw\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" 0=\"allowfullscreen\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n<p>In reviewing Matthew\u2019s dramatic changes over the past 3 years, we can see similarities to the early writing development of typically developing children.\u00a0 Matthew\u2019s beginning writing is random and inconsistent but, gradually change to writing that is more deliberate.\u00a0 It is critical to know that for the days when his writing showed this change, there were just as many days where his writing returned to a less sophisticated, random state.\u00a0 Because of this inconsistent performance, specific day-to-day progress has been difficult to document.\u00a0 However, assessment over time has offered a more accurate understanding of the growth Matthew has made.\u00a0 With instruction and continued daily opportunities to freely write, Matthew\u2019s days of random, exploratory writing will continue to decrease, and his days of more recognizable writing will continue to increase as he works hard to acquire and eventually solidify these important concepts.<\/p>\n<p>Stay tuned for Matthew\u2019s continued progress over time!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Matthew is 10-year old who has been participating in the model classroom project since 2004.\u00a0 When Matthew began the DB project, he had few methods for formal communication, which included 15-20 crudely approximated signs (recognizable to only familiar communication partners), a single message device and a frequently thrown 8-location augmentative communication device.\u00a0 During many activities, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/healthsciences\/clds\/projects\/deaf-blind-model-classroom\/matthews-story\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Matthew&#8217;s Story\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1981,"featured_media":0,"parent":2443,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-2500","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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