Using Adapted Books in Autism Units

I love adapted books. LOVE! They are one of my favorite tools in Autism classrooms. When it comes to working on basic skills, advanced concepts, content area ideas, or even personal information, adapted books are a great way to effectively target specific skills in a way that is engaging for students.

What is an Adapted Book?

Any book that has been modified to better fit the needs of your students is an adapted book. Most adapted books these days look a specific way and you can see an example below. They allow for teacher’s addiction to lamination and Velcro (me included) to live on… AND they allow students to have repeated exposure to curriculum along with a predictable format and way to respond that does not solely rely on oral language.

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Why You Need Adapted Books

Research tells us kids with severe and profound disabilities often get sub-par literacy instruction. Part of that is based on people’s assumptions about the abilities of students with complex disabilities, the idea that instructional materials should only focus on functional or sight word instruction, and fact that language skills are generally lacking for students in this population (Citeseerx, 2017). The other part of that is a feeling that instructional materials are just not made for these students in a way that is accessible .

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Why to Use Adapted Books

There are a couple of big targets you are trying to hit when you add adapted books or novels to your classroom and lessons. One of them is to increase a student’s access to literature. You would be amazed at how many classrooms have NO appropriate reading materials in their classrooms. Because our students take longer to learn new skills, available literature tends to be juvenile (like Barney and Bubble Guppies) or fully functional (like menus, recipes, and environmental signs).

It is imperative students with severe disabilities are exposed to developed ideas and advanced concepts as a means of improving overall literacy and adapted books are the perfect vehicle to do that.

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Categorizing MORE Words- An Adapted Book

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So What Should I Do?

The first thing you should do is get this FREE adapted book by clicking here! Yeah. I love my readers… a lot. This is a very simple book, but it is a great way to see and feel what a full book may be like and it’s perfect for back to school.

From there you can develop some on your own, find more in our store, or even explore Adapted Novels to take it the next level. The most important thing is to make sure your students have access to quality and meaningful literature as well as books that go beyond the functional or juvenile.

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