Supporting Communication and Participation in Shared Storybook Reading Using Visual Scene Displays

This paper describes the benefits of Visual Scene Display (VSD) technology during shared storybook reading activities to support the literacy instruction of children with a diverse range of disabilities, particularly students with complex communication needs. VSDs are a novel technology that allows practitioners to transform traditional books and photographs into interactive images that have been proven to increase communication and participation opportunities for students with speech impairments and support the vocabulary development and sight word learning of students with a variety of disabilities. Readers will learn about Billy, a young boy with down syndrome, and how his teachers, Ms. Allen and Ms. Jones, were able to incorporate VSD technology into their classroom to increase Billy’s engagement with books during shared storybook reading.