The Dignity of Age-Respectful Materials

Have you ever walked into an upper elementary or secondary special education classroom, and seen teenagers being read baby books because of their perceived “cognitive level?” Do you ever wonder if this is a book they would pick out on their own or if they are just reading it because that’s all that’s available to them?

If these baby books are all that is available to them as readers, we need to reflect on why. If we think that they “can’t” read books or engage with concepts that match their chronological age, are we truly presuming potential and using “the least dangerous assumption?”. It doesn’t seem like it.

Here’s the good news, you do not have to sacrifice rich, age-respectful topics to keep text accessible. Today, we are breaking down how to select and navigate shared reading materials for older AAC users.

High-Interest, Low-Readability (Hi-Lo) Books

“Hi-Lo” books are a great way to introduce or share about more complex and age respectful themes (e.g., sports, mysteries, pop culture, peer relationships, etc) using simplified text that supports their current reading level, whatever that might be.

While there are some publishers out there that specialize in creating “hi-lo” books and text, you can also create them yourself through deconstructing books around preferred topics, repurposing the illustrations and simplifying the text, creating your own or have the reader share what they would like the text to say. These could be physical books or digital books created in Canva, Powerpoint, etc. 

Nonfiction, Magazines, and Digital Articles

Don’t forget about all the reading opportunities that are available in non fiction books, magazines and/or articles. These types of texts can also be full of high interest materials, making them not only age-respectful but very engaging. 

Some examples of nonfiction texts for older readers include statistics from a recent sports game, recipes (bonus that this includes some math concepts as well), articles about recent video game releases or cheat codes, and so much more! 

Modifying Age-Appropriate Texts 

Don’t forget, you can read a regular chapter book or grade-level novel to an older AAC user by changing how you interact with the text – no adaptations needed. You can read a paragraph, then summarize the main point using age-appropriate language and modeing on their AAC system, or listen to an audiobook and map out concepts, illustrations, etc on an anchor chart. Pulling in the visual and sensory supports through visual timelines, character maps, etc., can help anchor the learning and plot of the story. 

The Golden Rule: Ask the Expert (The Learner)

This is the most important strategy of them all! Providing learners with the autonomy to read what they want automatically increases their engagement and interest in reading, whatever the text might be. Learners need to know that the choice is ultimately theirs. They can choose what they do and don’t want to read. 

While we have been discussing ensuring that we are providing “age respectful” materials, we also need to provide “interest respectful” materials, and this can be a very delicate balance. Keep in mind that during independent reading, some learners may want to read a book that may not seem “age appropriate”; however, it features one of their specific interests, and therefore motivates them to read and engage with the text. This is a win! 

When engaging in independent reading, “age-appropriate” labels for text are merely a guide, not a hard and fast rule. Many adults still enjoy reading young adult books, even though they may not appear “age-appropriate” on the surface. Everyone is entitled to read whatever is of interest to them and gets them excited about reading. True autonomy in reading means having the right to choose what you love without judgment.