A Land We Can Share: Teaching Literacy to Students with Autism

Kelly Chandler-Olcott, Ed.D., is an associate professor in Syracuse Universitya s Reading and Language Arts Center, where she directs the English Education program. Aformer secondary English and social studies teacher, she now teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in content literacy, English methods, literacy and technology, and writing for professional publication. She was awarded a Meredith Recognition Award for excellence in university teaching in 2000.Dr. Chandler-Olcotta s research interests include adolescentsa technologymediated literacy practices, classroom-based inquiry by teachers, content literacy, and inclusive approaches to literacy instruction. With funding from the National Science Foundation, she and several colleagues recently completed data collection for a multiyear study of the literacy demands that reform-based mathematics curricula present for students in urban secondary classrooms. Her newest research project is a literacy intervention situated in an inclusive humanities class in an urban middle school.Dr. Chandler-Olcotta s work has been published by such journals as English Education, Journal of Teacher Education, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, and Reading Research Quarterly. She has also co-authored four books, the most recent being Spelling Inquiry: How One Elementary School Caught the Mnenomic Plague (Stenhouse, 1999), with the Mapleton Teacher-Research Group; and Tutoring Adolescent Literacy Learners: A Guide for Volunteers (Guilford, 2005), with Kathleen Hinchman. Paula Kluth, Ph.D., is one of today's most popular and respected experts on autism and inclusive education. Through her work as an independent consultant and the high-energy presentations she gives to professionals across the country, Dr. Kluth helps educators and families create responsive, engaging schooling experiences for students with disabilities and their peers, too. An internationally respected scholar and author, Dr. Kluth has written or cowritten several books for Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., including You're Going to Love This Kid! Teaching Students with Autism in the Inclusive Classroom, Second Edition (2010); Pedro's Whale (2010); From Tutor Scripts to Talking Sticks: 100 Ways to Differentiate Instruction in K-12 Classrooms (2010); A Is for All Aboard! (2010); A Land We Can Share Teaching Literacy to Students with Autism (2008); and Just Give Him the Whale! 20 Ways to Use Fascinations, Areas of Expertise, and Strengths to Support Students with Autism (2008).