Date
23 March 2024

Present information in different ways to support access and understanding

Suggestion for implementing the strategy ‘Helpful classroom strategies years 9-13’

Support understanding with visuals

Support understanding with visuals

Offer information in more than one way.

Use symbols and graphics to illustrate key concepts.

Keep the layout clean and uncluttered.

Support access using technologies

Support access using technologies

Technologies offer multiple benefits for students.

They enable teachers to offer flexible options and supports to everyone.

  • Students can personalise information to suit accessibility needs and preferences.
  • Enables multi-sensory approach to sharing information.
  • Enables visual and written information to be easily presented together.
  • Allows students to rewind and revisit information and content as needed.
  • Enables students to view videos supported by captions and transcripts.
  • Increases student's confidence that they will be able to access information in ways that work for them.

Take a multi-sensory approach

Take a multi-sensory approach

Offer students multiple opportunities to build understanding using all their senses.
  • Offer real experiences, physical activities and manipulables to support understanding.
  • Support text and spoken information with photos, graphics, audio, and video.
  • Present digital text rather than printed text so that students can personalise it by changing the font size and design or by listening to it.
  • Use blogs, wikis, and online tools such as Moodle to bring together different versions of content in one place (for example, by using a YouTube video, a graphic, and some text).

Offer text-to-speech tools

Offer text-to-speech tools

Offer text-to-speech tools to read text aloud and support comprehension. Free text-to-speech tools are available across all computer operating systems.

Use closed captions

Use closed captions

Look for closed captions when viewing video and TV to increase access to audio content.

On YouTube

  • Search for videos with closed captions using the Subtitles/CC filter. The filter menu box appears on the left of the YouTube search results page – that is, once you have searched on a subject, for example “frogs”, and have a list of results.
  • Look for the CC symbol. It may be under the settings cog.

On TV and streaming services 

  • Look for TV settings or settings on each streaming service.
  • The subtitles or closed caption option may be listed under Audio and subtitles, or Accessibility options.

Useful resources

Useful resources

Website

Secondary education support pack

Twelve units focusing on different curriculum areas, learning skills, and social skills.

Publisher: Down's Syndrome Association

Visit website

Next steps

More suggestions for implementing the strategy “Helpful classroom strategies years 9-13”:

Return to the guide “Down syndrome and learning”

Top