But, the reality is that modern education depends upon a student's access to both good teachers and good books. For students with disabilities, a major concern is the availability of truly accessible textbooks. This issue becomes even more important when we talk about accessible science and math texts for K-12 students. Over the years, we have witnessed the development a variety of methods that may be used to supply access to printed materials for students with disabilities. Certainly the earliest and most direct method is simply to have another person read the desired section from the book - after all, that's how all of us get introduced to books in the first years of life.
School is no different.
But after the first couple of years in school, students are expected to read independently. For students with various types of print disabilities, however, acquiring independence depends upon the utilization of additional accommodations. This usually works well for young students who cannot utilize printed materials due to their disability, but who have intact hearing. Since young students are using very basic materials, and have only a slight reading load, this strategy is usually sufficient. However, as the reading load and complexity increases with the student's progress through school, this approach begins to lose effectiveness.