Kathryn - By the date on this post, I realize I'm very late in posting this reply, but if you're still interested, I listed some curricula, resources and research papers that may be of help to you in your search. I have used, or am using all of these things in my classroom (I live in Chicago and teach non-vocal students with complex communication needs and severe/profound cognitive delays). If you have any questions, please let me know! My heart breaks for your daughter, ALL students have the right to appropriate learning materials, ESPECIALLY when it comes to literacy and communication.

Good Luck!

-Becca

http://aacliteracy.psu.edu/index.php/page/show/id/1/index.html

http://www.mayer-johnson.com/all-reading-curriculu...

https://www.ablenetinc.com/meville-to-weville-comp...

http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1002118.pdf

https://www.med.unc.edu/ahs/clds/products/availabl...

The National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness has great resources for literacy that may be helpful even if your daughter is not Deaf-blind. http://literacy.nationaldb.org/

Their tagline is even "ALL children CAN read…let us show you how!"

Hi Kathryn!

I am intrigued by your situation and wondering if you could tell us a little more about why your district does not feel your child needs literacy instruction. I assume that this means that she does not have any reading/literacy goals on her IEP. Is that correct?

One thing I often suggest to parents who feel like they are struggling to create a joint vision of their children's performance with the district is that they complete a Communication Matrix profile of the child with the school staff. It not only helps give a full picture of how people are thinking about the child's communication, but it also creates a wonderful opportunity for people to discuss the specifics of how they see the child.

Since your daughter is already using an AAC device, it may be that it would also be helpful to take a look at the CSI-CY (Communication Supports Inventory for Children and Youth) at http://icfcy.org/aac. It is a rating and goal setting tool that is aimed at helping set goals for people who use AAC and applies to students of all ages and developmental levels. It, too, can be done jointly by team members or each team member can do it independently and share their results and thoughts later.

If the disagreements among the members of your child's IEP team persist after you've had a chance to work through some assessment tools together, it may be that you would find it helpful to talk with your local parent support network folks. They may be able to make suggestions or even attend IEP meetings with you. One thing I am sure that they would tell you is that it is valuable to put your requests for IEP modifications in writing in letters that are dated. Schools have requirements to address requests for IEP meetings or assessment "in a timely manner" so those written communications have a lot of influence.