This literacy portfolio documents a six-session intervention with Douglas, a 15-year-old student with severe stutter, ADHD, and ADD, using safety signs as a vehicle for reading and writing instruction. The paper outlines initial assessment of print concepts and color recognition, details six contact session plans progressing from school safety signs to street signs and matching activities, and analyzes four key instructional modifications made to sustain engagement. Pre- and post-intervention artifacts demonstrate significant improvements in Douglas's ability to focus, retain information about sign meanings and locations, and explain the functional purposes of safety signage. The intervention underscores the effectiveness of visual learning strategies for students with attention difficulties.
Douglas Turner is a fifteen-year-old boy with a severe stutter who suffers from ADHD and ADD. He is currently placed in special education. His family consists of a mother, aged 42, and a father, aged 47. They are African American. Douglas and his family live in a two-bedroom apartment. Douglas's father works as a sales associate for a jewelry company, and the mother is a homemaker. Douglas lives in a supportive home environment where his mother demonstrates active engagement in his educational planning and progress.
Douglas's current interests include anime, particularly "Attack on Titan," music spanning pop and hip-hop artists, and baseball. He mentioned that he enjoys being active and that many of his interests revolve around focusing on many different things at once, which helps him avoid becoming bored. Douglas also enjoys making hand signals when he plays baseball in the outfield. He refrains from repetitive activities, as he quickly loses interest in them. This profile suggests that Douglas is a kinesthetic and visual learner who benefits from varied, fast-paced instruction.
When first talking to Douglas and his mother, I found that Douglas had a hard time concentrating on one thing. His focus was best with things that were quick to absorb and easy to identify. He appeared friendly and outgoing, not shy or resistant, even with his severe stutter. His willingness to communicate, as well as the support of his mother, made it possible for me to understand where his problems and weaknesses lay. Although he has some learning impairments, his willingness to cooperate is a strength I wanted to address in future conversations.
Douglas did not have issues with communication itself. The reason he is placed in special education is his inability to focus and concentrate long enough to absorb material properly. This difficulty stems from his ADHD and ADD. Although he is on medication, I hypothesized that adapting a visual aspect of learning would aid in improving his concentration abilities. I chose to focus on understanding safety signs since he enjoys baseball and uses hand signals while playing the sport. Signs are an effective way to teach children with ADHD and ADD, as they allow children to quickly view and absorb knowledge without requiring sustained reading or listening.
To assess Douglas's baseline literacy skills, I conducted informal assessments in a quiet space. First, I evaluated his concepts of print by asking yes-or-no questions about a storybook: Can you recognize the front of the book? Can you identify the back of the book? Are you able to recognize the title? Can you recognize a word, a letter, and a space? Can you recognize where and when you should begin reading? Can you recognize the end of a sentence? Douglas answered yes to all questions, demonstrating that he understands concepts of print, an important foundation for safety sign recognition.
Next, I assessed whether he could identify and name colors, since safety signs often feature various colors. I found that Douglas was able to name basic colors and even remembered uncommon colors like magenta and robin's egg blue. He showed genuine interest in naming and identifying colors, which suggested he could be a visual learner. Understanding colors and the proper names for them allows for faster learning of signs, as these colors and associated words will be better retained when Douglas can remember the words and colors attached to them.
The instructional intervention consisted of six carefully sequenced contact sessions, each building on previous learning and progressively increasing in complexity.
The first contact session focused on school safety signs. I began with a discussion with Douglas about school rules and safety. I then took him on a tour of his school and showed him where safety signs are located throughout the building. Following the tour, I asked Douglas to design his own symbols that resemble the safety signs he saw. We reviewed the special shapes and colors to ensure he retained the information.
The second contact session involved sorting signs in the community. I took Douglas, with his mother present, to the surrounding neighborhood of the school. I brought a clipboard, a digital camera, and a small drawing notebook. I asked Douglas to spot signs, draw them, and sort them into three categories: warning signs, direction signs, and stop signs. This activity moved learning from the school environment into real-world contexts.
The third contact session explored street signs from various countries. I explained to Douglas that different countries have different stop signs and asked him to remember the colors and meanings attached to these signs. The review consisted of a brief quiz, allowing me to assess retention of this cross-cultural content.
The fourth contact session used index cards as a tool for drawing and writing. I gave Douglas index cards with written safety sign terms and asked him to draw what was written on each card on the back of the card. He chose the colors he wanted to use with markers. He was graded based on accuracy and scored well, demonstrating both comprehension and fine motor skill development.
The fifth contact session focused on symbols that mean stop or go. I explained that numerous symbols convey the same message: red blinking lights, traffic symbols, and the yield sign all communicate "stop." I asked Douglas what they had in common, and he correctly identified the color red. The same analysis applied to green and go signals, reinforcing his understanding of color-coding in safety signage.
The sixth contact session was a final assessment where Douglas was given a list of safety sign words and a list of pictures. He had to match them accordingly and then provide possible locations for each sign and symbol. This capstone activity synthesized all prior learning into a functional, transferable skill.
During implementation, I made four key modifications based on Douglas's responses and engagement patterns. First, when instances of loss of interest occurred, I switched to bigger pictures to maintain his attention. Second, I modified the setting by taking him outside, as the outdoor environment helped prevent boredom. Third, I introduced index cards with markers, allowing him to choose which cards to study and giving him autonomy in the learning process. Fourth, during the symbols session, when he expressed interest in seeing more symbols, I used a computer to go online and provided him with additional material. Each modification was responsive to his immediate needs and preferences, demonstrating the flexibility required in working with students who have attention difficulties.
Two key artifacts documented Douglas's reading and writing development. The first was a short review I asked him to write, which included naming the signs and the locations where he saw them. This artifact provided evidence of both his comprehension and his ability to express learning in written form. The second artifact consisted of the index cards he created, on which he drew and wrote safety signs and symbols. He also used colors strategically to identify things and read them aloud, demonstrating multimodal literacy.
After the initial assessment, I identified areas where Douglas was weak. Through the various sessions, the final evaluation demonstrated vast improvements in his ability to focus and retain information. Thanks to the initial recognition of colors and print concepts, Douglas learned to recognize important signs including women's bathroom, men's bathroom, exit, enter, wheelchair accessible, and hazard signs. Although these seem like basic concepts, for Douglas, he often ignored looking at signs because he was busy paying attention to something else.
In the final evaluation, I asked Douglas where the signs are located and why people put them there. He was able to not only describe the locations of these signs but also explain clearly why they exist and why people place them in specific locations. He remembered the colors and shapes attached to these signs and discussed potential future uses for sign recognition, noting that he wanted to learn to drive like he does in video games. Overall, Douglas demonstrated an eagerness to learn and increased cognitive ability across all assessed domains.
"Educator insights and implications for future practice"
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