Adult Literacy Centre
To be literate is to have status, respect and accommodation from others; to have skills in communication (verbal, written, sign, gestural or other language); and to have access to the information and technologies that make possible self-determined participation in the communication processes of one communities and broader society.
(The Roeher Institute, Literacy, Disability and Communication: Making the Connection 1999)
Literacy Approach
The KACL Adult Literacy Centre provides educational opportunities for adults with intellectual disabilities. We are a program that expands the traditional view of literacy beyond acquiring numeracy and reading skills.
Program development continues to evolve based on an action research model of reflective practice. Teaching strategies are evaluated and improved through research and collaborative reflection.
Literacy Consultants work with each learner individually in a variety of community settings. Learning is self-directed and reflects each learner’s chosen goals. The Adult Literacy Centre provides access to the latest Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
Guiding Principles for the
Adult Literacy Centre:
Everyone has opinions, desires and wishes that need to be expressed and respected.
Everyone is respected as an individual with unique skills and abilities that are recognized and valued.
Everyone deserves highly competent and creative educators with high expectations for their learner.
Everyone learns through life’s experiences while communicating with others.
Goals for the
Adult Literacy Centre:
Learners will have the choice and the means to communicate for themselves.
Through a practice of continuous research and reflection, literacy consultants will strengthen their potential to support learners and their community along a continuum of expanding communication strategies.
The entire community will have opportunity, knowledge and the means to communicate diversely among its citizens, with or without spoken language.
