Ashley's project Story Boxes to Support Early Literacy addresses the lack of literacy materials for students who are blind/visually impaired or experience multiple disabilities in the Anchorage School District and throughout Alaska.
In her words “Children with visual impairments require more than just pictures and text to engage in a book. For instance, Children with visual impairments who may hear a story about a caterpillar but are not able to see the illustrations will have a much harder time making the connection between the book and a real life caterpillar. If a student with a visual impairment never has the opportunity to be able to touch a caterpillar, they may never really develop the understanding of what a caterpillar is.”
Story boxes help students make these connections. Ashely's story boxes are available in the Anchorage School District and the Special Education Service Agency.