Early home literacy experiences, including parent-child book reading, account for a significant amount of childrens' later reading achievement. Yet, there is a very limited research base about the home literacy environments and experiences of children with cognitive disabilities. The purpose of this study is to describe findings from a web-based survey of home literacy environments of young children with Down syndrome. Respondents (n = 107) were mostly mothers; a majority were well-educated. Findings suggest that respondents gave literacy a higher priority than reported in prior research on children with disabilities. Over 70% of respondents had 50 or more childrens' books and also had literacy materials including flashcards, magnetic letters, and educational videos or computer games. Most parents read to their children and used these literacy materials 10–30 minutes per day. Respondents reported that their children had reached many important early literacy milestones and they also described having relatively ambitious life-long literacy goals for their children. Important implications for research and practice are discussed.

Despite the mixed results of this study, the internet has potential practical implications for increasing the independence and social connectedness in persons with visual impairments.

Seven classrooms of students with deaf-blindness or visual and multiple impairments were observed to document the emergent literacy supports that were present, including environmental characteristics, strategies, or activities. The findings revealed that the majority of classrooms used emergent literacy supports that were previously documented for students without disabilities. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.

This survey of teachers of students with visual impairments and paraprofessionals who work with students with visual impairments found that more than 35% of the paraprofessionals were providing direct instruction in skills in the expanded core curriculum. Thus, the roles of these two groups need to clarified.

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