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Many children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) have considerable difficulty learning basic reading skills. Increasing evidence suggests individuals with IDD may benefit from instruction incorporating components of reading found to be effective for typically developing children. However, little research into reading instruction for children with IDD has incorporated these components. There is evidence for the efficacy of Headsprout® Early Reading program for typically developing children, and emerging evidence suggesting that children with autism can benefit from the program. The current study investigated the accessibility of Headsprout® Early Reading for children with IDD, and whether there were any measurable effects of the program on important early reading and language skills. Six children aged between 7 and 14 years with mild to moderate IDD completed the program, and all made measurable improvements across reading measures, demonstrating children with mild to moderate IDD can access (i.e., progress through and benefit from) the program.

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The use of SAFMEDS cards, which stands for 'Say All Fast Minute Every Day Shuffled' has been widely reported in the literature as an effective fluency-building tool. Most studies have focused on students with a learning disability or those classed as at risk of failing academically. In addition, most of the research has implemented SAFMEDS one-to-one or in small groups. We investigated the use of SAFMEDS in a high school setting, targeting basic maths skills across the whole class. Forty-eight students aged 11-12 years participated in the study over a 4-week period. Our results showed that using SAFMEDS to compliment students' maths lessons can further increase basic maths skills when compared to standard maths classes alone. We also found that the gains were maintained at a 1 month follow-up. An application quiz showed that students could also transfer the information they had learned to real-world maths problems.