Citizenship in the Literate Community: An Ethnography of Children with down Syndrome and the Written Word

Teaching phonics to groups of middle school students with autism, intellectual disabilities and complex communication needs

“…Examples of barriers are (a) an institutional belief that students with severe disabilities cannot learn literacy in general and phonics in particular (Finnegan, 2012), (b) the reliance on traditional means of teaching and assessing acquisition of phonics is through oral rehearsal and imitation of sounds (Browder et al, 2006), and (c) segregation of students with severe disabilities into separate classrooms where comprehensive literacy education is eschewed for functional activities (Kliewer, 1998;Zascavage & Keefe, 2004). Other challenges are based on an entrenched belief in a skill sequence in which for example students should be able to write their name and the letters of the alphabet, name the letters of the alphabet and retell a familiar story before being introduced to phonics instruction (Browder, Spooner, & Ahlgrim-Delzell, 2011).…”

Home and community literacy experiences of individuals with Down syndrome

“…They found a positive relationship between literacy development and age for participants born after 1970, and between literacy development and school placement for participants who spent all or most of their school careers in general education or partially integrated classrooms located in regular schools. In a related ethnographic study, Kliewer (1998) observed the school literacy experiences of 10 children with Down syndrome who were included in regular preschool and elementary classrooms over a 2-year period. Six of the students were either completely separated from the literacy community of the regular classroom or limited to participating in "remedial practices that focused on low-level concepts or diminished subskills" (p. 173).…”

A measure of emergent literacy for students with severe developmental disabilities

“…It should be noted that past literacy research has generally focused on students with milder disabilities (Ehri et al, 2001), and rarely have students with more severe disabilities been included in reading activities (Katims, 2000;Kliewer, 1998). A conceptual framework for reading for students with severe developmental disabilities should include the NRP components as well as suggestions from Browder, Gibbs, and colleagues (2009)-that students with severe developmental disabilities should be given the opportunities to increase access to literature and increase independence as readers.…”