Strengths and weaknesses in reading skills of youth with intellectual disabilities

Abstract

Reading-related skills of youth with intellectual disability (ID) were compared with those of typically developing (TD) children of similar verbal ability level. The group with ID scored lower than the TD group on word recognition and phonological decoding, but similarly on orthographic processing and rapid automatized naming (RAN). Further, phonological decoding significantly mediated the relation between group membership and word recognition, whereas neither orthographic processing nor RAN did so. The group with ID also underperformed the TD group on phonological awareness and phonological memory, both of which significantly mediated the relation between group membership and phonological decoding. These data suggest that poor word recognition in youth with ID may be due largely to poor phonological decoding, which in turn may be due largely to poor phonological awareness and poor phonological memory. More focus on phonological skills in the classroom may help students with ID to develop better word recognition skills.

A review of cognitive impairments in children with intellectual disabilities: Implications for cognitive behaviour therapy

“…Reading difficulties are also often present, affecting up to 67% of children with ID (Koritsas & Iacono, 2011). Children with ID perform lower on word recognition, comprehension, phonological processing, non-word reading, and phonological decoding tasks (Bos & Tierney, 1984;Cawley & Parmar, 1995;Channell, Loveall, & Conners, 2013;Jenkinson, Copeland, Drivas, Scoon, & Yap, 1992;Verucci, Menghini, & Vicari, 2006), but similarly to typically developing children on orthographic processing (using the visual system to read and write), and rapid automatized naming (the speed at which individuals can name objects) (Channell et al, 2013). Thus overall, children and adolescents with ID present with significant deficits in language, communication, and reading.…”

Reading skills in children with mild to borderline intellectual disability: a cross‐sectional study on second to eighth graders

“…Knowing how students with ID learn to read and how the reading trajectories vary as a function of level of schooling (and consequently reading experience) are important steps for designing effective interventions in reading (Channell et al . ). However, there has been little research into the prevalence and variation of reading skills as a function of school level.…”

“…The power law indicates a rate of acquisition in which large initial improvements in performance (typically expressed in terms of time measures) are followed by progressively smaller increases; mathematically, the power function goes to zero at infinite (an extensive discussion of the use of the power law for learning and in particular for developing automated responses is provided by Logan 1992). Knowing how students with ID learn to read and how the reading trajectories vary as a function of level of schooling (and consequently reading experience) are important steps for designing effective interventions in reading (Channell et al 2013). However, there has been little research into the prevalence and variation of reading skills as a function of school level.…”

Reading Skills in Down Syndrome: An Examination of Orthographic Knowledge

“…Channell, Loveall, and Conners (2013) found that a group of participants with ID ranging from sixth to 12 th grade performed as well as TD, mental-age matched peers on two different orthographic knowledge tasks: orthographic awareness and homophone choice. In a separate study, Loveall and Conners (2013) found that a group of adolescent and adult participants with ID were able to learn orthographic structures of nonwords as well as TD participants of the same verbal mental age by sounding out each nonword.…”