Literacy Concepts for Intellectually Disabled Students Christine Le Claire Julie Amoroso

Until Rosa’s Law was signed by President Obama in October 2010, IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) used the term “mental retardation” instead of “intellectual disability.”

Intellectual disability is defined as “significantly sub- average general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.” Intellectual disability is a disability characterized by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning (reasoning, learning, problem solving) and in adaptive behavior, which covers a range of everyday social and practical skills. This disability originates before the age of 18.

The IQ Test is a major tool in measuring intellectual functioning, which is the mental capacity for learning, reasoning, and problem solving. A test score of about 70- to a high of 75- indicates a limitation in intellectual functioning.

 Use simple, short, uncomplicated sentences to ensure maximum understanding  Repeat instructions and directions frequently  Keep distractions and transitions to a minimum  Reinforce positive behavior  Help the student to develop appropriate social skills to support friend and peer relationships  Provide encouraging, supportive learning environments that will capitalize on student success and self esteem  Use appropriate program interventions in all areas where necessary to maximize success  Use alternative instructional strategies and alternative assessment methods  Teach one concept or activity component at a time

 Assist with coping strategies  Ensure that your routines and rules are consistent. Keep conversations as normal as possible to maximize inclusion with peers  Teach one step at a time to help support memorization and sequencing  Teach students in small groups, or one-on-one if possible  Always provide multiple opportunities to practice skills in a number of different settings  Use physical and verbal prompting to guide correct responses, and provide specific verbal praise to reinforce these responses

Teaching students with intellectual disabilities to read is extremely challenging. These students face severe deficits in memory and language that make it very difficult for them to learn to read. Most students with an intellectual disability learn very few, if any, basic reading skills. However, the outlook is improving because we now know much more about teaching reading to students with an intellectual disability.

Time delay is a method of systematic instruction used for discrete skills such as learning sight words, stamping a name, pointing to a picture to answer a comprehension question or number recognition.

Functional Sight Words

Comprehension

Fluency

BIBLIOGRAPHY  Alhor, Jill. "Research-Based Techniques for Teaching Early Reading Skills to Students with Intellectual Disabilities." Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities 44.3 (2009): WilsonWeb. Web. 21 Nov sults_common.jhtml.35>.  Alhor, Dr. Jill. "Maximizing Literacy Outcomes for." Institute for Evidence Based Education. Department of Teaching and Learning, 07/12/2010. Web. 21 Nov  Cooper-Duffy, Karena. "Teaching Literacy to Students With Significant Cognitive Disabilities." Teaching Exceptional Children (2010): Web. 21 Nov  Schreiner, Erin. "Intervention Strategies for Mentally Handicapped Students." EHow Family. EHow Family, n.d. Web. 21 Nov < students.html  Scruggs, April. "Effective Reading Strategies for Students with Significant Cog_scruggs.htmnitive Disabilities."2008. Web. 21 Nov  "FAQ on Intellectual Disability." American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Web. 21 Nov  "Intellectual Disability." NICHCY. National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, n.d. Web. 23 Nov < "Intervention Strategies for Mentally Handicapped Students." eHow Family. eHow, n.d. Web. 23 Nov < strategies-mentally-handicapped-students.html

 “Mild Intellectual Disability.” About.com.". New York Times Company, Web. 21 Nov  "Mental Retardation." Project IDEAL Informing & Designing Education For All Learners. Project Ideal, n.d. Web. 21 Nov  "Mental Retardation." Project IDEAL - Informing and Designing Education For All Learners. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov  "Mild Intellectual Disability, MID/ Mild Mental Retardation." About.Com/Special Education. About.Com, n.d. Web. 23 Nov  "NICHCY Disability Fact Sheet 8." National Dissmenation Center for Children with Disabilities,. Intellectual Disability. N.p., Web. 21 Nov <  "Reading and Students with Mental Retardation." PARA. Partnership for Accesible Reading Assessments, n.d. Web. 23 Nov  “The Arc”. The Arc - For People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, n.d. Web. 23 Nov