Many people discount the validity of teaching persons with developmental disabilities to read. However, a growing body of research indicates that literacy instruction has numerous benefits for general well-being, in addition to accessing print materials. For example, Richard Lockert, of the Saskatchewan Association of Rehabilitation Centres and Jeanette Coombe of the Vocational and Rehabilitation Research Institute describe literacy for developmentally disabled persons as key for increasing expectations, improving self-esteem, increasing employment opportunities and simplifying community living (Lockert and Coombe, 2000). Karen B. Moni and Anne Jobling stated in "LATCH-ON: A Program to Develop Literacy in Young Adults with Down Syndrome" that "In Australia, literacy learning for individuals with an intellectual disability has been viewed as a human rights and equity issue for many years" (Moni and Jobling, 2000).
Instructions
Design the Program
1. Evaluate the learners' present knowledge and skill set. Consider readiness skills, phonemic awareness, sight word knowledge, reading and aural comprehension, phonics, and word analysis skills. Informal evaluation tools are appropriate, including skills surveys and informal reading inventories.
2. Set goals with learners. Effective literacy instruction must begin with the end goals in mind, and these need to be articulated by students and teachers alike. Analyze the goals and create a step-by-step plan for achievement, or objectives. Be sure the objectives are observable and progress is measureable.
3. Locate or design materials that will provide practice on each objective. As far as possible, these should be age appropriate. Consider adult remedial reading materials for older students, for example. Remedia Publications and New Readers' Press are two organizations that offer high-interest, low-vocabulary materials suitable for older learners with special needs. Nonfiction early reading books, such as those produced by the Dorling Kindersley Publishing Company, are a good source of age-appropriate beginning reading material.
4. Choose a format for reading lessons. Learners may benefit from individualized instruction, or expediency may dictate small group classes. The duration and frequency of lessons will impact the learners' rates of progress.
Implement the Program
5. Establish rapport and a pattern of success with students. Begin each lesson with activities that have a high probability of assured success. Students should be able to achieve at least an 80% success rate on most activities. End on positive notes, as well, even if you need to review mastered skills.
6. Monitor students' progress on mastery of objectives. Complete each activity, and give the guidance necessary for success, but record the first independent effort's accuracy. In this way, you will be able to separate unassisted mastery from artificial success, but students will still feel successful.
7. Use simple charts, graphs and other visual records to monitor student progress. As far as possible, allow the students to chart their own achievements. Use the graphics to point out progress to the students.
8. Teach to the level of automaticity. This means that each skill must not only be mastered well enough to be completed with acceptable accuracy, but that it must become automatic with little or no hesitation or stumbling. Build frequent review and maintenance activities into lessons to be sure that previously taught skills continue to be remembered.
Tags: literacy instruction
