The Effects of a Text-Centered Literacy Curriculum for Students With Intellectual Disability.

Area of Science:

• Education
• Special Education
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Students with intellectual disability (ID) often face challenges in acquiring early literacy skills.
• Existing literacy curricula may not adequately address the specific needs of learners with intellectual disability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of a novel curriculum designed for teaching early literacy to students with intellectual disability (ID) and low IQs.
• To assess the impact of a curriculum featuring familiar settings, high-frequency words, natural syntax, and cumulative practice.

Main Methods:

• A single-case design with multiple baselines across instructional levels was employed.
• Eight participants with IQs ranging from 40 to 63 were included in the study.
• The intervention was implemented over one academic year in two private special education schools.

Main Results:

• All eight students demonstrated significant improvements in proximal measures of taught words.
• Students also showed growth on at least some curriculum-based distal measures.
• Teachers reported high fidelity in implementing the intervention and expressed satisfaction with its practicality and effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• The newly developed curriculum shows promise for enhancing early literacy skills in students with intellectual disability (ID).
• The program is feasible for classroom implementation by special education teachers.
• The curriculum's design elements contribute to its effectiveness and practicality for this student population.