Practicing Keywords to Increase Reading Performance of Students With Intellectual Disability

The purpose of the current study was to determine the extent to which practicing keywords increased word recognition, reading fluency and comprehension for students with intellectual disability (ID). The dependent measures included word recognition (i.e., the percentage of previously unknown keywords read correctly in the given text), reading fluency (i.e., words read correctly in 1 minute), and reading comprehension (i.e., number of questions answered correctly out of five). The participants were three fourth-grade students who were identified as having ID in early childhood with IQ scores of 45, 62, and 78. Words from reading passages were practiced with Incremental Rehearsal (IR) using a multielement, single-case design. Practicing keywords led to higher subsequent in-text recognition and generalization for a high percentage of the taught words. Additionally, there was clear experimental control for increases in reading fluency. There was not a strong effect on reading comprehension. Implications for research and practice are discussed.