Reading Lessons Planning With Students With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in Mind: Needs-Based...

Area of Science:

• * Education
• * Special Education
• * Psychology

Background:

• * Students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often require tailored reading support in inclusive classrooms.
• * Existing methods for assessing reading support needs may lack standardization, particularly from the teacher's perspective.
• * A validated instrument is needed to systematically identify reading challenges faced by students with IDD.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To develop and validate an instrument for assessing teachers' perspectives on reading support needs (SNr) for students with IDD.
• * To preliminarily evaluate the reading support requirements of students with IDD in general education settings.
• * To examine the psychometric properties (validity and reliability) of the newly developed SNr instrument.

Main Methods:

• * A quantitative, cross-sectional study involving 86 elementary school teachers in Chile.
• * Teachers completed the newly developed SNr instrument concerning their students with IDD.
• * The instrument was designed to assess three key dimensions: representation, engagement, and action and expression.

Main Results:

• * The SNr instrument demonstrated excellent preliminary evidence of validity and reliability.
• * Preliminary findings suggest that students with IDD, from teachers' viewpoints, need more support in the 'representation' dimension of reading.
• * The study provides initial data on the specific reading support needs of students with IDD.

Conclusions:

• * The developed SNr instrument is a promising tool for assessing reading support needs of students with IDD.
• * Teachers' perspectives are crucial for identifying specific areas where students with IDD require enhanced reading instruction.
• * Further research should explore the practical implementation and refine the SNr instrument for broader application.