Assessing the literacy skills of adolescents with intellectual disabilities

What is it about?

The gap between the literacy skills of children with intellectual disabilities (ID) and those without ID widens as they move into adolescence and not enough is known about meeting the instructional needs of these individuals. This tutorial describes the assessment of literacy skills using an individualized approach to reveal a profile of strengths and challenges so adolescents with ID can receive targeted instruction.

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Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Recent research supports the notion that all children can learn to read and write, including those with mild to moderate ID. However, in order to understand each individual's strengths and challenges and therefore identify intervention targets, comprehensive assessment of emergent and conventional literacy skills must be conducted. This tutorial reviews recent research and then utilizes a clinical case study to demonstrate the process.