Literacy instruction and students with intellectual disabilities in Connecticut

2006

Research shows that students who fail to read on grade level by the fourth grade have a greater likelihood of dropping out of school and face a lifetime of diminished success (Lyon, 2001). The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, signed into law by President Bush in 2002, sought to address this literacy crisis by requiring schools to use evidence-based practices to improve early literacy skills for students so that all children?with and without disabilities?learn to read well by the end of third grade. This article examines the reading problems of youngsters with intellectual disabilities within the broader context of a national effort to improve reading skills for children in kindergarten through third grade. We will discuss how research findings and the outcome of important litigation in our state converge on the need to address reading challenges for youngsters with intellectual disabilities (ID) in the context of regular, inclusive educational settings. Finally, we will provide a description of how reading techniques that are congruent both with legal obligations and state-of-the-art research findings have been utilized with one Connecticut student with ID.

Peer-reviewed publications in scholarly journals Published/In Press

Consumers/Families, Professionals

N/A