Teaching Reading to Students With Intellectual Disabilities: Proficiency and Perceptions of Teachers and Paraeducators

• In Event: Saturday Roundtable Session 3:05 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Positioning Teachers for Innovations in Literacy Learning (Table 34)

Abstract

This proposal presents findings from a study examining the knowledge and perceptions of special education teachers (n = 13) and paraeducators (n = 15) regarding reading instruction for students with intellectual disabilities (IDD). We adapted tools previously used to examine these characteristics among teachers of students with high-incidence disabilities (e.g., Bos et al., 2001). Educators responded to questions regarding explicit and implicit code instruction, the appropriateness of academic goals for students with IDD, considerations when planning reading instruction, and their background and experience in reading instruction. We report descriptive findings from these measures and their relation to educators’ education and experience, demographics, and other relevant variables. We report the implications of our findings to future research and practice.

Authors

• Esther Lindström, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Kimberly McFadden, Lehigh University

• Temiloluwa Oni, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Mohammad Bahadori Fallah, Lehigh University