Abstract

A series of single-subject experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of presentational, translational, illustrative, instructional, and summarizing supports on the reading and listening comprehension of students with moderate intellectual disabilities. The specific eText supports under investigation included digitized voice and text-to-speech, text highlighting, video summaries, text-linked photographs, and graphic organizers. Two eText supports were found to be effective in supporting text comprehension for this population: reading the text out loud (using either recorded voice or text-to-speech), and graphic organizers. The findings also revealed the importance of providing explicit instruction in how to use eText supports. The article summarizes six studies and discusses the implications of the results for students with moderate intellectual disabilities, their teachers, and their parents.

Citation

Douglas, K.H., Ayres, K.M., Langone, J., Bell, V. & Meade, C. (2009). Expanding Literacy for Learners with Intellectual Disabilities: The Role of Supported eText. Journal of Special Education Technology, 24(3), 35-44. Retrieved December 10, 2023 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/108063/.

Keywords

• Academic Accommodations (Disabilities)
• assistive technology
• Computer Assisted Instruction
• educational technology
• electronic learning
• Instructional Effectiveness
• instructional materials
• Listening Comprehension
• literacy
• Moderate Mental Retardation
• photography
• Program Descriptions
• reading comprehension
• Reading Instruction
• Reading Materials
• Research Reports
• Scaffolding (Teaching Technique)
• special education
• Special Needs Students
• Video Technology
• Visual Aids