Effects of Systematic Instruction and an Augmentative Communication Device on Phonics Skills Acquisition for Students with Moderate Intellectual Disability Who Are Nonverbal.

Percentages of correct responses to decoding probes (i.e., phoneme identification, blending phonemes to identify words, blending phonemes to identify pictures) were measured across three participants with moderate intellectual disability or autism in elementary school. Time delay and system of least prompts were used in conjunction with an AAC device, which enabled participants to produce phoneme blends and receive articulatory feedback. Participants were taught the initial levels of a phonics curriculum designed by the research team. Each level introduced a new set of three phonemes. During the five lessons within each level, participants were taught to identify letter sounds, segment and blend CVC words, identify sight words, read connected text, and answer comprehension questions related to the stories. Using a GoTalk 32 Express, participants produced target phonemes and words, as well as blended phonemes to form words. All participants improved across the three target skills, indicating a functional relationship between phonics skills and the systematic delivery of the phonics curriculum using an AAC device. If students are to become independent readers, they must develop foundational skills for decoding text. In the National Research Council’s consensus report Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, Snow, Burns, and Griffin (1998) described an urgent need for children to develop an understanding of the relationship between sounds and symbols in order to become successful readers. Additionally, the National Reading Panel (NRP, NICHHD, 2000) described phonics as one of the critical components necessary for the development of independent reading skills. In contrast, the research on teaching students with intellectual disability phonics skills is sparse (Conners, 1992; Joseph & Seery, 2004). This lack of research is especially apparent for students with moderate or severe intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder. Instead, there has been an abundance of studies on teaching students with moderate or severe disabilities to recognize functional sight words (Browder, Wakeman, Spooner, Ahlgrim-Delzell, & Algozzine, 2006). Out of 128 studies on teaching reading to students with moderate or severe disabilities, Browder et al. (2006) found only 10% of these studies targeted phonics or phonemic awareness. A few studies have illustrated how to adapt beginning reading programs for students with intellectual disability or autism. In an exploratory study, Al Otaiba and Hosp (2004) examined the effects of a reading tutoring program on the phonological awareness, phonics, sight-word fluency, and comprehension skills of students with mild and moderate intellectual disability. The authors developed their treatment package using recommendations from the NRP (NICHHD, 2000), individualCorrespondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr. Lynn Ahlgrim-Delzell, Department of Educational Leadership, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001. ; Support for this research was provided in part by Contract ED-IES11-C-0027 of the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, awarded to The Attainment Company. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Department of Education, and no official endorsement should be inferred. E-mail: laahlgri@uncc.edu Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 2014, 49(4), 517–532 © Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities Effects of Systematic Instruction / 517 rich3/z1f-etdd/z1f-etdd/z1f00414/z1f2840d14g guidts S 5 9/29/14 11:52 Art: z1f-2840