What do we know about the literacy achievements of teenagers
with Down syndrome?
There is very little published information available on
the literacy achievements of teenagers with Down syndrome. Most of what is available
is reviewed in the Reading and writing overview in this series.
The authors recently collected some fairly detailed new
information on the literacy progress of 46 teenagers with Down syndrome in Hampshire,
UK, and this information is included to provide a guide to the range of achievements
that might be achieved by teenagers.
The information in the study was collected using two questionnaires
which were completed by parents. The data in Table 1 and
Table 2 presents the data on reading and writing, combined
from both questionnaires, the Written Language Scale of the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour
Scale[16] and the reading section of the Sacks
and Buckley Questionnaire[3] - these measures are
explained in more detail in the Teenage overview
and in the full papers reporting the research.[10,11]
The researchers contacted all families in the county of
Hampshire, UK, with teenagers between 11 and 20 years, and 46 families agreed to
take part. Some of the teenagers (18) had been educated in mainstream, inclusive
schools from 5 years of age and the rest (28) had been educated in special schools
for children with learning difficulties. The placement of the children was based
on where they lived, not on ability, as inclusion began in one part of the county
much earlier than in the rest of the county.
Table 1. Reading achievements
by teenagers with Down syndrome, 1999
| Reading achievements - 1999 |
Mainstream (%) |
Special school (%) |
| Reading at all |
100 |
100 |
| Reads own name |
100 |
83 |
| Reads words - none |
- |
22 |
| Reads words - 6-10 |
- |
13 |
| Reads words - 11-20 |
6 |
26 |
| Reads words - 21- 50 |
- |
9 |
| Reads words - Over 50 |
94 |
30 |
| Reads at least 3 common signs |
94 |
68 |
| Reads some social sight words |
100 |
83 |
| Can read sentences |
100 |
57 |
| Can read simple stories aloud |
94 |
32 |
| Can read simple stories aloud with ease |
88 |
27 |
| Can read books |
100 |
39 |
| Can read books of at least Year 2 level (6/7
years) |
94 |
23 |
| Can read books of at least Year 4 level (8/9
years) |
65 |
9 |
| Reads on own initiative |
82 |
27 |
| Reads books of at least Year 4 level on own
initiative |
53 |
9 |
| Reads the newspaper |
83 |
22 |
| Can read adult newspaper stories |
18 |
5 |
| Reads adult newspaper stories each week |
18 |
5 |
| Can read instructions |
94 |
48 |
| Can read for pleasure |
78 |
35 |
| Identifies 2 letters found in own name |
94 |
82 |
| Recites all letters of the alphabet |
82 |
27 |
| Identifies 10 printed letters |
94 |
50 |
| Can name all the letters of alphabet |
94 |
36 |
| Knows sounds of all the letters of the alphabet |
89 |
39 |
| Can sound out new words when reading |
78 |
30 |
| Can sound out new words when spelling |
72 |
22 |
| Can arrange words alphabetically |
59 |
23 |
| Can use a dictionary |
29 |
5 |
| Can use a table of contents when reading |
35 |
9 |
| Can use an index when reading |
12 |
9 |
| (Sample of 23 special and 18 mainstream
pupils) |
In the tables, the information is based on 41 teenagers,
as the five 'least able' teenagers in the special schools have been excluded from
the comparison of mainstream and special school outcomes. These teenagers have significantly
greater developmental delay and different needs. (See the Teenage overview
for a more detailed discussion of this issue).
The information in these tables should not be interpreted
as indicating what levels of literacy can be achieved by teenagers with Down syndrome.
The authors do not have sufficient information about the teaching offered to these
pupils to be confident that they have progressed as far or as fast as they are able
to.
Until very recently, many teachers assumed that literacy
skills were beyond the cognitive capabilities of individuals with Down syndrome
and even now, there is not clear agreement among experts about how and at what age
to introduce reading.
Most teachers in special education classrooms will not
teach reading in the primary school years at the same pace or in the same way as
teachers in mainstream classrooms. The authors' experience would also suggest that
higher expectations and the models provided by typically developing peers contribute
to the higher literacy achievements of those teenagers educated in the mainstream
classrooms.
Teenagers in mainstream schools
The figures in Table 1 indicate
that some 90% of the teenagers educated in mainstream schools have achieved functional
(practically useful) reading skills or better, as some 94% can read at least a Year
2 (6-7 year level), read simple stories aloud and read instructions.
Some 83% can gain information from a newspaper, 89% know
the sounds of all the letters of the alphabet and 78% can 'sound out' new words
after reading. Some 65% can read at an 8/9 year level, according to their parents'
estimates, with 53% reading books at this level on their own initiative and some
30% are able to use a dictionary and table of contents.
Reading skills seem to be somewhat ahead of writing skills,
as the figures in Table 2 indicate that, while 94% can read
at a 6/7 year level, 71% can write a short note or message and 61% can write a short
story or short letter. Being able to read with comprehension is easier for most
teenagers with Down syndrome than being able to put their thoughts on to paper.
However, some 60% of these teenagers have achieved basic literacy skills which they
can use flexibly.
Table 2. Writing achievements
by teenagers with Down syndrome, 1999
| Writing achievements |
Mainstream (%) |
Special school (%) |
| Can trace letters/words |
94 |
91 |
| Copies at least 5 letters from a model |
88 |
64 |
| Writes in cursive some of the time
|
59 |
14 |
| Writes in cursive most of the time |
53 |
14 |
| Writes own first and last name |
88 |
50 |
| Can write own address |
61 |
30 |
| Can write family names |
94 |
48 |
| Prints or writes 10 words from memory |
83 |
30 |
| Prints or writes simple sentences of 3 to 4
words |
82 |
27 |
| Can write at least 20 words from memory |
71 |
18 |
| Can write more than 20 words from memory |
65 |
18 |
| Can write short notes or messages |
71 |
23 |
| Can write a simple story |
61 |
4 |
| Can write a short letter |
61 |
22 |
| Writes reports or compositions |
18 |
- |
| Addresses envelopes completely |
12 |
14 |
| Writes advanced letters |
6 |
- |
| Writes business letters |
6 |
- |
A further 20% have sufficient skills to write their name
and short sentences. The 20% of teenagers in this group are likely to be able to
read bus destinations, street signs, to read and write the names of important people
such as employers, carers and family members, to read and write greeting cards and
their own and others' addresses, to read menus, directions, weather reports and
TV schedules, and to sign their names for the bank. This is a list that Pat Oelwein
(a teacher with wide experience of teaching pupils with Down syndrome) indicates
as achievable with 6/7 year reading skills.[17]
This level of reading ability will definitely enhance their adult lives and ability
to function in the community and the work place.
Teenagers in special schools
The figures in Tables 1 and 2 indicate that the reading
and writing achievements of the teenagers in special schools are more limited, but
the authors believe that this reflects differences in learning opportunities and
expectations. The teenagers in the mainstream schools have been fully included in
age-appropriate classrooms with a high level of individual support from a Learning
Support Assistant. They have taken part in daily literacy lessons, with work planned
for them on an individual basis. They have also had support to read and to record
their work in all other curriculum lessons each day.
The teenagers in the special schools have been in classes
of about 6 to 8 pupils, all with significant levels of learning disabilities. They
will not have had the same level of individual support from a Learning Support Assistant.
In addition, the teacher will have planned literacy teaching with the needs of the
whole class in mind, and the goals and pace of instruction will have been very different
from those in the mainstream classroom. The special education teacher's class may
contain teenagers with severe autism, or with significantly limited language or
significant behaviour problems. Planning meaningful literacy experiences might include
reading a poem together or acting a play. The point being made is that it would
be extremely difficult to create the same opportunities for reading and writing
instruction in the typical special school class, however committed the teacher,
compared with the literacy teaching and learning opportunities in the mainstream
classroom.
The authors collected similar data with teenagers in special
schools in the same county in 1987.[18] Reading
achievements for those in special schools have not changed in that time, despite
an increased emphasis on literacy in the curriculum, suggesting that it is indeed
difficult to provide an optimum learning environment in special education classes.
Reading is a relative strength
Readers who have also read the number data from the Hampshire
study[10,11] will see that
the reading achievements for this group of teenagers tend to be well ahead of their
number achievements. For many, reading abilities are a significant strength, as
reported in other studies.
Table 3. Vineland
Written Language Age - Group means
| Age group in years |
Mainstream (17) |
Special school (22) |
| 1. 11y to 13y 11m |
7y 9m |
6y 7m |
| 2. 14y to 17y 11m |
8y 6m |
4y 8m |
| 3. 18 to 20y |
14y 3m |
6y 7m |
| Total group |
9y 1m |
5y 9m |
Progress with age in teenage years
The data in Tables 1 and 2 give percentage achievements
for the whole age group (11 to 20 years old). Table 3, presenting
the reading and writing data from the Vineland Written Language Scale for three
age groups, indicates that we should expect significant progress in literacy skills
during the teenage years for most pupils. There is no evidence that a learning 'plateau'
has been reached or that it is too late to begin reading instruction.