Perspectives of children with Down syndrome and their mothers on reading experiences at home
- Katie Cebula (Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom)
- Sarah McGeown (Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom)
Correspondence: katie.cebula@ed.ac.uk
Background: Home literacy environments play an important role in shaping children’s reading enjoyment, engagement and skill development. Previous Down syndrome research in this area has included a number of parent surveys, providing a picture of the reading resources, activities, and strategies used to support children’s reading development. Our aim was to complement those findings with a qualitative study which included children and adolescents’ own perspectives and which sought to develop a holistic understanding of children and parents’ lived experiences of their home literacy environments.
Research question(s): What are the home-based reading experiences of children with Down syndrome and their parents?
Method: Ten mothers of children with Down syndrome were interviewed about their views on their child’s reading at home including experiences of supporting reading; use of technology-based reading support; and aspirations for their child’s reading. Nine of the children (5-13 years) participated in a ‘book bag chat’ about a selection of researcher-provided books, a ‘book tour’ of their own favourite books, and an interview. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to develop themes from the mothers’ data, and children’s data were developed into categories.
Results: Findings highlighted a diversity of reading experiences within the home. From the mothers’ perspectives it was clear that: their child’s engagement with books was often a source of comfort and connection; they responded to their individual child with flexible, child-led reading routines and strategies; navigating digital devices in relation to reading was often challenging; there is a need for greater and more nuanced representation of Down syndrome across a range of book genres/formats; adolescence was sometimes found to be a particularly challenging period in relation to accessing engaging books and reading opportunities. Children shared clear views about particular books and authors, and about their experiences of being read to by family members.
Conclusions and implications: The findings particularly emphasise the importance of including the views and experiences of children with Down syndrome in reading research and the need for greater support for reading development in adolescence.
