Teaching adults with intellectual disability to combine symbols in a reading context

Abstract

The aim of this study is teaching adults con intellectual disability to combine symbols to convey semantic relations during shared reading. A single subject, multiple probe design across three different types of semantic relations generated from a matrix and replicated across three adults with moderate to severe intellectual disability was carried out. A prompts hierarchy in order to produce symbol combinations on an augmentative and alternative device was applied. Clear changes in trend and level were observed in the percentage of trained correct graphic-symbol combinations and the generalization of semantic relations to untrained combinations, and post-intervention maintenance of skills.

Keywords

• intellectual disability
• graphic symbol combinations
• semantic relations
• matrix strategy
• digitized voice output.