Bochner 2001

This article was downloaded by: [Michigan State University]
On: 26 December 2014, At: 20:56

Publisher: Routledge
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954
Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH,
UK
International Journal of
Disability, Development and
Education
Publication details, including instructions for authors
and subscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cijd20
A Study of Functional Literacy

Skills in Young Adults with Down
Syndrome
a a a
Sandra Bochner , Lynne Outhred & Moira Pieterse
a
School of Education , Macquarie University , Sydney,
NSW, 2109, Australia
Published online: 21 Jul 2010.
To cite this article: Sandra Bochner , Lynne Outhred & Moira Pieterse (2001) A Study of
Functional Literacy Skills in Young Adults with Down Syndrome, International Journal of
Disability, Development and Education, 48:1, 67-90, DOI: 10.1080/10349120120036314
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10349120120036314
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE
Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the
information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform.
However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no
representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or
suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed
in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the
views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should
not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources
of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions,
claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities
whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection
with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content.
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes.
Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-
licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly
forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://
www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
Downloaded by [Michigan State University] at 20:56 26 December 2014
International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, Vol. 48, No. 1, 2001
A Study of Functional Literacy Skills in

Young Adults with Down Syndrome
SANDRA BOCHNER, LYNNE OUTHRED & MOIRA PIETERSE
School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney NSW 2109, Australia
ABSTRACT This paper presents data from a study of young adults with Down syndrome
who were born either just before, or during the period when radical changes to special
education services for people with intellectual disabilities were introduced. The speci c aim
of the study was to examine the development of language and literacy skills in a group of
young adults with Down syndrome, some of whom had been educated at a time when there
was an increase in expectations for achievement and opportunity to learn. Results showed
that all but one of the young adults had learned to read, though for some, these skills were
limited. In general, there was evidence of a positive relationship between age (for those born
after 1970), attendance at an integrated school situation, and the achievement of more
advanced reading and language skills. It was also evident that learning to read provides
both a functional daily living skill and a satisfying recreational activity for young adults
with Down syndrome.
Introduction
It is now over 20 years since the rst programs to teach academic skills such as
reading to children with Down syndrome were introduced. At that time, it was
generally assumed that children with moderate intellectual disabilities, including
those with Down syndrome, were trainable, not educable, and incapable of acquir-
ing such skills. Accounts of young people with Down syndrome who had learned to
read (e.g., Duffen, 1976; Hunt, 1967) were dismissed as atypical, a result of unusual
ability or exceptional circumstances. However, a program established by Hayden
and Dmitriev (1975) at the University of Washington in Seattle demonstrated that
children with Down syndrome could be taught to read if an appropriate educational
program was provided from birth or soon after. Reports of the success of the Seattle
program, particularly in relation to the teaching of reading (Hayden & Dmitriev,
1975; Oelwein, 1995) stimulated considerable interest in Australia. A program was
established in Sydney and other programs followed as parents became aware of the
impact of early intervention and other special education initiatives on the develop-
ment of children with disabilities. This paper is concerned with the long-term
outcomes of the range of specialised programs that were introduced in New South
Wales and the other Australian states from the mid-1970s for students with
ISSN 1034-912X (print)/ISSN 1465-346X (online)/01/010067-24 Ó 2001 Taylor & Francis Ltd
DOI: 10.1080/10349120120036314
68 S. Bochner et al.
disabilities, particularly students with intellectual disabilities. The speci c focus,

here, is on students with Down syndrome. The rst graduates of the new programs
are now in their early twenties. How effective were the educational programs that
they received, in terms of their level of achievement in the areas of language and
literacy?
A review of literature on the acquisition of literacy among young people with
Down syndrome (e.g., Buckley, Bird, & Byrne, 1996; Farrell, 1996; Oelwein, 1995)
suggests that there is no longer a debate as to whether such students have the
capacity to learn to read. The skills demonstrated by graduates of the rst early
intervention programs convinced educators that these children could be taught to
read. The problem now is to ensure that the reading program presented to a child
with Down syndrome is appropriate for that child’s needs (Center, Ward, Ferguson,
Conway, & Linfoot, 1989; Oelwein, 1995). Young people with Down syndrome also
encounter barriers to the acquisition of literacy when, particularly at the secondary
level, schools replace the teaching of reading with instruction in other “more
practical” skills considered necessary for survival in the community (Crombie,
Gunn, & Hayes, 1991; Farrell & Elkins, 1991; Hayes & Gunn, 1991). As a result
of community acceptance of the ideas inherent in terms such as normalisation,
integration, and mainstreaming, increasing numbers of young people with Down
syndrome are living, or preparing to live, more or less independently within their
local communities. To achieve this goal successfully, they need adequate language
and literacy skills to cope with many of the tasks associated with living in the
community. Rynders and Horrobin (1996) argue that, for these students in particu-
lar, reading instruction should continue during the adolescent years and beyond to
enable the students to extend their skills for vocational, daily living, and recreational
purposes.
Some of the learning dif culties experienced by young people with Down syn-
drome can be traced to genetic, constitutional, and neurological abnormalities which
lead to delayed, though highly variable, development (see e.g., Cicchetti & Beeghly,
1990; Florez, 1992). For example, language skills are often slow to develop, with
more rapid progress in comprehension and vocabulary acquisition than in formu-
lation of grammatical utterances and production of speech sounds; oral language
abilities are affected by dif culties in the actual production of speech sounds as a
result of low muscle tone coupled with abnormalities of the speech canal and
temporary or permanent hearing loss (Chapman, 1997). Other frequently-observed
learning and behavioural problems associated with de ciencies in the central ner-
vous system include dif culties with attention (increased distractibility), short- and
long-term memory (in processing, storing, and retrieving visual and, more particu-
larly, auditory information), and completion of more complex cognitive tasks (Flo-
rez, 1992; Hodapp & Zigler, 1990). However, these dif culties are not unique to
children with Down syndrome and there are now a variety of educational programs
and teaching procedures designed to assist the large numbers of students, including
those with Down syndrome, who experience problems in aspects of learning.
This paper presents an overview of information collected during a survey of young
adults with Down syndrome who were born either just before, or during the period
Literacy and Down Syndrome 69
when radical changes to special education services for people with intellectual
disabilities were introduced. The speci c aim is to examine the development of
functional language and literacy skills in a group of young adults with Down
syndrome, some of whom received their education in a social context of higher
expectations for achievement and increased opportunity to learn.
Background to the Study

The impact of the ideas enunciated by Nirje (1985) and Wolfensberger (1972) led
to signi cant changes in the lives of people with disabilities, both in Australia and in
other parts of the developed world. New services were established, particularly at the
early childhood and post-compulsory secondary school levels. Residential institu-
tions were closed, community housing became an option, open and supported
employment opportunities were explored, and expectations for a more integrated
lifestyle became the norm for people with intellectual disabilities. In New South
Wales an early intervention program for children with Down syndrome, using
methods derived in part from the University of Washington model referred to
earlier, provided direct support to a small number of infants with Down syndrome
and their parents (Pieterse, 1988). The aim of the program was to demonstrate that
these young children could acquire the social and academic skills needed to ensure
their successful integration into regular preschools and, subsequently, entry to the
regular school system at 5 years of age (Pieterse & Center, 1984). Reading instruc-
tion was based on instructional strategies that were considered to be developmen-
tally appropriate at the time. For example, following the procedures used in the
Seattle program (Hayden & Dimitriev, 1975), at the emergent literacy stage,
teaching began with a match-to-sample activity that was incorporated into the
language program. Children at the single-word stage were encouraged to recognise
the words they were learning to say on printed ash cards. Writing, number
recognition, and rote counting were also introduced at about the same time. This
and other similar Australian programs (e.g., Clunies-Ross, 1979) advocated the least
restrictive school environment for their graduates and encouraged participating
parents to work towards achieving a normalised future life for their children within
the community. The impact of these initiatives, coupled with parallel changes in
community attitudes to disability and in government policies and practices in the
areas of early intervention and special education (Andrews, 1985; Foreman, 1996;
Pieterse, Bochner, & Bettison, 1988), led to gradual abandonment of the assump-
tion that children with Down syndrome should be institutionalised from birth or, if
maintained at home, segregated into special schools and prepared for a dependent
lifestyle (Beange, 1976).
The school experience of students with Down syndrome who participated in one
of the many early intervention programs established in New South Wales was
markedly different from the experiences of children born in the years preceding the
introduction of such services. Traditionally, at the age of 6 years, those children who
had not been institutionalised at birth were enrolled in special schools for students
with moderate or severe intellectual disabilities (IQ approximately 30 to 55 or less
than 30 respectively) (Rynders & Horrobin, 1996). This practice was challenged
when a group of graduates from one of the rst early intervention programs were
successfully placed in regular schools with ongoing support from a consultant
(Pieterse & Center, 1984). Results reported by Clunies-Ross (1979) and Pieterse
and Center (1984) con rmed that, following early intervention and with specialist
support, children with Down syndrome could be successfully integrated into regular
classes, at least during the lower primary grades. However, many of the children
were unable to keep up with the achievement levels of their peers once they entered
the upper primary grades. In response to these developments, special (support)
classes for students with moderate intellectual impairments were set up within
regular primary and secondary schools in New South Wales (special classes for
children with mild intellectual disabilities, IQ approximately 55–80, already existed).
Some of the children who had attended a regular school were able to transfer to
these classes and, thus, continue to attend a regular school, albeit in a partially
integrated setting (Center et al., 1989). Others moved to a segregated special school
for the remainder of their schooling.
Interest in the outcome of changes in special education services on the develop-
ment of children with intellectual disabilities led the authors, in 1991, to survey
parents and carers of 66 students with Down syndrome who were born between
1971 and 1978 (Bochner & Pieterse, 1996). Data collected in the survey suggested
that the young people had received more of their education in integrated rather than
segregated settings, had attained higher levels of competence in both literacy and
numeracy, were more independent and had more optimistic futures in terms of
employment and accommodation options, when compared with data reported from
studies of students with Down syndrome who had been born at about the same time
as the Australian sample (e.g., Buckley & Sacks, 1987) or up to 10 years earlier
(Carr, 1996; Putnam & Pueschel, 1988; Shepperdson, 1988). However, a major
limitation of this study was that data were derived from parental and carer reports
of the young adults’ attainments, rather than from formal or informal tests of
reading and numeracy. Funds were therefore sought to support a second study that
would examine in greater depth the results reported by Bochner and Pieterse,
particularly in relation to literacy and numeracy skills.
In the study of literacy skills that is reported here, it was hypothesised that:
1. Age would be negatively associated with literacy skills, on the basis that children
born after the introduction of improved services for children with developmental
delays and disabilities would have more opportunity to become literate than children
born before the introduction of these changes.
2. Degree of integration of schooling (fully integrated, partially integrated, and
segregated) would be positively associated with level of competence in literacy. This
association was based on the assumption that opportunities to acquire academic
skills improved with increasing levels of integration, in part as a result of higher
expectations for achievement by teachers in more integrated settings, leading to
increased opportunity to learn (Center, Ferguson, & Ward, 1988). It was also
anticipated that the progress of children reared in residential care situations through-
out most of their childhood and adolescence would be less than their peers who lived
at home during all or most of their early years. This effect was attributed to low staff
expectations about the development of the children, coupled with lack of stimulation
and limited opportunities to learn in long-term care situations (Tizard & Hodges,
1978).
It should be noted that the study was not a rigorous statistical investigation of the
factors identi ed above. In fact, this would have been impossible because of the
small numbers involved, coupled with the diverse range of skills represented in the
sample group (e.g., several participants were competent readers but one participant
could not read and a few others had very limited reading skills).
Method
The study reported here involved a survey of young people with Down syndrome
living in Sydney during 1994 and 1995. Participants took part in a structured
interview and completed a series of formal and informal assessments of receptive
language and literacy skills. Details of these procedures are described below.
Procedure
The young adults who participated in the study were located through a notice placed
in the newsletter of the New South Wales Down Syndrome Association. Telephone
contact was made with all those identi ed as possible participants and a suitable
time for an interview was arranged. The aim of the interview was to obtain
information about aspects of the young person’s educational background and
current daily life. Formal and informal measures of literacy were also administered.
Prior to the meeting a copy of a questionnaire, which was to be used as a basis for
a structured interview, was posted to each participant and permission sought to
tape-record the session. One young man (S8) did not wish to take part in the
planned assessments but agreed to have his mother participate in the structured
interview on his behalf. Each interview involved both the participant and a familiar
adult who assisted when the young person did not understand a question, did not
remember details from the past, or when a response was not fully intelligible to the
interviewer. It should be noted that, as a result of the way in which the sample was
obtained, there was a bias towards young people who could be described as
“community-based.” All but one lived at home or were in close contact with their
biological families.
Participants
Thirty young adults with Down syndrome (14 female, 16 male) aged from 18 to 36
years (median age 21 years) took part in the study. As noted above, most lived with
their families. However, three lived in group homes under constant supervision, with
frequent weekend home visits, and one lived in a hostel.
For the purpose of data analysis, the sample was divided into three age and two
school groups according to the following criteria:
TABLE I. Type of school attended for gender and age
Integrated School Segregated School Total

Chronological
Age in Years n Male Female Male Female Male Female
18 to 20 12 1 5 3 3 4 8
21 to 24 13 3 3 7 0 10 3
. 24 5 0 0 2 3 2 3
Total 30 4 8 12 6 16 14
Note. The values represent frequencies of participants in each category.
Age. The age distribution of the participants fell naturally into three groups: 18 to
20 years (n 5 12), 21 to 24 years (n 5 13) and over 24 years (actual age range 28 to
36 years) (n 5 5).
School
Participants were categorised in terms of the type of class they had attended during
primary and secondary school. Alternatives included full integration in a regular
classroom, partial integration in a special class located in a regular school and
segregation in a special school. More than half of the participants had moved
between these different classroom situations during their years at school; 14 (47%)
experienced one change and three (10%) made two changes. Among those who
remained in the same type of class, three (10%) were at a regular school and ten
(33%) at a special school. Classi cation by school was based on the type of class in
which the most time had been spent. Where a student had spent an equal amount
of time in two classroom types, the classi cation was based on the type of class
attended in the nal years of schooling, usually lower and upper secondary levels.
On the basis of this system, participants were grouped into two main categories, as
set out in Table I. The Integrated group included those who had spent all or most
of their time in an integrated regular class (n 5 5) or in a partially-integrated special
class located in a regular school (n 5 7). The Segregated group included those who
had spent all or most of the time in a segregated special school. In addition, it should
be noted that only six of the sample ( ve females, one male) had spent some or all
of their years of schooling living in out-of-home (residential) care. Of this group, two
who had been in residential care from birth now lived in group homes and two were
living in hostels. Two others had returned home when they nished school.
Materials
Information was collected using both formal and informal means. Standardised tests
used to measure receptive vocabulary and reading included the Peabody Picture
Vocabulary Test–Revised, Form A (PPVT-R) (Dunn & Dunn, 1981) and the
Waddington Diagnostic Reading Test (WDRT) (Waddington, 1988). Both provide
an age-equivalent score. These tests were selected because they were simple to
administer and covered the range of language and reading skills that it was antici-
pated would be present in the participant group; the PPVT-R covered the receptive
language age range from 36 months to adulthood and the WDRT covered the
reading age range from a base of 5 to a ceiling of 11 1 years. The PPVT-R had been
widely used in assessment of receptive vocabulary among people with intellectual
impairments and its reliability with these populations had been established (Dunn &
Dunn, 1981). Tests of its validity suggest that PPVT-R scores correlate at a
signi cant level with IQ test scores (Naglieri, 1982; Prout & Schwartz, 1984). In
contrast, the WDRT is less widely known. The test was designed for use by teachers
as a screening device to assist in the identi cation of students with learning
dif culties. Its content covers early skills such as recognition of letter–sound rela-
tionships (grapho–phonic knowledge) to more complex skills such as sight–word
knowledge, simple word decoding, and more advanced semantic and syntactic
knowledge. The fact that the test could be used with a range of ability levels,
including students at a 5-year-old level who could only recognise single sounds and
letters and those who were capable of reading materials such as newspapers and
magazines, made it particularly appropriate for the proposed study. The standard
error of measurement of the test was 1 /2 1.7 months, based on test scores obtained
during February and March, 1988 from over 2,000 students in 116 classrooms
across Australia (Waddington, 1988). The test was reliable (split-half reliability
coef cient, r 5 .994) (Waddington, 1988).
Functional reading skills typically needed for independent living were assessed
using informal methods that included recognition of four basic survival signs (exit,
stop, ladies, gents) and a text-reading task using a book provided by the participant
or selected by the interviewer from a collection of titles speci cally designed to
interest adolescent slow-readers. Another task involved using a TV guide to identify
the time and day of the week when a favourite program could be viewed. Questions
were also asked about the use of reading skills in daily life, including the type of
material read (books, magazines, comics, catalogues, menus, shopping lists) and the
frequency of such reading habits (daily, once or twice a week, or less often).
Results
In the following section the educational background of the participants is described
and data are reported from the formal and informal measures of language and
literacy used in the study.
Educational Background
Classi cation of participants in terms of the type of school in which they had
received most of their education (i.e., a regular or special class within a regular
school, or a segregated special school) showed that a majority (60%) were educated
in segregated settings. This latter group included the ve oldest participants (over 24
years of age). At the secondary level, females were more likely than males to have
attended the more integrated option of a regular or special class, but there was no
difference in pattern of attendance by gender at the primary level. Over the lower
primary grades (age range 5 to 7 years), half the sample had attended the most
integrated option of a regular class in a regular school, but this percentage reduced
to 35% in the upper primary grades (age range 8 to 11 years). Those who left a
regular classroom tended to move to a special class located in a regular school. Here,
they were still in a relatively integrated setting, but with smaller class size. Some of
this movement may have occurred as special classes within regular schools became
available, since the number of these classes increased steadily over the period that the
participants were at school.
No information was collected during the interviews to explain why participants
attended one type of school rather than another. Comments about schooling and
related topics suggested that the parents of those who went to a regular school,
including those in special classes, were committed to the principle of integration or
to the academic and social bene ts associated with this type of setting. Among the
parents whose children went to special schools for all or most of their education,
almost half felt that it was the most appropriate placement, perhaps as a result of
intellectual disability, poor communication skills, or behaviour problems. For a few
parents a special school was the most convenient (e.g., free transport was available).
For others, there was no alternative, particularly at the secondary level. Overall, when
considered in terms of age group, there was a trend for the younger participants to
have remained in an integrated setting; the youngest age group was equally divided
between integrated and segregated classes, one third of the middle age group
attended an integrated class with the remaining two-thirds at a segregated special
school, while all of the oldest age group went to a special school.
Data on patterns of school attendance showed that less than half of the young
people had remained in the same type of class or school. Those who stayed in one
type of school included seven males and four females (37%) who attended special
schools and three females (10%) who were at regular schools. Of the remaining 16,
ten (33%) moved from more to less integrated settings (six males and four females).
Six of this group nally attended a special school. However four participants (13%,
two males and two females), moved from a special school to the more integrated
options of a special or regular class in a local school. One male began at a regular
class, moved to a special school and then back to a special class in a regular school.
The high rate of change in the school attended raises some interesting issues about
the disruptive nature of the educational experiences of these young people. As
children, they were at least as vulnerable as other children, and it is generally
accepted that school transitions, from one level of school to another or from one type
of school or class to another, are often associated with stress and adjustment
problems, particularly for younger children (Ladd & Price, 1987), but also for
adolescents, particularly girls (Simmons & Blyth, 1987). According to Berk (1994),
peer relationships have a number of important functions: to provide a context for the
development of a sense of self and a sensitivity to others, to foster self-esteem, reduce
loneliness and anxiety, and encourage positive attitudes towards school. The disrup-
tion in school enrolment experienced by more than half those who participated in the
study may have impacted negatively on their progress, particularly in the area of peer
social-relationships, but also on more academic aspects of development.
Another important issue to be considered concerns the actual classroom experi-

ences of participants who attended a regular school, particularly those who remained
in this setting throughout their years at school. Only limited information was
collected on any special arrangements that were made to support the 14 participants
who began their schooling in an integrated classroom. All but two of this group had
attended an early intervention program before entering school and some may have
been assisted during their early years at school through an integration program
which, during the 1980s, provided funds to schools to support the enrolment of
children with special learning needs (Foreman, 1996). Two of the group (S13 and
S30) participated in a research project which employed a trained special education
teacher to support the children’s regular classroom teachers during their rst two
years in an integrated classroom (Pieterse & Center, 1984). Subsequently, both
these students moved from a regular classroom to a special class; S13 attended a
class for students with moderate intellectual disabilities from Year 5 and S30 moved
to a special class for students with physical disabilities at the secondary level (no
other special classes were available in his area at that time).
Most of the participants in the youngest (67%) and middle (77%) age groups had
attended an early intervention program while, not unexpectedly, none of the oldest
group reported such involvement. One parent of a 36-year-old commented that her
child had been born before early intervention services were available. Among those
in the youngest and middle age groups who had not received early intervention, one
was in residential care from soon after birth while a 23-year-old from a Western
Sydney suburb noted that no early intervention was available in his area. All but two
of the 15 who began their schooling in an integrated, rather than segregated setting,
had attended an early intervention program whereas, of the 15 rst enrolled at
special schools, only ve (17%) had received early intervention.
Language and Reading Skills

Information is presented here on age equivalent scores obtained on the two formal
measures of language and reading used in the study, the PPVT-R and WDRT, and
from other informal measures. Note that no test results are available for a 21-year-
old male (S8) who declined to take part in the assessment procedure, and no reading
test scores are available for S29, a 31-year-old woman who could not read and did
not attempt the WDRT.
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R)

The mean age-equivalent score for receptive language skills for the group as a whole
on the PPVT-R was 7 years 2 months (7:2). However, two participants, S30, a
21-year-old male and S13, an 18-year-old female, gained very high scores compared
with the rest of the group (17:8 and 16:6 respectively). Excluding these two outlying
scores, the mean for the group was 6:4 (males 6:3 and females 6:5). In the following
discussion, results for PPVT-R scores will be considered without the two outliers,
since their scores may distort group comparisons (see Table II).
TABLE II. Mean PPVT-R values for gender, age,

school, and residence
Group na M SD
Gender
Male 14 6:3 1:4
Female 13 6:5 2:3
Chronological Age
18 to 20 years 11 5:10 1:3
21 to 24 years 11 7:5 1:8
. 24 years 5 5:2 2:2
School
Integrated 10 6:8 2:1

Segregated 17 6:2 1:10
Residence
Home 21 6:8 1:8
Out-of-home 6 5:4 2:1
Total 27 6:4 1:10
Note. The values represent mean age-equivalent

scores in years and months.
a
Data do not include scores of three participants
(one male who did not attempt the PPVT-R and
two outliers, a male and a female).
Data presented in Table II for groups in terms of age and type of schooling are
generally as expected, with the oldest participants less successful, in terms of the
development of receptive language skills, than their younger peers and those edu-
cated primarily in integrated settings achieving a slightly higher mean score than
those from segregated backgrounds. Among the three age groups, it is clear that the
oldest were the most disadvantaged in terms of opportunities to develop language;
none had been educated in integrated settings and four of the ve in this group had
lived in residential care situations for all or much of their lives. The two lowest
PPVT-R scores in the sample were in this group (2:9 and 3:6).
The mean age-equivalent score achieved by the youngest group was, unexpect-
edly, lower than that attained by the middle age group. The gradual provision of
improved services for children with Down syndrome and their families might have
been expected to lead to a steady increase in the level achieved by children on a test
such as the PPVT-R. The fact that the mean PPVT-R score of the youngest group
was lower than that attained by the middle group may re ect a continuation of
growth in language skills through late adolescence into early adulthood (there is
evidence from studies of aging in normal populations that vocabulary continues to
increase across the life span, at least to the mid-sixties, see Hartley, 1989). The
disadvantage experienced by those in the oldest age group, in terms of their failure
to access the specialised educational programs that gradually became available for
young children with Down syndrome from the early 1970s (Center, 1987), could
TABLE III. Mean PPVT-R values for age by school type
Chronological Age
18 to 20 years 21 to 24 years . 24 years
School na M SD n M SD n M SD n
Integrated 10 4:4 2:4 5 8:2 1:10 5 — — 0

Segregated 17 5:8 2:8 6 6:10 1:2 6 5:2 2:2 5
Note. The values represent mean age-equivalent scores in years and months.
a
Data do not include scores of three participants (one male who did not attempt the PPVT-R and
two outliers, a male and a female).
explain their lower language scores compared with the younger groups. At the time
of their birth, little information was available for parents about ways in which they
could encourage or stimulate their child’s development. Early intervention programs
had not yet been established and children with intellectual disabilities did not begin
school until they had turned 6 years of age. Three of the ve oldest participants may
have been additionally disadvantaged as a result of having spent many years in
congregate care. S24, a state ward, had been in institutional care from birth and two
others, S2 and S29, had lived in residential care from the age of 12 years. These
experiences would have had a negative impact on the development of language
(Bochner, 1986; Tizard & Tizard, 1974).
When PPVT-R mean scores for both the youngest and middle age groups were
considered in terms of the type of school attended, some inconsistencies emerged
(see Table III). For example, as already noted, the mean scores of the youngest
integrated and segregated groups were lower than those of the comparable middle
age groups (integrated and segregated). However, mean scores for the two age
groups by type of schooling showed an unexpected trend; those in the youngest age
group from integrated classrooms were lower than those from segregated schools
(4:5 and 5:8 respectively), whereas for the middle age group, scores for the
integrated group were higher than for the segregated group (8:2 and 6:10 respect-
ively). In this case, the low mean score of the youngest, integrated group seems
inconsistent with the expected trend for students from integrated backgrounds to
perform better than those from segregated schools.
Examination of the scores of the youngest integrated group shows that three of the
ve in this group had a receptive language age of less than 5:0. Possible explanations
for these low scores can be found in background information about these three
young people. For example, S23 had been in residential care for most of her life and
this experience could explain her limited progress in receptive language. Her early
education was at a segregated special school within the residence, but from the age
of 9 years, the residence closed its on-campus classrooms and all the students were
enrolled in integrated special classes located in nearby primary and secondary
schools. During the interview S23 was very shy and spoke quietly in single words.
Apparently her experiences in a segregated special class within a regular school were
not suf cient to offset the disadvantage, particularly for language development, of
early congregate and later small group-home care. In contrast to the experiences of
S23, both S11 and S14 lived at home and attended local schools. From Year 3, S11
went to an integrated special class at a local school. Her language was clear and
understandable and she had good social skills. S14 attended a local parochial
school. Her speech was intelligible and she presented herself very well. The low
PPVT-R scores of these latter two young women may re ect a general low level of
cognitive functioning. However, it is clear that simply placing students with Down
syndrome in an integrated school setting is not suf cient to ensure the development
of effective language skills.
The background experiences of the three participants described above can be
contrasted with that of the two outliers (S13 and S30) who gained very high
PPVT-R scores. Both had attended a combination of integrated regular and special
classes though, as noted earlier, the special class attended by S30 was for students
with physical, rather than intellectual disabilities. This latter situation may have
provided a more stimulating academic program and better language models than
the special classes for students with moderate intellectual disabilities that the other
students attended. Both these young people may also have functioned at a higher
intellectual level than the three lower-scoring participants referred to earlier. In
addition, their home backgrounds were distinctive in that both were only children
(the three young women described above all had at least one sibling) and both came
from cultural backgrounds that value academic achievement and view learning as
an outcome of effort rather than ability (Dornbusch & Wood, 1989; Duchesne,
1996; Ogbu, 1991).
Overall, results from the PPVT-R suggest that the receptive language skills of the
group were highly variable, with two participants scoring close to their chronologi-
cal age and ve failing to reach a 5-year-old level on the test. As suggested above,
these variations may re ect different levels of intelligence within the sample group.
Variations in language pro ciency were evident in comments about the communi-
cation skills of participants during the interviews. For example, it was noted that the
two who gained the highest PPVT-R scores spoke uently, had good vocabularies
and could take part in a conversation, though both had a slight speech impediment.
In contrast, those with the lowest PPVT-R scores were generally unintelligible to
the interviewer—S29, the 31-year-old female who had the lowest PPVT-R score
(age equivalent 2:5) was described as largely unintelligible; S24, a 27-year-old male
(age equivalent 3:0) was also largely incomprehensible, though his group-home
carer was able to interpret his speech during the interview; and S26, a 19-year old
female (age equivalent 4:0) was intelligible only to members of her family. The
limited language skills of S29 and S24 probably resulted from many years spent in
residential care. These variations in both receptive and expressive language skills
probably re ect the combined effects of individual ability levels and opportunity,
within the environment both at home and at school, to acquire appropriate lan-
guage skills through interaction with good language models (Bochner, Price, &
Jones, 1997; Bruner, 1983).
TABLE IV. Mean WDRT values for gender,

age, school, and residence
Group na M SD
Gender
Male 15 7:11 1:0
Female 13 8:4 1:1
Chronological Age
18 to 20 years 12 7:10 1:0
21 to 24 years 12 8:8 1:0
. 24 years 4 7:8 0:7
School
Integrated 12 8:9 1:4

Segregated 16 7:7 0:9
Residence
Home 23 8:2 1:2
Out-of-home 5 7:10 0:8
Total 28 8:1 1:1
Note. The values represent mean age-equiva-

lent scores in years and months.
a
Data do not include two participants, one
male and one female, who did not attempt the
WDRT.
Waddington Diagnostic Reading Test (WDRT)

The mean reading age on the WDRT was 8 years 1 month (8:1) (males 7:11 and
females 8:4), with the trend in reading scores for the groups in terms of age and type
of school similar to that reported for the PPVT-R (see Table IV). For example, the
mean reading score of the group aged 21 to 24 years (8:8) was higher than those of
both the youngest age group (7:10) and the four oldest participants who attempted
this test (7:8). Similarly, the mean score of participants from integrated school
backgrounds (8:9) was higher than for the group from segregated schools (7:7).
When age and type of school attended are taken into account, the trend reported
for PPVT-R results is not evident; for the WDRT results, the mean score of the
integrated group was higher than that of the segregated group at both the youngest
and middle age group levels, though the differences were greater for the middle age
group (see Table V). The higher scores of the integrated group at both age levels
probably re ects both more effective reading instruction and greater opportunity to
learn to read for students in integrated classrooms, and higher expectations among
the parents of integrated students (Center et al., 1989). The difference observed
between PPVT-R and WDRT results could also be a function of the two tests, with
the reading test more closely resembling work done at school than the language test.
The highest scores (11:0 1 , 10:8, and 10:1) were attained by the same three
TABLE V. Mean WDRT scores for age and school
Chronological Age
18 to 20 years 21 to 24 years . 24 years
School na M SD n M SD n M SD n
Integrated 12 8:1 1:2 6 9:2 1:1 6 — — 0

Segregated 16 7:3 0:6 6 8:0 0:4 6 7:8 0:7 4
Note. The values represent mean age-equivalent scores in years and months.
a
Data do not include two participants, one male and one female, who did not attempt the WDRT.
participants who had scored highest on the PPVT-R. The lowest scores (6:7 and
6:8) were recorded by the same two participants who performed poorly on the
PPVT-R; the 19-year-old woman (S26) who had only just left a segregated school
context and the 27-year-old man (S24) who had been institutionalised from birth.
S29, who gained the lowest PPVT-R score, did not attempt the WDRT. As these
results suggest, since both the PPVT-R and the WDRT measure aspects of language
skill development, the correlation between the results obtained from the two tests
was high (r 5 0.79). Recognition of the close links between language and reading
skills in children with Down syndrome is evident in the use that has been made of
reading instruction to increase language, particularly expressive language, in such
children (e.g., Buckley, 1995; Cairns & Pieterse, 1979; Hayden & Dimitriev, 1975;
Kemp, 1996).
As with the PPVT-R, the mean score of participants who lived at home (8:2) was
a little higher than that achieved by the small group in out-of-home care who
attempted the reading test (7:10). In addition, there was an increase with age in
mean scores between the youngest and middle age groups. This latter trend may
have been related to the higher level of language competence noted earlier in the
PPVT-R results of the middle age group. However, it is also likely that this latter
group had spent more time, overall, in developing reading skills than their younger
peers. The middle age group were all in some form of work, either open employment
(full- or part-time), supported employment, at a sheltered workshop, or engaged in
voluntary work while awaiting job placement. These experiences would have pro-
vided opportunities for continued practice and extension of the reading skills that
had been acquired while at school and during post-school training.
Among the youngest age group, most of whom had only recently left school, 75%
were involved in some form of study or training, either at Technical and Further
Education colleges (TAFE) or in work experience (two were at a sheltered workshop
and one was at home). This ongoing involvement in some form of education and
training should contribute to the maintenance, if not further gains, in reading skills
acquired during the school years. In contrast to the continued involvement in some
form of education or training during the post-school years for the participants aged
24 years or less, none of the oldest age group had participated in post-school training
options. Three of the oldest group worked at a sheltered workshop, one (S24) did
not work for health reasons and one (S28) was in semi-open employment at a
factory operated by a voluntary organisation. His duties did not involve literacy
skills. Overall, it is likely that the reading achievements of the youngest and middle
age groups were an outcome of daily life experiences which included opportunities
to use, practice, and improve their reading skills. The lower reading scores of the
oldest age group probably resulted from their educational background in special
schools where, at the time they were at school, there was little emphasis on the
acquisition of reading skills, particularly in the later school years. However, it could
also re ect a gradual decay in such skills, from lack of use or, in some cases, factors
associated with aging (Brown, 1996; Lai, 1992).
The poorer performance in the oldest group is also consistent with the perform-
ance levels of a small number of poor readers identi ed in a study by Rynders,
Schleien, and Matson (1996). This study was concerned with changes in the reading
scores of a group of students with Down syndrome who were assessed initially at
11 to 12 years of age and again at 20 to 23 years. The greatest gains were observed
in those students who had been able to read quite uently when rst assessed at the
age of 12. In contrast, students whose reading scores were too low to reach grade-
equivalence when rst tested, were still experiencing dif culties when they were
re-tested at age 20 to 23 years. Rynders et al. (1996) argued that for students who
were uent readers at age 12, further instruction should be provided, both for study
and work-related purposes, but also to provide the young person with access to
reading as a leisure activity. However, for those whose reading comprehension
scores at age 12 were too low to be assessed, whether this resulted from severe
intellectual dif culties, behaviour problems or lack of opportunity to learn, Rynders
et al. suggested that discontinuation of reading instruction during the later years at
school could be justi ed. This latter view is unduly pessimistic for the students
concerned, particularly in the light of ongoing developments in the design of
instructional technology that can be used to support such learning.
Text Reading
As noted earlier, participants were asked to read aloud from a book, either one of
their own choice or one selected from a collection held by the interviewer. The
reading age levels of the books used in this task ranged from around 6 years to the
young adult level, with the median around the 7 to 8 years. On the basis of
comments recorded by the interviewer at the time of assessment and con rmed later
from audio-tape records of the interviews, participants were classi ed as having
good, medium, or poor reading skills (see Table VI). Their articulation skills were
graded at the same time on the basis of interviewer comments and audio-tape
records of the text reading. Four participants did not complete the reading task—
S19 and S25, with WDRT reading ages (RA) of 7:7 and 7:4 respectively, refused to
read; S8 did not take part in the assessment tasks; and S29 could not read. In
addition, two participants demonstrated very limited reading skills—S24 (RA 6:8)
could only recognise single words from a list he had copied into a book and S26 (RA
6:7) read very poorly from her own kindergarten-level book that she knew by heart.
TABLE VI. Rating of text reading for age, school, and articulation
Group Na Good Medium Poor Did not read
Chronological Age
18 to 20 years 11 1 4 4 2
21 to 24 years 13 11 2 0 0
24 , years 4 2 0 2 0
School
Integrated 12 7 3 2 0
Segregated 16 7 3 4 2
Articulation
Good 15 11 3 1 0
Medium 4 1 2 1 0
Poor 9 2 1 4 2
Total 28 14 6 6 2
Note. The values represent frequencies of participants in each category.

a
Data do not include two participants, one male and one female, who did not
attempt the WDRT.
When asked to read one of the books provided by the interviewer, S26 read a few
words correctly, otherwise making noises that sounded like reading with occasional
words similar to the text. When asked about what she had read, she used the
pictures to make a guess. All six had attended segregated special schools and had
poor articulation. The text reading of four others was categorised as “poor,” the
interviewer commenting that their reading was very slow, mostly incomprehensible,
and had no sense of meaning. All were from segregated school backgrounds and
from both the youngest and oldest age groups.
In contrast to the poor reading skills described above, the text reading of 14
participants was described as very good, uent, and expressive. A majority were in
the middle age group, with one 19-year-old (S4) and two older woman, one of
whom (S27) had lived in a residential institution from her mid teens. Most had
speech that was described as uent, clear, and easily understood, though two were
reported to be dif cult to understand as a result of articulation problems. Half of this
group had been in integrated classrooms and half had attended segregated special
schools.
The mean error rate in text reading for the 24 participants who were able to
complete the reading task was 6.5 words per 100 (SD 8.7 words) with a range of
errors from nil for 6 participants to 40 per 100 for S28, a 27-year-old male (RA 7:0).
S28 reported that he liked to read but did not do it very often. For the reading task,
he chose a favourite book (a version of Peter Pan), but invented many words and
phrases. He read the TV guide daily and could easily recognise single program titles,
probably because they were important to him and he practised this task often. His
father reported that S28 had been quite a good reader at his special school but was
slowly losing this skill. Apparently, neither his full-time work in semi-open employ-
ment nor his recreational and domestic activities provided opportunities for him to
maintain the reading skills he had acquired at school.
Functional Reading Skills

Topics covered here included questions about reading and leisure-time activities,
recognition of public signs such as exit and stop, and ability to use a TV guide to
nd a favourite program. More than half of the young people reported that, in their
spare time, they read books (53%) and magazines (57%). All who claimed to read
magazines were able to name those that particularly interested them. In addition,
some reported that they read menus (40%), recipes (40%), shopping lists (30%),
and comics (23%). The frequency of use varied, with over 40% reporting that they
read a book and/or a magazine daily, or at least once or twice a week. S30, the most
competent reader in the group, claimed to read a newspaper regularly, naming the
paper that he read, while S13, the most competent female, was more interested in
books. She was reading Anne of Green Gables at the time of the interview. Both S30
and S13 had slight articulation problems but their speech was clear and uent, with
a good vocabulary and appropriate conversation skills. S24 and S26, the least
competent readers in the group, were both reported to use their limited literacy skills
often; S24 enjoyed looking at magazines and the newspaper with another person and
would attempt to read single words if requested while S26 owned a collection of
books at the 5 to 6 year level that she had memorised. Both copied words into an
exercise book as a leisure activity.
Examples of four common signs were used to assess functional literacy skills (exit,
stop, ladies, and gents). Almost all the participants had no dif culty with the signs
though an 18-year-old girl (S14) was unable to identify two of the signs (exit and
gents) and two others did not recognise exit. One stated that the exit sign meant
“You can’t go out there.” All but three of the group could use a TV guide to point
out the day and time of their favourite shows. The three who failed this task, S24,
S26 and S29, were not particularly interested in watching television. Interestingly,
they had the lowest scores in the group on both the PPVT-R and the WDRT (S29
had no reading skills), suggesting that there may be an association between language
competence and interest in television.
Other Information
Details of other ways in which language and reading skills were used by the
participants emerged during the interview. For example, S3, a 23-year-old female
described as “a leader and model for the young adult group,” was president of the
Down Syndrome Up Club, an advisory group for young adults with Down syn-
drome, spoke uently and was easily understood, despite a slight articulation
problem. This young woman was frequently invited to address schools, sporting
clubs, and other similar groups. She and another participant, S12, a 22-year-old
male, had recently been employed as actors in several television series; this had
involved them both reading and memorising scripts (their language and reading ages
were in the 8:0 to 10:0 range). In response to a question about favourite leisure
pastimes, almost half of the participants nominated activities related to language and
reading skills. These included colouring in, drawing, and completing work books (3
participants), copying pages from books and magazines (6), using a computer (5),
writing stories and plays (2), playing computer games (5), and reading (3). S4, a
19-year-old woman described as computer literate (language and reading age
around 7:0 to 8:0), helped to edit the Newsletter for the Down Syndrome Up Club
referred to above. Another, a 21-year-old male (S18) with language and reading age
around 8:0, was completing a TAFE course involving literacy and numeracy on
computers and had bought a computer. He enjoyed typing lists, playing games, and
copying extracts from magazines.
Finally, some reference should be made to the intelligibility of the participants’
speech. No direct measure of this aspect of language use was taken, but samples of
speech were obtained during the oral reading task and the interviewer noted any
distinctive features. All the participants had the thickness of tongue typical of people
with Down syndrome, but in spite of this impediment, half of the group were judged
to have clear speech that was easy to understand. Ten of the group were largely
unintelligible and four had some problems such as a slight lisp, stutter, or articula-
tion problem that interfered with the intelligibility of their speech. Three had mild
hearing problems which did not seem to have affected the clarity of their speech and
three had moderate hearing loss; only one of this group wore a hearing aid and his
speech was poor. Another had a moderate hearing loss in one ear and mild loss in
the other ear but his speech was described as fairly uent and readily understand-
able. When age, gender, and type of school attended are taken into account, it was
evident that the females were more likely to have intelligible speech than the males
(60% had speech described as “intelligible,” compared with 27% of the males).
Those who had attended more integrated school settings tended to have clearer
speech than those who had been educated largely in special schools. For example,
four of the ve who largely remained in a regular school group were intelligible,
compared with only three of the six who were primarily educated in an integrated
special class. In contrast, less than half (41%) of those who were educated in the
segregated context of a special school had speech that was described as intelligible.
When age group is considered, the distribution of intelligible and unintelligible
speech was fairly evenly spread, with half the youngest and middle age groups but
none of the oldest group, categorised as intelligible. Two of the males (S8 and S10)
were reported to have had a tongue reduction operation to reduce snoring, improve
appearance, and reduce drooling but no impact on speech was reported.
Discussion and Conclusion

The primary aim of the study reported here was to examine the acquisition of
language and literacy skills in people with Down syndrome. Speci c questions
addressed in the study concerned the relationship between age, type of school
placement (integrated or segregated), and the development of functional language
and literacy skills in a sample of young adults with Down syndrome. Overall, the
study con rmed that people with Down syndrome could learn to read, though the
level of reading skill achieved by early adulthood varied widely. Only one (older)
participant in the study had no reading skills. While it must be acknowledged that
the number of older participants was small, it is clear that those born in the 1970s
were, as a group, more competent readers than those born earlier. The highest
reading score achieved in the oldest age group (8:5) was above the mean score of the
whole sample (8:1) but well below the highest scores gained by the most competent
of the middle age (10:8 and 11:0 1 ) and youngest groups (10:8).
The study also demonstrated that those participants who were educated in
integrated rather than segregated school situations generally achieved higher levels of
reading than their peers in segregated schools. This outcome probably re ected the
impact of factors such as age (the oldest participants had no alternative but to attend
a segregated special school); opportunity to learn coupled with more optimistic

expectations about student capacity to learn in integrated settings (Center et al.,
1988), as less emphasis was placed on learning to read in special schools, particularly
at the time when the oldest participants were at school; and greater opportunity to
observe peers modelling successful language and reading behaviour in integrated
situations. However, variability in results achieved by individual participants sug-
gested that, for some, placement in an integrated setting alone did not ensure
success in learning to read, though there did appear to be a positive association
between integration and increased intelligibility of speech. Factors such as the level
of access to skilled teaching, a well-structured curriculum, and appropriate commit-
ment and support, both in the school and at home, were also needed to ensure
acquisition of literacy skills. In addition, it must be acknowledged no data were
available to con rm that those who were educated primarily at an integrated or a
special school had similar abilities at the time of school entry.
The high reading and receptive language scores achieved by the middle age group
could have been a chance product of the variability of people with Down syndrome
referred to earlier in this paper; that is, this group may have included some
participants who were more competent intellectually than either the younger or
older groups (though reading ability may be more closely associated with factors
such as exposure to print, than cognitive ability) (Cunningham & Stanovich, 1997).
However, those aged 21 to 24 years at the time of the study could also be described
as “trailblazers,” they were the rst to have the opportunity to participate in early
intervention and then to have the possibility of integrated rather than segregated
schooling. It was in response to the needs of some families for access to more
integrated school options that special classes for students with moderate intellectual
disabilities were established in regular primary and, later, secondary schools. As a
result, this group of students had access to peers who provided better models for
both language and other related social skills, improved opportunities to acquire
academic skills and more time, particularly over the secondary school years, to
develop these skills (Bashash, 1997). When these students reached school-leaving
age, their parents became advocates for further training and education, and for the
establishment of work-preparation and supported-employment programs as an
alternative to attendance at a sheltered workshop.
An alternative explanation for the success of those participants who were part of
the rst group to break the cycle of a segregated education and life-style was that,
over time, they acquired a “halo.” The excitement of the early years when students
with Down syndrome rst began to attend regular schools had a positive impact on
the motivation of the students themselves to succeed, on their families, their
teachers, and the overall culture of the schools that were involved. Center et al.
(1988, 1989) showed that one of the most powerful predictors of successful
integration was not the level and type of the student’s disability, but rather the skills
of the child’s teachers (structured teaching methods, clear teaching objectives, a
well-sequenced curriculum) and, more particularly, the ethos of the school, as
exempli ed in the commitment of school principal and staff, as well as the student’s
family, to the integration process. Those involved in the early attempts to place and
then maintain students with Down syndrome in integrated settings would have felt
responsible for ensuring that these placements were a success, both for the child, the
family, and the school. For this group of students, attributions for success at school
would more likely have been made in terms of “effort,” rather than the more
common Western attribution of “ability” (Duchesne, 1996). Once positive out-
comes had been demonstrated, pressure to achieve good results may have dimin-
ished, particularly as community-wide economic dif culties led to reductions in the
funds available to support the integration process in schools.
A number of other issues can be identi ed in the material reported here. For
example, were those who remained in integrated settings more socially competent
than the other students and did this social competence contribute to a more positive
experience in the integrated situation, with increased likelihood of support from
both teachers and other students? To what extent do early signs of interest (or
competence) in reading and language-related activities lead to more help being
received from the teacher, resulting in a cycle of improved skills, leading to further
attention? It has also been suggested (e.g., Cunningham & Stanovich, 1997;
Stanovich, 1986) that early engagement in reading has a multiplier effect, leading to
further gains in language and related skills to an extent that disadvantages children
who acquire reading competencies later. Has this model of reading acquisition any
relevance for children with Down syndrome? As noted earlier, Rynders et al. (1996)
found that students with Down syndrome who had not reached a grade-equivalent
level in reading by 12 years of age did not, subsequently, “catch up” with their more
successful peers.
No information was collected about the age at which the more successful partic-
ipants learned to read, but there was evidence that the reading skills of some of this
group were within the range of variability found in a regular classroom during their
early school years. For example, the two participants who gained the highest
PPVT-R and WDRT scores had been involved in the integration study reported by
Pieterse and Center (1984). This study followed eight graduates of an early inter-
vention project that used words printed on ash-cards with the children, from an
early age, to supplement activities within a language program. The children were
then introduced to phonics, once they had 50–100 sight words. Pieterse and Center
assessed the reading skills of the children when they had been in an integrated
classroom from one to three years, receiving weekly support from an itinerant
teacher. When assessed on classroom-based and norm-referenced tests, the children
with Down syndrome “performed better than some of their non-handicapped
classroom peers … [and] within the range of variability tolerated in a regular class-
room, at least in reading achievement” (Pieterse & Center, 1984, p. 14). Perhaps the
exceptional language and literacy skills observed in assessment of two of the
participants in this study may have been a product of the multiplier or Matthew
effect identi ed by Stanovich (1986).
The fact that females appeared to have been more likely than males to have
remained in integrated settings may re ect the fact that females tend to progress
more quickly in acquisition of early language skills than males. Competence in
language skills, with more intelligible speech and better receptive skills, was probably
more important in integrated settings where opportunities to interact with com-

petent language-users further enhanced such skills. So early acquisition of language
skills may explain, at least in part, the higher percentage of females who remained
in more integrated school contexts.
While all but one of the participants had achieved at least minimal reading skills
(e.g., letter and word recognition), a number enjoyed a variety of leisure activities
that were related to reading, such as writing letters, stories and plays, word
processing on a computer, and for a number of the less competent participants,
copying words and phrases from books, magazines and, in one case, the Bible. It is
interesting that so many engaged in these reading-related leisure pursuits. Appar-
ently, learning to read contributes not only to useful daily-living skills, but also to
satisfying recreational activities in later years (see also Rynders & Horrobin, 1996).
Those participants who could read independently often reported that they read for
pleasure. Even those whose reading skills were limited reported that they engaged in
reading and, more particularly, writing activities to amuse themselves, though the
activities engaged in by some participants may have surprised some of their teachers.
Learning to read is a fundamental right for all people in our society. All but one
of the participants in this study did learn to read though, for some, these skills were
limited and may not have been adequate to support them in more independent
living situations as adults. In general, there was evidence of a positive relationship
between age (for those born after 1970), attendance at an integrated school, and the
achievement of more advanced reading and language skills. Results also suggested
that literacy and language skills continued to develop over the post-school years,
with those participants aged in the 21 to 24 year range demonstrating more
advanced skills than those who had only recently left school. These results provide
further evidence of the impact of changes in options available to people with
intellectual disabilities as a result of widespread community acceptance of the
principles of normalisation and integration.
People with Down syndrome can learn to read if they are given the opportunity
to learn. Such instruction is best conducted within an integrated context, though
this may involve instruction within a special class located in a regular school rather
than full inclusion. At the time that the older participants in this study were born,
at least half were placed in long-term residential care and were thus denied the
opportunity to acquire functional reading and language skills. Those not placed in
an institution at or soon after birth were sent to segregated special schools that
provided programs to prepare them for dependant lives in adulthood, living at home
or in supervised accommodation, with a sheltered workshop their only option for
employment. Changes introduced in the nal decades of the 20th Century have
demonstrated that people with Down syndrome can achieve levels of development
that could support more integrated and normalised life options than those described
above. The services provided for them in the 21st Century need to continue to
support these changes by providing continued access to effective instruction, partic-
ularly in the early years and beyond the compulsory school-leaving age.
References
ANDREWS , R.J. (1985). Report of the working party on special education on Commonwealth policy and
direction in special education. Canberra: Commonwealth Schools Commission.
BASHASH, L. (1997). Counting skills and concepts of number in children with moderate intellectual
disabilities. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, School of Education, Macquarie University,
Sydney.
BEANGE, H. (1976). The extent of the problem: How many children and parents are affected? In
Proceedings of the Early Childhood Special Education Conference, Macquarie University, 17th-
18th July, 1976 (pp. 53–60). Ryde, NSW: Council for the Mentally Handicapped.
BERK, L.E. (1994). Child development (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
BOCHNER, S. (1986). Development of intentionality in the vocalisations of handicapped infants
reared in an infant hospital. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Developmental Disability,
12, 55–63.
BOCHNER, S. & PIETERSE, M. (1996). Teenagers with Down syndrome in a time of changing
policies and practices: Report on a study of the progress of NSW students who were born
between 1971–1978. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 43,
75–95.
BOCHNER, S., PRICE, P. & JONES , J. (1997). Child language development: Learning to talk. London:
Whurr.
BROWN, R.I. (1996). Growing older: Challenges and opportunities. In B. STRATFORD & P. GUNN
(Eds.), New approaches to Down syndrome (pp. 436–450). London: Cassell.
BRUNER, J. (1983). Child’s talk: Learning to use language. New York: Norton.
BUCKLEY, S. (1995). Teaching children with Down syndrome to read and write. In L. NADEL &
D. ROSENTHAL (Eds.), Down syndrome: Living and learning in the community (pp. 158–169).
New York: Wiley-Bass.
BUCKLEY, S., BIRD, G. & BYRNE, A. (1996). Reading acquisition by young children. In B.
STRATFORD & P. GUNN (Eds.), New approaches to Down syndrome (pp. 268–279). London:
Cassell.
BUCKLEY, S. & SACKS, B. (1987). The adolescent with Down’s syndrome: Life for the teenager and for
the family. Portsmouth, UK: Down’s Syndrome Trust.
CAIRNS, S. & PIETERSE, M. (1979). The Macquarie Program: Reading. Sydney: Macquarie Univer-
sity, School of Education.
CARR, J. (1996). Down’s syndrome: Children growing up. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
CENTER, Y. (1987). Early intervention: An overview. In J. WARD, S. BOCHNER, Y. CENTER, L.
OUTHRED & M. PIETERSE (Eds.), Educating children with special needs in regular classrooms: An
Australian perspective (pp. 19–26). Sydney: Macquarie University.
CENTER, Y., FERGUSON, C. & WARD, J. (1988). The integration of children with disabilities into regular
classes (mainstreaming): A naturalistic study. Stage 1 Report. Sydney: Macquarie University.
CENTER, Y., WARD, J., FERGUSON, C., CONWAY, B. & LINFOOT, K. (1989). The integration of
children with disabilities into regular classes (mainstreaming): A naturalistic study. Stage 2 Report.
Sydney: Macquarie University.
CHAPMAN, R.S. (1997). Language development. In S.M. PUESCHEL & M. SUSTROVA (Eds.),
Adolescents with Down syndrome: Towards a more ful lling life (pp. 99–110). Baltimore: Paul
H. Brookes.
CICCHETTI, D. & BEEGHLY, M. (1990). An organizational approach to the study of Down
syndrome: Contribution to an integrative theory of development. In D. CICCHETTI & M.
BEEGHLY (Eds.), Children with Down syndrome: A developmental perspective (pp. 29–62).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
CLUNIES-ROSS, G.G. (1979). Accelerating the development of Down’s syndrome infants and
young children. Journal of Special Education, 13, 169–177.
CROMBIE M., GUNN, P. & HAYES, A. (1991). A longitudinal study of two cohorts of children with
Down syndrome. In C.J. DENHOLM (Ed.), Adolescents with Down syndrome: International
perspectives on research and programme development (pp. 1–13). Victoria, BC: University of
Victoria.
CUNNINGHAM , A.E. & STANOVICH, K.E. (1997). Early reading acquisition and its relation to
reading experience and ability 10 years later. Developmental Psychology, 33, 934–945.
DORNBUSCH, S.M. & WOOD, K.D. (1989). Family processes and educational achievement. In W.J.
WESTON (Ed.), Education and the American family (pp. 66–95). New York: New York
University Press.
DUCHESNE, S. (1996). Parental beliefs and behaviours in relation to schooling. Unpublished doctoral
dissertation, Macquarie University, Sydney.
DUFFEN, L. (1976). Teaching reading to teach language. Remedial Education, 11, 139–142.
DUNN, L.M. & DUNN, L.M. (1981). Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test–Revised. Circle Pines, MN:
American Guidance Services.
FARRELL, M. (1996). Continuing literacy development. In B. STRATFORD & P. GUNN (Eds.), New
approaches to Down syndrome (pp. 280–299). London: Cassell.
FARRELL, M. & ELKINS, J. (1991). Literacy and the adolescent with Down syndrome. In C.J.
DENHOLM (Ed.), Adolescents with Down syndrome: International perspectives on research and
programme development (pp. 15–26). Victoria, BC: University of Victoria.
FLOREZ, J. (1992). Neurologic abnormalities. In S.M. PUESCHEL & J.K. PUESCHEL (Eds.), Biomed-
ical concerns in persons with Down syndrome (pp. 159–173). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
FOREMAN, P. (Ed.). (1996). Integration and inclusion in action. Marrickville, NSW: Harcourt Brace.
HARTLEY, J.T. (1989). Memory for prose: Perspectives on the reader. In L.W. POON, D.C. RUBIN
& B.A. WILSON (Eds.), Everyday cognition in adulthood and late life (pp. 135–156). Cam-
bridge: Cambridge University Press.
HAYDEN, A.H. & DMITRIEV, V. (1975). The multidisciplinary preschool program for Down’s
syndrome children at the University of Washington Model Preschool Center. In B.Z.
FRIEDLANDER , G.M. STERRIT & G.E. KIRK (Eds.), Exceptional infant (Vol. 3, pp. 193–221).
New York: Brunner/Mazel.
HAYES, A. & GUNN, P. (1991). Developmental assumptions about Down syndrome and the myth
of uniformity. In C.J. DENHOLM (Ed.), Adolescents with Down syndrome: International
perspectives on research and programme development (pp. 73–81). Victoria, BC: University of
Victoria.
HODAPP, R.M. & ZIGLER, W. (1990). Applying the developmental perspective to individuals with
Down syndrome. In D. CICCHETTI & M. BEEGHLY (Eds.), Children with Down syndrome: A
developmental perspective (pp. 1–28). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
HUNT, N. (1967). The world of Nigel Hunt: The diary of a Mongoloid youth. London: Darwin
Finlayson.
KEMP, C. (1996). Does teaching your children with disabilities to read facilitate their language
development? A critical review of current theory and empirical evidence. International
Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 43, 175–187.
LADD, G.W. & PRICE, J.M. (1987). Predicting children’s social and school adjustment following
the transition from preschool to kindergarten. Child Development, 58, 1168–1189.
LAI, F. (1992). Alzheimer disease. In S.M. PUESCHEL & J.K. PUESCHEL (Eds.), Biomedical concerns
in persons with Down syndrome (pp. 175–196). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
NAGLIERI, J.A. (1982). Use of the WISC-R and PPVT-R with mentally retarded children. Journal
of Clinical Psychology, 38, 635–637.
NIRJE, B. (1985). The basis and logic of the normalization principle. Australian and New Zealand
Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 11, 65–68.
OELWEIN, P.L. (1995). Teaching reading to children with Down syndrome: A guide for parents and
teachers. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.
OGBU, J.U. (1991). Immigrant and involuntary minorities in comparative perspective. In M.
GIBSON & J. OGBU (Eds.), Minority status and schooling: A comparative study of immigrant and
involuntary minorities (pp. 3–33). New York: Garland Publishing.
PIETERSE, M. (1988). The Down Syndrome Program at Macquarie University: A model early
intervention program. In M. PIETERSE, S. BOCHNER & S. BETTISON (Eds.), Early intervention
for children with disabilities: The Australian experience (pp. 81–96). Sydney: Macquarie Uni-
versity.
PIETERSE, M., BOCHNER, S. & BETTISON, S. (Eds.) (1988). Early intervention for children with
disabilities: The Australian experience. Sydney: Macquarie University.
PIETERSE, M. & CENTER, Y. (1984). The integration of eight Down’s syndrome children into
regular schools. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 10, 11–20.
PROUT, H.T. & SCHWARTZ, J. F. (1984). Validity of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test–Revised
with mentally retarded adults. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 40, 584–587.
PUTNAM, J.W. & PUESCHEL, S.M. (1988). Community participation of youth and adults with
Down syndrome. In S.M. PUESCHEL (Ed.), The young person with Down syndrome: Transition
from adolescence to adulthood (pp. 77–92), Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
RYNDERS, J.E. & HORROBIN, J.M. (1996). Down syndrome: Birth to adulthood. Giving families an
EDGE. Denver, CO: Love.
RYNDERS, J.E., SCHLEIEN , S.J. & MATSON, S.L. (1996). One foot in school, one foot in a
community recreational setting. In J.E. RYNDERS & M. HORROBIN (Eds.), Down syndrome:
Birth to adulthood. Giving families an EDGE (pp. 193–212). Denver, CO: Love.
SHEPPERDSON, B. (1988). Growing up with Down’s syndrome. London: Cassell.
SIMMONS, R.G. & BLYTH, D.A. (1987). Moving into adolescence. New York: Aldine De Gruyter.
STANOVICH , K.E. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differ-
ences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21, 360–407.
TIZARD, B. & HODGES, J. (1978). The effects of early institutional rearing on the development of
eight year old children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 10, 99–118.
TIZARD, J. & TIZARD, B. (1974). The institution as an environment for development. In M.P.
RICHARDS (Ed.), The integration of a child into a social world (pp. 137–152). London:
Cambridge University Press.
WADDINGTON , N.J. (1988). Waddington Diagnostic Reading and Spelling tests: A book of tests and
diagnostic procedures for children with learning dif culties. Ingle Farm, South Australia:
Waddington Educational Resources.
WOLFENSBERGER, W. (1972). The principle of normalization in human services. Toronto: National
Institute on Mental Retardation.

Bochner 2001

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Bochner 2001

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

This article was downloaded by: [Michigan State University]

On: 26 December 2014, At: 20:56

A Study of Functional Literacy

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10349120120036314

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

A Study of Functional Literacy Skills in

disabilities, particularly students with intellectual disabilities. The speci c focus,

Background to the Study

TABLE I. Type of school attended for gender and age

Integrated School Segregated School Total

Note. The values represent frequencies of participants in each category.

Another important issue to be considered concerns the actual classroom experi-

Language and Reading Skills

Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R)

TABLE II. Mean PPVT-R values for gender, age,

Integrated 10 6:8 2:1

Note. The values represent mean age-equivalent

TABLE III. Mean PPVT-R values for age by school type

18 to 20 years 21 to 24 years . 24 years

Integrated 10 4:4 2:4 5 8:2 1:10 5 — — 0

TABLE IV. Mean WDRT values for gender,

Integrated 12 8:9 1:4

Note. The values represent mean age-equiva-

Waddington Diagnostic Reading Test (WDRT)

TABLE V. Mean WDRT scores for age and school

18 to 20 years 21 to 24 years . 24 years

Integrated 12 8:1 1:2 6 9:2 1:1 6 — — 0

Group Na Good Medium Poor Did not read

Note. The values represent frequencies of participants in each category.

Functional Reading Skills

Discussion and Conclusion

a segregated special school); opportunity to learn coupled with more optimistic

more important in integrated settings where opportunities to interact with com-

You might also like

disabilities, particularly students with intellectual disabilities. The speci c focus,