Students With Down Syndrome & Their Reading Learning Profile
What is Down Syndrome?
Definition
A chromosomal abnormality that occurs during fetal development, when either a partial or full copy of chromosome 21 has developed (ndss.org)
Characteristics
"A few of the common physical traits of Down syndrome are low muscle tone, small stature, an upward slant to the eyes, and a single deep crease across the center of the palm - although each person with Down syndrome is a unique individual and may possess these characteristics to different degrees, or not at all" (ndss.org).
Meet Jarren
What Does This Have To Do With Education?
Everything!
As future teachers, especially those who plan to teach students with special needs, should be aware of the potential of students instead of focusing on their limitations and differences. It is important to do research on student populations that you as a future teacher are planning interact with. In this way, you can be an effective teacher that brings the best out of students.
Results of Study & Suggestions for Teachers
Check This Out!
From the sample population, the results indicated that 49.4% of individuals with Down Syndrome read at a alphabetical level, 22.8% Orthographical level, 20.2 cannot read at all, 7.6% logo-graphical level. Researchers suggested that teachers could use sight words as a specific method of teaching students with DS. Others suggestions included practicing phonological awareness with students as teaching syllable-reading (Ratz, 2013)
Why I became Interested
Why I Chose This Article
I chose this article because one day my mom and I meet a young lady with Down Syndrome at a religious service fluently reading versus from the Bible. My mother and I were shocked because we had always thought that individuals with Down Syndrome did not have the capability to read. This revelation opened my eyes and sparked my interest and the research began
Article Being Reviewed
A peer-reviewed article on the reading learning profile of students with Down Syndrome is entitled Do students with Down Syndrome have specific learning profile for reading?
Reference: Ratz, C. (2013). Do students with Down syndrome have a specific learning profile for reading? Research in Developmental Disabilities, Volume 34.
Topic of Interest
Growing up with a sibling who has Down Syndrome made me very interested in students with special needs. I began my research on students with Down Syndrome and their reading learner profile specifically because when my brother was a baby, doctors told my mother he would not be able to read. Because of doctors low expectation of my brothers learning profile, my mother never taught him how to read, and teachers were also unsuccessful in this area.