Exploring Phonological Awareness Skills in Children With Intellectual Disability.
Phonological gaps in ID shift over time—start with rhyme, then watch for segmentation trouble.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Grove et al. (2017) tested the kids with intellectual disability. They matched each child to a same-age peer without ID.
The team gave six phonological tests across two years. They checked rhyme, blending, and phoneme skills.
What they found
Kids with ID started behind in rhyme and blending. Later they fell further behind in breaking words into sounds.
The gap moved. Early struggles with rhyming shifted to later struggles with phoneme segmentation.
How this fits with other research
Chezan et al. (2019) reviewed motor skills in ID. Like Rachel, they found clear delays. Both show kids with ID need targeted support, just in different domains.
King et al. (2013) found kids with ID join fewer sports clubs. Rachel shows they also lag in pre-reading skills. Together they paint a picture of broad skill gaps needing early catch-up.
Cruz-Montecinos et al. (2024) saw bigger dual-task gait costs in adults with ID. Rachel saw shifting phonological costs in kids. Both warn that deficits can appear in new tasks as demands change.
Why it matters
Screen rhyme skills first. If weak, teach rhyme games. Re-check phoneme segmentation every six months. Shift to segmentation drills when that gap appears. This staged approach matches how deficits evolve in kids with ID.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The phonological awareness skills of 7- to 8-year-old children with intellectual disability (ID) were compared to those of 4- to 5-year-old typically developing children who were matched for early reading skills, vocabulary, and gender. Globally, children with ID displayed a marked weakness in phonological awareness. Syllable blending, syllable segmentation, and first phoneme detection appeared to be preserved. In contrast, children with ID showed a marked weakness in rhyme detection and a slight weakness in phoneme blending. Two school years later, these deficits no longer remained. Marked weaknesses appeared in phoneme segmentation and first/last phoneme detection. The findings suggest that children with ID display an atypical pattern in phonological awareness that changes with age. The implications for practice and research are discussed.
American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2017 · doi:10.1352/1944-7558-122.6.476