Sentence Reading Comprehension by Means of Training in Segment-Unit Reading for Japanese Children with Intellectual Disabilities
Breaking sentences into live chunks can move non-reading children with ID to real sentence comprehension.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Two Japanese children with intellectual disabilities could not read full sentences.
The trainer broke each sentence into short chunks. Each chunk appeared on screen one at a time. The child heard the chunk, read it aloud, then saw the next chunk. After practice, the child read the whole sentence without help.
The team tracked how many sentences each child read correctly and how many questions they answered right after reading.
What they found
Both children started at zero correct sentences. After training, they read new sentences they had never seen before and answered most questions right.
The skill stuck. Accuracy stayed high when the trainer checked weeks later.
How this fits with other research
Singh et al. (1984) showed that a quick teacher preview of the exact passage cuts oral reading errors. Omori adds a new tool: break the text into live chunks instead of previewing it whole.
Jones et al. (2010) used fast prompting to teach whole sentences. Omori keeps the sentence goal but slows the pace, letting the child build the sentence piece by piece.
Ratz et al. (2013) found that one-third of students with ID cannot read at all. Omori gives a road map for the next step: once single words are in place, SUR can bridge to real sentences.
Wang et al. (2026) later showed big gains in sentence understanding with think-alouds and graphic organizers for children with autism. Omori’s chunking method offers a simpler, tech-light option for children with ID who need even smaller steps.
Why it matters
If your learner knows single words but stalls at sentences, try segment-unit reading. Make three-to-five word chunks. Present them one at a time on a tablet or index card. After the child reads each chunk, move to the next. Soon drop the chunks and let the child read the whole sentence. No extra materials needed—just split the text and go.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Children with intellectual disabilities (ID) often have difficulty in sentence reading and comprehension. Previous studies have shown that training in segment-unit reading (SUR) facilitates the acquisition of sentence reading comprehension skills for Japanese students with ID. However, it remains unknown whether SUR training is also effective for individuals unable to read sentences and can generalize to untrained sentences. In this study, we examined the improvement and generalization of sentence reading accuracy and comprehension for two children with ID through SUR training with listening comprehensible sentences. During training, the segments were sequentially presented in their correct spatial locations, and participants read them aloud. After the training, participants’ reading accuracy and comprehension improved for both trained and untrained sentences. The results suggest that presenting the components of stimuli sequentially in their correct spatial locations is key to facilitating the development of sentence reading accuracy and comprehension for individuals with ID.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2018 · doi:10.1007/s40617-017-0196-6