Effects of Using an iPad to Teach Early Literacy Skills to Elementary Students With Intellectual Disability.

Three elementary students with mild-moderate intellectual disability joined the study.

The team used an iPad to show visual supports that break words into sounds.

They tracked how fast each child could segment phonemes across daily lessons.

Every child learned to split words into sounds faster after the iPad lessons.

Skills rose only after the app started, not before, showing clear cause.

Scalzo et al. (2015) and Chou et al. (2010) already showed that strong phonological awareness predicts later reading success in kids with ID.

Duerden et al. (2012) got similar gains using computer phoneme games with French-speaking SLI pupils, proving the method works across languages and devices.

Lecavalier et al. (2006) looks like a contradiction: their Down-syndrome sample stayed weak in phonological tasks. The gap is explained by syndrome profiles, not by the teaching tool, so iPad PA work can still succeed for broader ID groups.

You now have a quick, low-prep option for building early literacy in students with mild-moderate ID. Pair the iPad visuals with your usual reading block. Track segmentation speed daily; when it jumps, move to larger words. This single-case design gives you confidence to trial the app with new learners and add it to IEP goals.