Practicing Keywords to Increase Reading Performance of Students With Intellectual Disability.

Three fourth-graders with intellectual disability practiced unknown keywords with Incremental Rehearsal before reading short passages. The teacher flashed each new word nine times, mixing in eight already-known words, then moved to the next text. They rotated this drill across several stories to see if it helped reading.

The team used a multielement design. That means they quickly switched conditions to watch how each student responded right away.

Word recognition and reading speed shot up for every child. Kids could now see a word and say it fast and correctly. Comprehension scores stayed flat. The students still struggled to answer questions about what they had just read.

Järvinen et al. (2015) seems to disagree. Their computer program that trained comprehension skills lifted both understanding and word reading in older struggling readers. The difference: those students had learning disabilities, not ID, and the software focused on meaning, not just drill.

Ulriksen et al. (2024) extends the story. They taught seven elementary students with ID who also use AAC devices. Systematic phonics lessons helped those children decode new words. Like the current study, word skills grew, but Britt’s team added AAC supports and still saw gains.

Benitez et al. (2023) used stimulus-equivalence lessons instead of Incremental Rehearsal. Parents and teachers taught students with ID to match printed words to pictures and spoken words. Word reading jumped to about 80% correct, showing another path to the same outcome.

If you work with students who have ID, drill unknown keywords with Incremental Rehearsal when the goal is faster, accurate word calling. Do not rely on this drill alone if you also need comprehension gains. Pair it with meaning-based activities or pick a different tool, like the comprehension software Anna et al. used, to tackle understanding.