Teaching Word Spelling with Orthographic Difficulties to Adultswith Intellectual Disabilities

ABSTRACT:

Government data indicate that Youth and Adult Education has shown an increase in the enrollment of people with disabilities, demanding adequate teaching conditions. Considering this educational context, the present study aimed to verify whether exposure to Module 2 of the teaching curriculum “Aprendendo a Ler e a Escrever em Pequenos Passos” LEPP) [Learning to Read and Write in Small Steps] would contribute to developing or improving the writing of words with orthographic difficulties among four students with intellectual disabilities, aged 25 to 37 years. Module 2 comprises irregular words in Portuguese, such as galinha (chicken), barco (boat), garrafa (bottle), among others. The module was applied collectively, on average, three days a week. The experimental activities were conducted in the presence of the researcher, the regular classroom teacher, and interns. The results showed that, overall, the students benefited from computerized and individualized teaching, demonstrating improved performance in writing words with orthographic difficulties. Moreover, the use of an instructional resource complementary to classroom activities proved capable of creating favorable conditions for learning to write for students with intellectual disabilities in the Youth and Adult Education program.

KEYWORDS:
Writing; Individualized teaching; Adults; Intellectual disability; Youth and Adult Education