Reading for special needs

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Reading
Learning to read Reading readiness Vocabulary development Vocabulary learning
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Reading instruction Analytic phonics Basal reader Concept-oriented Directed listening and thinking activity Guided reading Independent reading Literature circle Phonics Reciprocal teaching Structured word inquiry Sustained silent reading Synthetic phonics Whole language
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Readability Automatic assessment Legibility Readability test
Reading differences and disabilities Dyslexia Hyperlexia Reading disability Reading for special needs
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Reading for special needs has become an area of interest as the understanding of reading has improved. Teaching children with special needs how to read was not historically pursued under the assumption of the reading readiness model^[1] that a reader must learn to read in a hierarchical manner such that one skill must be mastered before learning the next skill (e.g. a child might be expected to learn the names of the letters in the alphabet in the correct order before being taught how to read his or her name).^[2] This approach often led to teaching sub-skills of reading in a decontextualized manner, preventing students with special needs from progressing to more advanced literacy lessons and subjecting them to repeated age-inappropriate instruction (e.g. singing the alphabet song).

During the 1970s, the education system shifted to targeting functional skills that were age-appropriate for people with special needs.^[3][4] This led to teaching sight words that were viewed as necessary for participation in the school and community (e.g. exit, danger, poison, go). This approach was an improvement upon previous practices, but it limited the range of literacy skills that people with special needs developed.^[2]

A newer model for reading development, the "emergent literacy" or "early literacy" model, purports that children begin reading from birth and that learning to read is an interactive process based on children's exposure to literate activities. It is under this new model that children with developmental disabilities and special needs have been considered to be able to learn to read.^[5][6]