Writing readiness and children with Down Syndrome in an Irish context

Patton, S. and Hutton, E. (2016) Writing readiness and children with Down Syndrome in an Irish context. Support for Learning, 31 (3). ISSN 0268-2141.

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Abstract

There is a dearth of studies investigating writing readiness in children with Down Syndrome (DS) and limited information on appropriate interventions.

This article reports on a study conducted in the Republic of Ireland. An uncontrolled pretest-posttest design was implemented using writing readiness measures specifically adapted/developed from the literature to collect data on the writing readiness skills of 28 school-aged children with DS attending mainstream schools in the Republic of Ireland. Teacher/parent perspectives were also gathered during focus groups. The children presented with complex needs in relation to posture, pencil grasp, copying basic
shapes, name/letter copying. Teacher and parent reports highlighted the need for collaborative intervention with occupational therapy. Findings from the study supports the need for targeted early collaborative syndrome-specific intervention to support the development of writing readiness in children with DS as an important part of school readiness. Intervention should include adopting a broader emergent literacy approach, teacher education regarding writing readiness and parental involvement in intervention.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	L Education > LC Special aspects of education > LC1200 Inclusive education R Medicine > RM Therapeutics. Pharmacology > RM0930 Rehabilitation therapy
Divisions:	Faculty of Health and Wellbeing > School of Allied Health Professions
Depositing User:	Dr Eve Hutton
Date Deposited:	28 Oct 2016 13:36
Last Modified:	04 Nov 2016 19:23
URI:	https://create.canterbury.ac.uk/id/eprint/15065

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