The potential impact of literacy intervention on speech sound production in students with intellectual disability and communication difficulties.

A small body of research and reports from educational and clinical practice suggest that teaching literacy skills may facilitate the development of speech sound production in students with intellectual disabilities (ID). However, intervention research is needed to test the potential connection. This study aimed to investigate whether twelve weeks of systematic, digital literacy intervention enhanced speech sound production in students with ID and communication difficulties. A sample of 121 students with ID were assigned to four different groups: phonics-based, comprehension-based, a combination with both phonics- and comprehension-based intervention and a comparison group with teaching-as-usual. Speech sound production was assessed before and after the intervention. The results on the data without the imputed variable suggested a significant positive effect of systematic, digital literacy interventions on speech sound production. However, results from sensitivity analyses with imputed missing data was more ambiguous, with the effect only approaching significance (ps = .05-.07) for one of the interventions. Nonetheless, we tentatively suggest that systematic, digital literacy intervention could support speech development in students with ID and communication difficulties. Future research should be done to confirm and further elucidate the functional mechanisms of this link, so that we may have a better understanding and can improve instruction and the pivotal abilities of speech and reading.

'To have a plan': teachers' perceptions of working with a literacy instruction combining phonics and comprehension applications for students with intellectual disability and communication difficulties.

PURPOSE: Students with intellectual disabilities (ID) typically have difficulties with literacy learning, often not acquiring basic literacy skills. Research and practical experience indicate that when these students are provided with evidence-based instruction, including comprehension as well as phonemic strategies, literacy may develop. METHODS: In this study, four pairs of teachers were interviewed regarding their perceptions of a 12-week digital literacy intervention that focused on both phonics and comprehension strategies. The intervention aimed to enhance literacy and communication development in students aged 7-21, who had mild to severe ID. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Four themes were identified in the analysis. It was seen that the teachers found it valuable to have access to two apps accessing and facilitating the use of different literacy strategies in meeting the needs of individual students. This digital format was also perceived as positive, contributing to creating a supportive and systematic learning environment that enhanced and increased literacy learning. The teachers recurringly also talked about the positive influence of participating in research, lifting the strong focus, and positive attention as very important for both teachers and students.

Parents act as intermediary users for their children when using assistive technology for cognition in everyday planning: Results from a parental survey.

Assistive Technology for Cognition (ATC) is employed by children with and without disabilities. However, how the ATC is used in everyday life has not been studied. The current study investigated ATC-usage in everyday planning in three groups: 1) children qualifying for Swedish habilitation centers (ID/ASD), 2) children with disability not qualifying for habilitation service (ADHD), and 3) children with typical development (TD). A parental survey was conducted (n = 192) and answers were analyzed with statistical tests and inductive thematic text analysis. Results showed that all groups used ATC, most in the Habilitation group and least in the TD group. According to parents, ATC supported cognitive functions in all groups, but it became evident that the parents were responsible for planning by setting up the ATC, whilst the children merely executed the plans. This was linked to several limitations, for example the design was not appropriately adapted for these groups. The implications for the practitioners are 1) evaluate the users' cognitive abilities and choose an ATC suitable for that individual rather focusing on the diagnosis, and 2) follow up usage to see if it is the parent or the child that are using the ATC.

The effectiveness of working memory training with individuals with intellectual disabilities - a meta-analytic review.

Working memory (WM) training has been increasingly popular in the last years. Previous studies have shown that individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) have low WM capacity and therefore would benefit by this type of intervention. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of WM and cognitive training for individuals with ID. The effects reported in previous studies have varied and therefore a meta-analysis of articles in the major databases was conducted. Inclusion criteria included to have a pretest-posttest design with a training group and a control group and to have measures of WM or short-term memory. Ten studies with 28 comparisons were included. The results reveal a significant, but small, overall pretest-posttest effect size (ES) for WM training for individuals with ID compared to controls. A mixed WM approach, including both verbal and visuo-spatial components working mainly on strategies, was the only significant training type with a medium ES. The most commonly reported training type, visuo-spatial WM training, was performed in 60 percent of the included comparisons and had a non-significant ES close to zero. We conclude that even if there is an overall effect of WM training, a mixed WM approach appears to cause this effect. Given the few studies included and the different characteristics of the included studies, interpretations should be done with caution. However, different types of interventions appear to have different effects. Even if the results were promising, more studies are needed to better understand how to design an effective WM intervention for this group and to understand if, and how, these short-term effects remain over time and transfer to everyday activities.

Dispersant adsorption and viscoelasticity of alumina suspensions measured by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring and in situ dynamic rheology.

Adsorption behavior and water content of adsorbed layers of four dispersants for aqueous ceramic processing were studied by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) on alumina surfaces. The dispersants were a poly(acrylic acid), a lignosulfonate, and two hydrophilic comb copolymers with nonionic polyoxyethylene chains of different molecular weights. A Voigt model was applied to analyze the viscoelastic behavior of the adsorbed dispersant layers. The results from QCM-D were compared with viscoelastic properties determined by in situ dynamic rheology measurements of highly concentrated alumina suspensions during slip casting. The QCM-D results showed that both the poly(acrylic acid) and the lignosulfonate adsorbed in low amounts and in a flat conformation, which generated thin, highly rigid layers less than 1 nm thick. The water content of these layers was found to be around 30% for the lignosulfonate and 35% for the poly(acrylic acid). High casting rate and strength in terms of storage modulus were observed in the final consolidate of the suspensions with the two polyelectrolytes. In contrast, the high molecular weight comb copolymer adsorbed in a less elastic layer with a thickness of about 6 nm, which is enough to provide steric stabilization. The viscous behavior of this layer was attributed to high water content, which was calculated to be around 90%. Such a water-rich layer gives a lubrication effect, which allows for reorientation of particles during the consolidation process, resulting in a high final strength of the ceramic material. During consolidation, the suspension showed a slow casting rate, most likely due to rearrangement facilitated by the lubricating layer. The short-chain comb copolymer adsorbed in a 1.5 nm thick, rigid layer and gave low final strength to the consolidated suspension. It is likely that the poor consolidation behavior is caused by flocculation due to insufficient stabilization of the dispersion.