Phonics Based Reading Interventions for Students with Intellectual Disability: A Systematic Literature Review

Teachers require interventions for students with intellectual disability (ID) that are simple, efficient, and can be implemented in the classroom versus interventions requiring isolation. The purpose of this review was to update the prior review by Joseph & Seery (2004) and to serve as a resource for parents, practitioners and researchers interested in the reading education of students with ID. Studies that focused on implementation of phonics based reading interventions to students with ID occurring over the subsequent 12-year period since the last review by Joseph & Seery (2004) were examined to determine which types of settings are typically used, what type of interventions are being implemented, outcomes for each intervention, Results indicate students with ID continue to respond to phonics based reading interventions and indicate an increase in published studies involving phonics based reading interventions for students with ID. Implications for future research and practice are also discussed.