Third of six blog posts on the development of reading in children with Down syndrome, written by
Dr Kathy Cologon, based on her recent academic paper,
Debunking myths: Reading development in children with Down syndrome.
Myth buster #3: Reading is more than functional!
Kathy Cologon, Macquarie University
In this series of blog posts I am addressing six common misconceptions in order to support families and teachers in providing opportunities for people with Down syndrome to learn to read. It is my hope that, by drawing together research on reading development in people with Down syndrome more people will have the opportunity to become readers.
Reading can be a source not only of participation, choice and opportunity, but also of personal and shared enjoyment and engagement through reading for pleasure. However, if a person is not given the opportunity to learn to read then this wonderful world of reading is not available. The only way to find out how much someone can learn is to teach and keep on teaching!
While I am writing this series of blog posts to parents and teachers, I am aware that many people who have Down syndrome may also be reading this – if you are I hope you find this interesting. You, like me, have the right to learn to read and I hope that reading is a source of as much pleasure to you as it is to me!
There are a number of myths that may result in inappropriately low expectations and unnecessarily limited learning opportunities. In this series of blog posts I address six of these myths concerning (1)
receptive and expressive language (what we say and what we understand), (2)
phonological awareness and phonic decoding (awareness of sounds and applying these to reading), (3) functional reading or reading for pleasure and learning, (4) ‘reading readiness’ or (non)linear development, (5) optimal learning age and, (6) reading comprehension. These blog posts draw on a recent paper published in the
Australian Journal of Teacher Education. I have included a link to the full paper at the end of the blog post for those who are interested in reading more on these topics. I would like to express my thanks to the editor of the journal for permission to use the paper in this series of blog posts. Many thanks also to all of the people with Down syndrome, families and teachers who have allowed me to share in their journeys and from whom I have learnt so much.
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| Macy loves books |
In this blog post I will discuss the notion of functional reading.
Beyond functional reading
Myth #3: Reading instruction for people with Down syndrome needs to focus on functional reading.
Reality: While functional reading is one important part of reading, reading is about much more than this. People who have Down syndrome can and should be given the opportunity to read for learning and for pleasure.
A functional reading approach typically involves using sight-word instruction to teach someone a set of words that are considered ‘functional’ for everyday life. For example, STOP, DANGER, TOILET, EXIT, MALE and FEMALE.
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