Translating Effective Literacy Practice into School-based Environments that Include Children with IDD, with Dr Sara Cornett

Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) make up a heterogeneous population with a range of communication needs. Challenges in literacy acquisition are particularly common for children with IDD who also have limited speech ability. Despite the growing literature to support reading instruction with children who use limited speech, there remains a gap between best evidence-based literacy instruction and successful implementation of instruction in inclusive classrooms. This presentation will describe a study that used implementation science methods to understand the barriers and facilitators to successful literacy instruction for children with IDD who use limited speech in whole-group classroom contexts. With a better understanding of how teachers are currently delivering instruction in addition to what might be impacting their current instruction, we can then learn to implement evidence-based reading interventions that are functional for the classroom contexts that include children with and without IDD.

Sara Cornett, Ph.D., CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist and assistant professor in the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences at Loyola University Maryland. Sara's work focuses on enhancing inclusive instructional spaces for children with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities. More specifically, she is interested in adapted assessments and interventions for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the school-based issues that surround access to instruction for students with limited speech abilities.