Effects of Group Reading Intervention Using Phonics Principle on Decoding Ability of Students with Intellectual Disability

Purpose: Previous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of phonics interventions for students struggling with reading, yet these interventions were predominantly conducted on an individual basis. Given that group instruction is more commonplace in actual school environments, it is crucial to assess whether phonics interventions would be equally effective when administered to groups. This study aimed to explore the impact of group reading interventions via phonics on the decoding abilities of students with intellectual disabilities. Method: The subjects of this study were three first-grade students with intellectual disabilities enrolled at a special school in A Metropolitan City. The research was conducted using an AB design. After establishing a baseline, a total of 24 sessions of group reading intervention using phonics were carried out with these children, and their word decoding abilities were evaluated in each session. Additionally, a maintenance test was conducted three weeks after the end of the intervention. Result: Group reading intervention using phonics improved word decoding skills among all participating students, and these improvements were sustained even after the intervention had ended. Conclusion: These results indicate that phonics intervention can be effective for students with intellectual disabilities even when implemented in group settings. Furthermore, this demonstrates that phonics can be successfully incorporated into real school group lesson plans.